Fantasy Football: 4 Quarterbacks to Draft (2026)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and which to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few quarterbacks our analysts love to target in 2026 fantasy football drafts

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2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: 4 Quarterbacks to Draft

Here are four quarterbacks Pat Fitzmaurice and Derek Brown love to target in 2026 fantasy football drafts.

Trevor Lawrence (JAC)

Last year, Trevor Lawrence finally had the breakout season that everyone had been waiting for as the QB6 in fantasy points per game. It was the first season in which he had eclipsed 18 fantasy points per game. Yes, part of this magical season included nine rushing touchdowns, which is probably not a sustainable mark to expect him to repeat in 2026, but he was fifth in red zone carries per game among quarterbacks, so maybe there is some carryover in his rushing touchdown production to this season. Lawrence really caught fire to close last season (Weeks 12-18) as the QB1 in fantasy points per game. During that seven-game stretch, among 30 qualifying quarterbacks, Lawrence was excellent as a passer, ranking third in yards per attempt, fifth in passing yards per game, third in hero throw rate, 11th in catchable target rate, and second in passing touchdowns (per Fantasy Points Data). Lawrence is a locked-in QB1 with tantalizing upside for 2026 with his pass-catching depth chart intact from that stretch run.
– Derek Brown

Brock Purdy (SF)

Brock Purdy‘s pass-catching corps will look a lot different in 2026. Free-agent addition Mike Evans is expected to be Purdy’s new No. 1 receiver, and the 49ers added WR Christian Kirk and Deebo Samuel in free agency as well. Ricky Pearsall is already dealing with an injury, and Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne are gone. TE George Kittle is recovering from a torn Achilles and might not be ready for the start of the season. A nagging turf toe injury limited Purdy to nine starts in 2025. He threw 20 TD passes despite missing all that time, but he also threw 10 interceptions. Purdy has ranked inside QB1 range in fantasy points per game in each of his three full seasons as a starter. Consider him a low-end QB1 in 2026 fantasy drafts.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Dak Prescott (DAL)

Last year, Dak Prescott directed an offense that was 13th in neutral passing rate and ninth in neutral pace en route to a QB7 finish (Weeks 1-17) in fantasy points per game. Among 45 qualifying passers, Prescott was tenth in yards per attempt, eighth in highly accurate throw rate, and 13th in hero throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). With CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson, and Javonte Williams all still in the fold, I don’t see a reason to expect Dallas or Prescott to slow down this season. Prescott had only a 5% passing touchdown rate last year, so there’s still some meat on the bone for Prescott to be even better this season for an offense that was fifth in points per game and red zone scoring attempts per game (16th in red zone touchdown percentage). Prescott is a locked-in QB1 that could be a top-five option if they can put more touchdowns in the end zone in 2026.
– Derek Brown

Matthew Stafford (LAR)

Matthew Stafford is coming off an MVP season in which he led the league in passing yards (4,707) and TD passes (46) while throwing only eight interceptions and taking just 23 sacks. He finished QB3 in fantasy scoring despite rushing for one yard all season and zero touchdowns. Stafford dealt with back issues last summer but played all 17 regular-season games plus three playoff games. The 38-year-old Stafford was feeling good enough to sign a contract extension that should keep him around for at least two more seasons. With offensive wizard Sean McVay as his head coach and the dynamic duo of Puka Nacua and Davante Adams at wide receiver, Stafford seems well positioned for another big season.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

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Fantasy Football Draft Rankings

Check out the consensus 2026 fantasy football draft rankings from our experts.