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 notable late-round quarterbacks fantasy football experts love to target.
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2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Late-Round Quarterbacks Experts Love
Derek Brown and Pat Fitzmaurice share a few of their favorite late-round quarterbacks to target in 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Malik Willis (MIA)
Cast aside by the Titans and rejuvenated by a stint as a backup with the Packers, Malik Willis now gets a chance to prove himself as a starter for the Dolphins, who signed him to a three-year, $67 million contract in March. Willis is an electric runner. In six career starts, Willis has averaged 44.8 rushing yards per game and has run for four touchdowns. And Willis seems to have made considerable strides as a passer. Over 11 appearances and three starts in Green Bay in 2024 and 2025, Willis completed 78.7% of his throws and averaged 10.9 yards per pass attempt, with six TD passes and zero interceptions. Willis will be hard-pressed to match that sort of passing efficiency with the Dolphins, who might have the worst collection of pass catchers in the league. But Willis’ running ability should make him fantasy-viable even if his passing numbers are mediocre.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Brock Purdy (SF)
If you’re not respecting Brock Purdy at this point as a strong QB1, I really don’t know what to tell you. Over the last three seasons, he has finished as the QB5, QB10, and QB6 in fantasy points per game. In his four years in the NFL, he has only once finished with a passing touchdown rate lower than 7.0%. Last year, among 38 qualifying quarterbacks, Purdy was sixth in passing yards per game, ninth in yards per attempt, 12th in highly accurate throw rate, and third in fantasy points per dropback (per Fantasy Points Data). Purdy will again be a QB1 that goes far too late in drafts in 2026.
– Derek Brown
Tyler Shough (NO)
Second-round draft pick Tyler Shough was a pleasant surprise for New Orleans as a rookie. He now enters the 2026 season as the Saints’ undisputed starter, with an opportunity to prove that he can be the team’s long-term answer at quarterback. Spencer Rattler started the Saints’ first eight games in 2025, but Shough took over as the starter in Week 9 and guided the team to a 5-4 record down the stretch. Shough was QB12 in fantasy points per game from Week 9 through the end of the regular season, and he produced at least 17.1 fantasy points in each of his last six starts. The 26-year-old Shough completed 67.6% of his throws, averaged 7.3 yards per pass attempt, and had 10 TD passes and six interceptions. He also averaged 16.9 rushing yards per game and had three TD runs. It should be noted that only one of the teams Shough faced in his nine starts last season, the Rams, ranked inside the top 10 in DVOA against the pass. Still, it was an impressive half-season for Shough, and the Saints should have an easy schedule again in 2026. The Saints feathered Shough’s nest in this year’s NFL Draft by drafting WR Jordyn Tyson No. 8 overall, although Tyson figures to miss significant time in the early part of the season due to a hamstring injury.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Jordan Love (GB)
Yes, I understand Jordan Love has been a mid-range QB2 over the last two years (QB17, QB16) since his massive breakout in 2023 (QB5), but that hasn’t been because Love sucks. He has been locked in a run-first, run-always offense. Could that still be the case this year? Possibly, but if Green Bay increases its pass rate to even league-average standards (last year Weeks 1-15, eighth-best in neutral rushing rate), Love could return to QB1 land. Love has proven over the last three seasons that he can sustain above-average passing touchdown rates (5.5%, 5.9%, 5.2%), so I don’t see him backsliding in that category. Last year, among 38 qualifying quarterbacks, Love was eighth in yards per attempt, fifth in hero throw rate, 15th in catchable target rate, and 13th (tied) in fantasy points per dropback. Love’s QB2 production is priced into his ADP; his upside as a QB1 is not.
– Derek Brown
Sam Darnold (SEA)
It took Sam Darnold seven seasons to finally get his footing as an NFL starter, but he’s now put together two splendid seasons, culminating in a Super Bowl victory with the Seahawks. Darnold began his career with three nightmarish seasons as a Jet, fared little better in two seasons as a Panther, and spent one season as a backup with the 49ers before finally breaking through with the Vikings in 2024. He signed with the Seahawks in 2025 and guided the team to a 14-3 regular-season record and a 3-0 run through the playoffs. Over the last two regular seasons, Darnold has completed 66.9% of his throws and averaged 8.2 yards per pass attempt, with 60 TD passes, 26 interceptions, and a passer rating of 100.9. He’s finished QB9 and QB13 in fantasy scoring the last two years. Darnold averaged only 28.1 pass attempts per game last season, as the Seahawks ran the ball at the third-highest rate in the league. Darnold must adjust to a new offensive coordinator, Brian Fleury, now that former Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak has taken the Raiders’ head-coaching job. But it’s possible Seattle throws at a higher rate this year, which could potentially boost Darnold’s passing numbers.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
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