The fantasy football season is right around the corner. Once we enter July, a lot of leagues begin having their fantasy drafts, but even if yours isn’t coming up soon, this is the time of year when you start doing your research and finding some players you want to target in the draft.

Over the next few weeks, we at EssentiallySports will be hitting on everything fantasy football. From position rankings to players with the easiest/hardest schedule to fantasy mock drafts, we’ll have it all covered for you.

And to kick it all off, we’re going to start with one of the most important positions in fantasy football: quarterback.

1. Josh Allen

Is there any other choice for QB1 other than Josh Allen? The Buffalo Bills QB1 has been the best fantasy quarterback over the past six seasons, and it’s not even close. Since 2020, Allen has finished as the QB1 four times and QB2 twice, scoring over 400 points three times. On top of that, he hasn’t missed a single game since his rookie season. He’s durable, but he also scores a whole lot of points. Easy pick for the top quarterback in fantasy this year.

2. Drake Maye

In his second year in the league, Drake Maye finished as the QB2 behind Allen after throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns with 450 yards and four scores as a runner. While his schedule is much harder this year than it was last year, the New England Patriots added A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs to the mix, which should only make their offense better. I don’t see Maye regressing this year.

3. Lamar Jackson

When Lamar Jackson is healthy, he’s always going to be a top-three fantasy quarterback. But the question is, is he going to be healthy? In seven full seasons, Jackson has played 14+ games four times, and in those four seasons, he’s finished as the QB10, QB4, QB1, and QB1. He’s worthy of an early pick, but you are taking a bit of a gamble if you select him.

4. Joe Burrow

Another injury-prone quarterback comes in at No. 4 on this list. Much like Jackson, when Joe Burrow is healthy, he puts up huge numbers. In six full seasons as the starter, he’s played 16+ games three times and has never finished worse than the QB7, but he’s also missed 7+ games three times. He’s another risk, but if he’s healthy, it will 100 percent pay off.

5. Jayden Daniels

Jayden Daniels finished as the QB34 last year after playing just seven games, but everyone forgets how special his rookie season was. He didn’t have a lot of playmakers on offense, but he still put up over 4,500 total yards and 31 total touchdowns while finishing as the QB5. You want your quarterback to have some sort of rushing upside in fantasy, and the only other quarterback in the league with as much upside as Daniels with his legs is Lamar Jackson.

6. Matthew Stafford

I just talked about how you want rushing upside with your quarterback in fantasy, but Matthew Stafford is going to put up huge numbers through the air, so it won’t really matter. Despite having a total of 29 rushing yards and one touchdown last year, Stafford was the QB3 in fantasy. I don’t know if he throws for 4,700 yards and 46 touchdowns again, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s good enough to be a top-six QB.

7. Jalen Hurts

Is Jalen Hurts a top-10 quarterback in the NFL? No, but for fantasy, he absolutely is. Hurts has rushed for 600+ yards and 10+ touchdowns in four of his last five seasons, finishing as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in all of them. The Philadelphia Eagles have built their offense around letting Hurts run, and in fantasy, rushing is far more valuable than passing. He deserves to be a top-10 quarterback in fantasy again this year.

8. Dak Prescott

Dak Prescott doesn’t offer a lot with his legs, but he’s such a high-volume passer that it’s hard to keep him outside of the top-10. In his last three fully healthy seasons, Prescott has finished as the QB8, QB6, and QB3, but he has missed at least five games in three of his last six seasons. It’s also worth noting that every even year (2020, 2022, 2024), he’s gotten hurt, while every odd year (2021, 2023, 2025), he’s been healthy. Do with that information as you will, but if he’s healthy, he’s a top-10 QB every year.

9. Caleb Williams

After a somewhat disappointing rookie season, Caleb Williams bounced back in 2025, throwing for 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns with 383 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, making him QB5 in 2025. The Chicago Bears lost D.J. Moore this offseason, but with Ben Johnson calling plays and the emergence of Luther Burden III, I’m not too worried about it. The Madden curse does scare me a bit, but there’s no real reason to believe Williams can’t be a top-10, maybe even top-five, fantasy QB again this year.

