- Josh Allen takes the top spot: Allen has consistently ranked at or near the top overall spot at quarterback, with no signs of him slowing down.
- A large fourth tier: Over half the league’s starting quarterbacks have shown they can be fantasy starters if the matchup is right. Waiting at quarterback and picking two quarterbacks late should be a popular strategy in August.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
With the conclusion of the 2025 fantasy football season, these 2026 fantasy football PPR rankings provide an initial look at how players might be ranked this summer.
Player movement in free agency will significantly impact the rankings, especially at running back. Currently, players expected to be unrestricted free agents are marked as free agents in the team column. This article includes players from the upcoming draft class, including Fernando Mendoza, who is expected to be the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Analysis for the top five players can be found at the bottom of the article. You can also click on the analysis column for one of those five players to jump to the analysis on that player.
Last updated: 5 a.m. Tuesday, January 27
| Rank | Player | Team | Tier | Analysis |
| 1 | Josh Allen | Bills | 1 | Details |
| 2 | Jalen Hurts | Eagles | 2 | Details |
| 3 | Joe Burrow | Bengals | 2 | Details |
| 4 | Lamar Jackson | Ravens | 2 | Details |
| 5 | Drake Maye | Patriots | 2 | Details |
| 6 | Jaxson Dart | Giants | 3 | |
| 7 | Jayden Daniels | Commanders | 3 | |
| 8 | Brock Purdy | 49ers | 4 | |
| 9 | Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | 4 | |
| 10 | Trevor Lawrence | Jaguars | 4 | |
| 11 | Dak Prescott | Cowboys | 4 | |
| 12 | Matthew Stafford | Rams | 4 | |
| 13 | Bo Nix | Broncos | 4 | |
| 14 | Jared Goff | Lions | 4 | |
| 15 | Jordan Love | Packers | 4 | |
| 16 | Justin Herbert | Chargers | 4 | |
| 17 | Caleb Williams | Bears | 4 | |
| 18 | Baker Mayfield | Buccaneers | 4 | |
| 19 | Fernando Mendoza | Rookie | 5 | |
| 20 | Sam Darnold | Seahawks | 5 | |
| 21 | C.J. Stroud | Texans | 5 | |
| 22 | Tyler Shough | Saints | 5 | |
| 23 | Bryce Young | Panthers | 5 | |
| 24 | J.J. McCarthy | Vikings | 5 | |
| 25 | Cam Ward | Titans | 5 | |
| 26 | Daniel Jones | Free Agent | 6 | |
| 27 | Ty Simpson | Rookie | 6 | |
| 28 | Jacoby Brissett | Cardinals | 6 | |
| 29 | Michael Penix Jr. | Falcons | 6 | |
| 30 | Shedeur Sanders | Browns | 6 | |
| 31 | Malik Willis | Free Agent | 6 | |
| 32 | Kyler Murray | Cardinals | 6 | |
| 33 | Anthony Richardson Sr. | Colts | 7 | |
| 34 | Aaron Rodgers | Free Agent | 7 | |
| 35 | Tua Tagovailoa | Dolphins | 7 | |
| 36 | Marcus Mariota | Free Agent | 7 | |
| 37 | Geno Smith | Raiders | 7 | |
| 38 | Mac Jones | 49ers | 7 | |
| 39 | Justin Fields | Jets | 7 | |
| 40 | Jameis Winston | Giants | 7 |
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Allen has ranked among the top three quarterbacks in fantasy points per game each of the last six seasons, making him the most consistent player in fantasy football during that span. He’s stayed healthy throughout this stretch, finishing with at least 3,600 passing yards and 25 touchdowns in each of those seasons. He’s also run for at least 400 yards in every game of his career and has scored at least 12 rushing touchdowns in each of the last three seasons.
His rushing touchdowns have consistently been a mix of plays from the one-yard line and other red-zone runs, although he added a 40-yard touchdown run to his accomplishments this past season. He’s consistently been a better passer than other quarterbacks who are excellent at running and a better runner than the other quarterbacks who are excellent at passing.
The one big concern is that he will be turning 30 years old before the start of the season. While we have seen plenty of quarterbacks remain excellent passers at older ages, it’s been rarer to find great rushers at older ages. There is a chance we see Allen’s rushing decline, particularly with his rushing production.
The good news is that Allen could have an even better season next year. Allen had a career-high in yards per attempt but a career-low in passing attempts per game, resulting in his lowest passing yards per game total since 2019. The Bills became even more run-heavy than in previous seasons. This was partially due to a lack of receiving weapons for Buffalo. While the Bills' cap situation isn’t great this season, the team will likely prioritize one or two new receivers for Allen this offseason.
2. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts has ranked in the top eight in fantasy points per game each of the last five seasons. Josh Allen is the only other one to rank in the top eight all five seasons, while Lamar Jackson has four and Patrick Mahomes has three. This makes Hurts the most consistent quarterback of recent seasons, outside of Allen. Hurts is also the youngest quarterback of the four.
