NFL Best Ball Fantasy Football: Quarterback Review And 2026 Rankings

NFL Best Ball Rewind: Fantasy Football Quarterbacks

Before we look ahead to the 2026 NFL best ball season, it's important to reflect on 2025 and see which lessons from this past season are applicable to our draft strategy next season. We'll start at the top with a look back at quarterback performance from 2025. We will look at draft season ADP vs year-end ranking to see where the best ball market was right, and where it was wrong. 

After all, if we can't identify our mistakes, how can we learn from them?

Using our best ball ADP data and comparing it to end-of-season fantasy stats, I created the table below to show how drafters approached the position and how the quarterbacks performed relative to ADP. 

Be sure to bookmark the RotoWire Draft Kit for the 2026 season, featuring great tools like the mock draft simulator and more. You can get started on your 2026 research with our fantasy football rankings and fantasy football projections.

I tried my hand at making a visual for that table above, showing where guys were drafted (X-Axis) and where they ended up in the year-end rankings (Y-Axis). Data science folks, please don't yell at me. I'm learning.

As you can see, it was a great year to wait on QB. The group after Josh Allen struggled to return value for their drafters. The sweet spot started around "The Dak Prescott Zone" and if you drafted from that bucket, which included Prescott, Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, Jared Goff, Trevor Lawrence, or Matthew Stafford, you were happy. 

Note: Kyler Murray was in that bucket as well and obviously didn't pan out, but there was likely a decent chance that if you took him as your QB1, you probably double-tapped with another QB from this tier.

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It's important to note that this chart is for the entire season, so some guys may be artificially deflated due to missed time. Brock Purdy (QB10 in ADP), who was in the winning Best Ball Mania lineup this year, only finished as QB17. With that, let's see which quarterbacks peaked at the right time.

The point of this chart is to display the best quarterbacks during the money part of the season (final week of the fantasy regular season, Week 13, through Week 17) and compare that to where they were drafted. 

The best quarterbacks when it counted all could have been had at pick 100 or later, other than Allen, Burrow and Nix. The Burrow detail is interesting in that if you were able to survive his absence and get into the playoffs, it still kind of worked out for you. Of course, the problem was that only 8.7% of Burrow teams advanced in BBMVI.

Best Quarterback Picks from 2025

Josh Allen (QB ADP: 1; Final Rank: 1; Playoffs Rank: 5)

Lesson: Premium Quarterback Strategy Can Work

Pretty obvious answer here. Drafters dubbed Allen as the best fantasy quarterback going into this season, and they were proven correct. He finished with 425.3 fantasy points. Taking a quarterback or a tight end with primo draft capital can be extremely damaging to your roster if you don't get it right. Just ask anyone who drafted Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, or Brock Bowers. 

Allen's wire-to-wire fantasy dominance made his investors happy. He had at least 17 fantasy points in 14 games and at least 20 fantasy points in 12 games. Allen also gave you huge spike weeks with three games of at least 37 fantasy points. 

Per bbmdb.com,  Best Ball Mania VI teams that drafted Allen had a substantial 24.6% advance rate.

We can expect Allen to be the top-drafted quarterback again in 2026. He'll only be 30 years old with plenty of rushing upside and arguably the best goal-line usage projection of any quarterback. His 13 rushing touchdowns inside the red zone trailed only Jonathan Taylor. He continues to evolve as a passer, too, and should have a better supporting cast of pass-catchers in 2026. 

My 2026 Rank: QB1

Trevor Lawrence (QB ADP: 16; Final Rank: QB4; Playoffs Rank: 2)

Lesson: Bet on pedigree, upside and development

Lawrence was a savior for those who waited on quarterback.  With his hair, maybe it should have been obvious he would save us, and we just didn't pay close enough attention.

The market was hesitant about Lawrence for a couple of reasons. For one, hype fatigue was starting to set in, even for a guy entering his age-25 season. Lawrence looked like he might be the guy in his second season (2022), but the two frustrating seasons that followed turned some drafters off. Fool me once...

There was also the question of how Lawrence would mesh with the new offense. We probably should have taken it for granted that it couldn't be any worse than what it was under Doug Pederson and Press Taylor, but we still didn't know if Lawrence himself was ever truly going to figure it out. Obviously, he did. 

Lawrence finished as QB4, throwing for a career-high 29 touchdowns while also leveraging his athleticism into career-best rushing outputs (359 yards, nine rushing touchdowns). Doing this while Brian Thomas Jr. fell off a cliff and No.2 overall pick, Travis Hunter, did next to nothing on offense was pretty remarkable. Lawrence's numbers could have been even better if not for the 34 drops from his teammates, which ranked third in the league.

Lawrence really took off once Jacksonville traded for Jakobi Meyers. From Week 10 to Week 17, Lawrence was QB1 with 26.8 fantasy points per game. 

I think Lawrence's performance will stabilize from here, and I value him as a Top 5 quarterback in best ball next season. Where that puts him in the ADP, I don't know yet. The QB ADP should have a drastically different shape after so many early-round busts.

My 2026 QB Rank: QB5

Brock Purdy (QB ADP 10; Final Rank: QB 17; Playoffs Rank: 1)

Lesson: Be Bullish on the Elite Offensive Environments

Purdy's 2025 is a tough case to unpack. He was QB5 in 2024 and dang near won MVP the year prior. The expected loadout of weaponry was elite, too, with Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall all seemingly primed for big years during draft season. Plus, there was the added bonus of running the Kyle Shanahan system, which prints points for quarterbacks.

