When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others 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 take a look at Konami Code quarterbacks to consider in fantasy football drafts.
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2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Konami Code Quarterbacks
By now, most fantasy football managers have heard of the term Konami Code. As it sounds, it’s become a cheat code of sorts. Rich Hribar of Sharp Football Analysis coined the term as it relates to fantasy football. In his words from this 2013 article:
If you’ve never played Contra, it doesn’t matter (except we can never be friends). What’s important is that this is the most famous cheat code ever created. And I’m here to tell you that the Konami Code has been entered into our game of Fantasy Football, namely the rushing quarterbacks and how they affect standard scoring.
Since then, rushing quarterbacks have taken the league by storm. It’s important to know the strategy and identify potential Konami Code quarterbacks to target in fantasy football drafts. Here’s a look at 2026’s crop of Konami Code quarterbacks.
The math behind the Konami cheat code
Start with the principle. Rushing production is sticky because it is tied to usage, and usage is a coaching decision that carries over season to season. A designed-run quarterback gets his carries whether he is throwing well or not, which means his fantasy floor holds up even in a bad game or a negative game script. That is the opposite of passing touchdowns, which swing on red-zone variance, receiver play, and luck. The projections make the gap concrete. At the top of the position, rushing accounts for roughly a third of a quarterback’s total fantasy points. At the bottom, it accounts for almost nothing. That difference is the single most important input in how you should value quarterbacks this summer.
The elite floor
The purest expression of the cheat code. Allen is projected for roughly 585 rushing yards and nearly 12 rushing touchdowns, which alone account for about 35 percent of his 372 projected fantasy points, the highest rushing share of any quarterback. That rushing base is exactly why he remains the consensus QB1 even in a year when his passing weaponry is a question and his passing touchdowns dipped to a six-year low. The legs make him bulletproof.
Jayden Daniels (QB – WAS) and Jalen Hurts (QB – PHI)
Both project for about 30 percent of their scoring on the ground. Daniels pairs a massive rushing-yardage projection (nearly 690) with modest rushing scores, while Hurts flips that, with fewer yards but a projected eight-plus rushing touchdowns fueled by the Eagles’ goal-line “tush push.” Two different rushing profiles, same elite floor.
A projected 640 rushing yards keeps his floor high even though the model forecasts a notable dip in his rushing touchdowns after an injury-hampered 2025. He is the reminder that rushing yardage, not just rushing scores, is what makes the floor durable.
The value the code unlocks
This is where the strategy earns its keep. The two best values on the board are both rushing quarterbacks going well outside the top tier.
Ranked just QB12 in consensus, Dart projects for roughly 550 rushing yards and six to seven rushing scores, about 30 percent of his points, a rushing profile that belongs in the elite group even though his draft cost does not. That is the cheat code as a value play.
The deepest application of the idea. Willis is a fringe starter ranked around QB21, but the projections give him roughly 640 rushing yards, so about 33 percent of his fantasy scoring comes from his legs. That is a top-tier rushing share attached to a last-round price. If you punt quarterback entirely, this is the kind of floor you want to land on.
The other side: The touchdown-dependent tier
The value of the Konami Code is easiest to see in its absence. Consider the projected rushing share for the pocket passers near the top of the board. Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff each derive about 2 percent of their fantasy points from rushing. Joe Burrow sits at 8 percent, Dak Prescott at 9 percent, Jordan Love at 9 percent. These are excellent real-life quarterbacks, and several will finish as strong fantasy options. But their fantasy value rests almost entirely on passing touchdowns, the least stable input at the position. When those quarterbacks throw 35 touchdowns, they are league-winners. When they throw 26, they are replaceable, and there is very little rushing production underneath to cushion the fall. You are betting on volatile touchdowns with no floor to catch you.
How to draft with it
The Konami Code is not an argument to reach for every running quarterback. It is an argument about floor and timing. Because rushing production is the most reliable source of points at the position, you can wait on quarterback and still land a high floor, provided you target the right profile. Let the room pay up for the touchdown-dependent pocket passers in the middle rounds. Then take your quarterback a round or three later in the form of a runner like Dart, or punt the position entirely and land on Willis. You will give up some passing-touchdown ceiling. You will gain a floor that does not depend on things you cannot predict.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the “Konami Code” in fantasy football?
It is a nickname for the strategy of drafting rushing quarterbacks. Because rushing yards and rushing touchdowns are more stable and predictable than passing touchdowns, a quarterback who runs provides a higher, more reliable weekly fantasy floor, functioning like a cheat code at the position.
Which quarterback gets the most fantasy value from rushing in 2026?
Josh Allen. Roughly 35 percent of his projected fantasy points come from his projected 585 rushing yards and nearly 12 rushing touchdowns, the highest rushing share among all quarterbacks.
Who are the best value rushing quarterbacks to draft late?
Jaxson Dart (around QB12) and Malik Willis (around QB21). Both derive about 30 percent or more of their projected points from rushing, giving them elite-style floors at a fraction of the draft cost of the top tier.
Why are rushing quarterbacks safer fantasy picks than pocket passers?
Rushing production is tied to usage, which is a stable coaching decision, so it holds up even in bad games or negative game scripts. Pocket passers depend on passing touchdowns, which are highly variable year to year, giving them a lower and less predictable floor.
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