10. Jared Goff

Did you know that over the last four years, Jared Goff has more passing yards than any quarterback in the NFL? And that he’s thrown for 4,000+ yards and 29+ touchdowns in each of those seasons? He doesn’t offer anything as a runner, but he’s still managed to finish as the QB10, QB9, QB7, and QB6 the last four seasons. The Detroit Lions’ offense should be just as good as it’s been the past few years, so unless he gets hurt, Goff should be a top-10 fantasy QB once again.

11. Trevor Lawrence

After one top-10 fantasy finish over his first four seasons, Trevor Lawrence finished as the QB4 in his first year with Liam Coen as head coach. This was largely due to Lawrence having his best season as a rusher, totaling 359 yards and nine scores on the ground, but he also had his best season as a passer with 4,007 yards and 29 scores. I do think the Jacksonville Jaguars will take a step back this year, and that includes Lawrence, but he should still be a very viable fantasy option.

12. Bo Nix

Bo Nix has finished as the QB7 in each of his first two seasons, and his offense only got better with the addition of Jaylen Waddle. So why do I have him in 12th? Well, he’s benefited from some big names suffering injuries the last two years, and I’m a bit worried about his ankle. I know all reports are that he’s doing well, but if it really was inevitable that he was going to break it, why should I believe it’s not going to happen again? You could move him up a couple of places on this list, but I wouldn’t have him any higher than No. 10.

13. Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes is a tough one. He was a fantastic fantasy quarterback through the first six years of his career, but over the last three years, he’s finished as the QB8 or worse. He doesn’t have reliable wide receiver play outside of Rashee Rice, but he’s always hurt or in some sort of legal trouble, and Travis Kelce is only getting older. Maybe the threat of Kenneth Walker can open some things up in the passing game, but coming off a torn ACL, it doesn’t feel like Mahomes is in store for a major year.

14. Justin Herbert

15. Tyler Shough

Tyler Shough was the starter for nine games last season and averaged 17.4 points per game, but when you average his final six games, once he really got settled in, that number jumps to 20.1 PPG, which over a 17-game season would be approximately 341 points, which would’ve made him the QB5 in fantasy football. And this offseason, his offense got so much better with the addition of Jordyn Tyson and Travis Etienne. I’m still holding back because sophomore slumps are real, but he could be one of the biggest fantasy sleepers this year.

16. Jaxson Dart

If you average out Jaxson Dart’s 12 games, he averaged 20.4 fantasy points per game, putting him right on par with Tyler Shough’s average late in the season. He also would’ve been on pace for a QB5 finish had he played the entire season, but like with Shough, I’m holding back a bit. Sophomore slumps are real, and I don’t love his situation, especially if Malik Nabers misses significant time. He’s another big fantasy sleeper this year, though.

17. Brock Purdy

In 2023, Brock Purdy finished as the QB6 while rushing for just 144 yards. The following year, he was QB14, but missed some time and averaged nearly 19 fantasy points per game. He once again missed time in 2025, but when he was on the field, he averaged 20.7 PPG, which would’ve put him right up there with Trevor Lawrence for the QB4 spot. Injuries are obviously a concern with Purdy, but if he can stay healthy for a full year, he’ll finish much better than the QB17.

18. Jordan Love

Jordan Love had a really strong 2023 campaign where he finished as the fantasy QB6, but since then, he’s followed it up by finishing as the QB17 in 2024 and QB15 in 2025. He missed two games in each of those years, but he still hasn’t been great fantasy-wise when he’s on the field. I don’t think Green Bay’s offense got better this offseason – in fact I think it got worse – so there’s no reason to believe he’ll be any better than the QB15 this year.

19. Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield is in that same tier as Jordan Love. He can play some really good football, but even when he’s playing well, he’s still not going to be a top-10 fantasy quarterback. Last year, during Mayfield’s six-week MVP run at the start of the year, he still averaged just 20.3 PPG. That’s not bad whatsoever, but if that’s his peak, is he really worth a high pick in fantasy?

20. Kyler Murray

I’m only putting Kyler Murray on here because of his upside. Do I think he’ll end up as a top-20 fantasy QB? Probably not, he might not even win the starting job. But if he does play all 17 games and has a receiver like Justin Jefferson, given what he can do with his legs, he has some upside to him. He won’t be a reliable starter, but he could have some big games.