Fantasy Football: 5 Must-Have Quarterbacks (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 must-have quarterbacks fantasy football expert Derek Brown targets in drafts.

2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Must-Have Quarterbacks

Derek Brown loves to target these quarterbacks in 2026 fantasy football drafts.

Drake Maye (NE)

Drake Maye had a wonderful breakout season last year as the QB3 in fantasy points per game, and he could equal or surpass that this season. This offseason, New England gave Maye new weapons that could take this offense to another level with the additions of Romeo Doubs and A.J. Brown. The Pats were ninth in neutral passing rate last season and could bump that up some more with Doubs and Brown in town. I’m painting the fever dream outcome for Maye, but none of this is impossible or even improbable. Maye will continue to add fantasy points weekly with his legs on top of the passing upside. Last year, Maye was 12th in rushing yards per game and seventh in red zone carries per game among quarterbacks. As a passer, he was outstanding, ranking first in yards per attempt, seventh in highly accurate throw rate, eighth in hero throw rate, and fourth in fantasy points per dropback (per Fantasy Points Data). Maye should be considered a strong top-five fantasy quarterback option with the ability to push Josh Allen for the QB1 spot if everything goes his way in 2026.

Jalen Hurts (PHI)

Last year, the Eagles offense hit a rut, and Jalen Hurts finished with his worst season (QB8) in fantasy points per game since becoming the full-time starter in 2021. While Hurts was still heavily involved on the ground near the goal line (fourth in rushing touchdowns and second in red zone carries), he also finished with the second-fewest rushing yards per game (26.3) of his career. There are big-time questions about whether Hurts can bounce back this season after the struggles of last season, the loss of A.J. Brown, and the Eagles transitioning to another new offensive coordinator who could emphasize utilizing the middle of the field. Last year, among 45 qualifying passers, Hurts ranked 20th in yards per attempt, 18th in CPOE, 25th in highly accurate throw rate, and 15th in hero throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). I’ll be surprised if his rushing numbers don’t rebound. The Eagles still have plenty of receiving talent in-house with DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, and with their offseason additions of Makai Lemon, Eli Stowers, Dontayvion Wicks, and Hollywood Brown. I’m not shying away from buying the dip with Hurts despite the worries. Hurts has proven doubters wrong time and time again while improving as a player and passer along the way, going all the way back to college. Hurts still has top 3-5 upside in fantasy.

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.

Jaxson Dart (NYG)

Last year, once taking over as the Giants starter, Jaxson Dart was the QB7 in fantasy points per game. If you remove the wet fart game that he had in Week 16 against Minnesota, where he scored only one fantasy point and had 13 pass attempts and 33 passing yards, he averaged 22.5 fantasy points per game. That points-per-game mark would have made him the QB1 in fantasy points per game last year. Dart showed off his rushing ability, averaging seven rushing attempts and 40.6 rushing yards per game. He had the second-most rushing yards per game among quarterbacks last year behind only Justin Fields. Dart also wasn’t a lackluster passer last year. Among 38 qualifying passers, he was 23rd in CPOE, 19th in highly accurate throw rate, and tenth in hero throw rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Dart was also fifth in fantasy points per dropback while dealing with the 12th-highest drop rate among quarterbacks. Dart is positioned to be a strong QB1 again this year with upside.

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.

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