Hurts also stands out because Jackson had a down season, and there will be more uncertainty around Jackson after a change in coaching staff. Mahomes is at risk of losing Travis Kelce.
Hurts notably had a below-average season by his standards in 2025. He posted a career-low 7.1 yards per passing attempt, while his 26.3 rushing yards per game was notably lower than last season and half of his career-high. He also traded a few of his rushing touchdowns for passing touchdowns, which was fine for the Eagles' offense, but not great for fantasy leagues with four points per passing touchdown.
The offense ranked outside the top 10 in PFF team grade for the first time since 2020, and the Eagles scored below the league average in points. Philadelphia’s offense is full of talented players, so ideally, the offense can figure out what was wrong and improve for future seasons. They moved on from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, and ideally, the new offensive coordinator can turn the offense around.
Ultimately, the top two spots come down to the quarterback’s consistent rushing production. There are 20 instances of a quarterback having 80 or more rushing fantasy points in a season over the last five years. Allen and Hurts account for half of those instances, while Jackson was the only starting quarterback to show up multiple times on the list.
3. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow had a slow start to 2025, facing the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 and suffering an injury in Week 2, but he was the QB3 upon his return in Week 13 until Week 18. He was similarly QB3 in 2024.
Unlike other quarterbacks who are consistently drafted high, he doesn’t have the rushing production. He is the one exception to the rule because he’s been the highest graded passer among quarterbacks in the last few seasons, the Bengals have one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league, and Burrow has some of the top wide receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The Bengals have made it clear they aren’t changing coaching staffs this offseason, while Burrow, Chase and Higgins are all under long-term contracts. This means that as long as Burrow stays healthy, he should continue to put up elite fantasy production.
Injury is the big concern around Burrow. He’s missed at least six games in three of his six NFL seasons and has already won Comeback Player of the Year twice. He also played through a calf strain in 2023. His injuries have generally been to different body parts, including a knee, wrist and toe, which have caused him to miss games. Hopefully, that means he’s been unlucky, rather than being prone to a particular kind of injury.
4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Jackson is the most high-risk, high-reward quarterback in the top five. On one hand, he is the only quarterback to ever average 25 fantasy points per game in multiple seasons, both in 2019 and 2024. He’s won the NFL MVP twice and nearly won a third time in 2024.
The problem is that his rushing volume has declined significantly. From 2019-2021, he averaged double-digit rushing attempts per game. That declined to 9.3 in both 2022 and 2023, 8.2 in 2024 and 5.2 in 2025. While we should expect some level of rebound in his rushing production, it shouldn’t be back to his peak levels.
His passing efficiency has remained strong, finishing with over 8.0 yards per attempt in each of the last three seasons, but he was taking sacks at the highest rate of his career, so his passing volume also wasn’t as high as the previous two seasons.
The Ravens decided to move on from their coaching staff, adding Jesse Minter as head coach. It’s unclear who will be the Ravens' offensive coordinator going forward. The Ravens may add a coach who will be more open to Jackson running, particularly at the goal line. The Ravens could undergo significant changes in the offseason, as they have two offensive linemen hitting free agency, as well as three of the top four tight ends and fullbacks, and the top two backup wide receivers.
Jackson is the quarterback most likely to move up or down the rankings among those in the top five, depending on how the offseason goes.
5. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Maye had one of the best sophomore seasons by a quarterback in the last 20 seasons. The only quarterbacks to achieve a 90.0 grade or better in their sophomore season were Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. Maye had the third-highest passing grade and the third-highest rushing grade from that group of five quarterbacks.
This translated to success as a fantasy quarterback, ranking second in total fantasy points by a quarterback and third in fantasy points per game. Typically, someone of Maye’s age and quality of play could be enough to make him the top overall player, and it would be completely understandable if someone were to take Maye first overall. However, there is a little concern for regression.
Typically, the quarterbacks who are most consistently in the top three quarterbacks each season are quarterbacks who are excellent at rushing. From 2022 to 2024, six of the nine quarterbacks to finish in the top three in fantasy points had at least 500 rushing yards, while Maye only had 409. The three exceptions were Patrick Mahomes, Allen in a year with 457 rushing yards but 15 rushing touchdowns, and Joe Burrow. Maye’s rushing production is a major asset to his fantasy production, but it’s entirely possible that one or two quarterbacks who are better at rushing the ball could become better fantasy assets.
Some of Maye’s passing starts are likely to regress. Maye’s 8.9 yards per attempt led the league, and that is very likely to regress. His 6.3% touchdown rate and 1.6% interception rate are also likely to see some regression.
However, one of the biggest points against Maye is his favorable schedule. While it’s true that the majority of teams he faced were among the top 12 in allowing fantasy points to quarterbacks, he had five games against teams in the top eight at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks. He averaged 21.9 fantasy points per game in those matchups, with just one notable bad game against the Buffalo Bills.
There is a chance the Patriots try to make an upgrade at wide receiver, which could raise Maye’s ceiling even higher. If New England makes big enough upgrades, or there are big enough concerns around one of the top four quarterbacks, Maye could move up the list.
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