Despite all the positive tailwinds working in his favor, drafters remained somewhat skeptical on taking Purdy high. He settled in as QB10 during draft season with an ADP of 102, sandwiched right between Dak Prescott and Drake Maye. 

Purdy's season got off on the wrong foot when he suffered a turf toe injury in the season opener. He rushed back in Week 4 and missed the following six games after aggravating that injury. Once Purdy returned, he was terrific. From Week 13 to Week 17, Purdy had outputs of 17.1 (at Cleveland), 27.2 (vs. TEN), 31.9 (@ IND), and the memorable 40.9 he posted against the Bears on Sunday Night Football in Week 17.

My 2026 QB Rank: QB11

Worst Quarterback Picks from 2025

Bad is a relative term in fantasy, and it takes on different forms. It usually boils down to injury or poor performance relative to expectation. Injury can be particularly tough to survive in best ball because there's no in-season management. And if you take one of the premier quarterbacks in the top six rounds, you're likely waiting a while to take your QB2. 

Therefore, if you ended up on the Lamar Jackson/Joe Burrow/Jayden Daniels end of the elite QB spectrum and not the Allen one, your margin for error was razor-thin. You needed one of Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye, Trevor Lawrence, Brock Purdy or Jared Goff to have a chance. That sounds like it was easy to pull off in hindsight, but we can't count on the QB ADP having the same shape next year.

So, injury derailed the season for Jackson and Daniels. Burrow was able to recoup some value once he returned on Thanksgiving. Guys like Patrick Mahomes (pre-injury), Baker Mayfield and Bo Nix basically gave you what you signed up for at ADP.

Looking year over year, drafters still value the elite quarterbacks in the first 40 or so picks. The cast of characters changes, but the sentiment remains that there's a cluster of elite fantasy quarterbacks who are worth spending high draft capital on.

2025 drafters were more willing to wait on the next tier, with only Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes going between pick 50 and pick 80 on average. 2024's shape had more quarterbacks reliably going each round through the first nine rounds or so; there wasn't a huge gap between QB5 and QB10 in terms of ADP. 

What will 2026 hold in terms of the quarterback ADP? 

2026 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings

Here's my first stab at quarterback rankings for next year. I can't quite forecast where these guys will land in the overall ADP. I do have some loose ideas, though.

• Josh Allen: QB1. Should settle in as an early-to-mid 3rd rounder.
• Drake Maye: Turned potential into production in 2025 under Josh McDaniels. The Patriots' offensive line should take a step forward next year and I'd imagine the supporting cast of pass-catchers will be better, too.
• Lamar Jackson: Jackson's league-winning upside is still there. There are a lot of things to sort out this offseason: new head coach, new offensive coordinator and key free agents. Maybe the market will be concerned with the new offense, depending on the hire, or worried about Jackson's lack of rushing production this past year. If he settles in as a fifth-rounder or something, he's a no-brainer pick.  
• Justin Herbert: To quote Ricky from Trailer Park Boys, this year was Worst Case Ontario for the Chargers' injuries on offense. The line was in shambles by the time we got to the playoffs. Omarion Hampton missed a ton of time and wasn't himself when he returned. Greg Roman was designing the offense. Herbert was still QB9 despite all of that. He has a top-5 fantasy season in him, and I think it comes in 2026.
• Trevor Lawrence: It was tough to rank Herbert and Lawrence. I give Herbert the slight edge, but I'll be happy drafting either this coming season.
• Joe Burrow: I can't tell if this is low or high on Burrow. What I do know is that a full season from Burrow would project for some of the best passing numbers in the league. That's worth the cost, wherever it ends up settling in. Of course, Burrow's injury history will necessitate emphasizing a good backup plan with your QB2. 
• Jaxson Dart: It's easy to fall in love with the rushing upside with Dart, and he'll also be getting a real head coach (we think). Getting Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo back will help the offense, too. I just can't quite get over the rough elements of Dart's passing, at least to the point where I'm ranking him any higher than this right now.
• Caleb Williams: It was a little up-and-down with Williams this year, and it raised some doubts that things weren't going to click for him at this level, considering his rookie year. Those concerns are gone now, and it looks like his fit in the Ben Johnson system with these weapons will make Williams a surefire Top 10 fantasy QB in 2026 and beyond. A crazy playoff run could juice his ADP even further ahead of some of these quarterbacks I currently have ranked ahead of him.
• Dak Prescott: There's something to be said for Prescott's bankable production. He doesn't run like he did early in his career, but that's been the case since 2021. What you know you'll get out of Prescott is league-leading passing volume with 30+ pass touchdown potential, provided he stays healthy. George Pickens returning would certainly help Prescott's case as a Top 10 fantasy quarterback for 2026.
• Jayden Daniels: It was the season from hell for Daniels and the Commanders, going from NFC runner-up to the No.7 pick in the 2026 draft. This year raised some eyebrows about Daniels' durability, sure. That said, we can't forget how good he looked as a rookie. There's still enough around Daniels to give him a strong supporting cast. Washington having $76M in cap space will help solidify things around its franchise QB.