Superflex Quarterback Fantasy Football Sleepers: Backup QB2s to Stash

August 25, 2026

Aidin's fantasy football backup quarterbacks to stash in Superflex leagues. His top QB2s to draft and stash, including J.J. McCarthy, Joe Flacco, and more.

We're now done with the third week of preseason, and the regular season is getting even closer. Some teams, such as the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders, haven't named their starting quarterback yet, but it feels like there aren't as many QB1 battles as usual this year.

This means that the backup QB landscape is pretty stable for now, and we have a fair share of talented backups to choose from in fantasy leagues. While you'll look to the waiver wire for backups when your starter gets hurt in most normal leagues, in superflex leagues, quarterbacks are the most important position. It won't hurt to go after four QBs in superflex, with two established starters and two backups if the starters end up getting injured.

Without further ado, here are five QB2s to target and stash in 2026 fantasy football leagues. Since the Browns, Raiders, and Falcons haven't named a starter as of August 23, none of their QBs will feature.

Joe Flacco - Cincinnati Bengals

Beware of an old man in a profession where men die young. Joe Flacco made his NFL debut at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, and has lasted long enough to play through six separate U.S. presidential terms.

JOESEPH VINCENT FLACCO.

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— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025

He won a Super Bowl MVP, earned a briefly record-breaking $120.6 million extension, became a journeyman backup, and even had a renaissance with the Browns in 2023, winning Comeback Player of the Year.

His return to Cleveland in 2025 wasn't as successful, as he threw six interceptions to just two touchdowns in four games. However, we saw the good gunslinger side of Flacco again when he was traded to the Bengals.

In his first four starts as a Bengal, Flacco posted an incredible 101.8 fantasy points, making him the overall QB2 during that span. Overall, he finished as the QB9 in his six games as the Bengals' starter.

Flacco's 41.7 pass attempts per game ensured plenty of yards and production despite his low yards per attempt (6.5) and completion percentage (61.6).

Flacco re-signed with the Bengals this year, and we all know about Joe Burrow's durability, or lack thereof. Cincinnati's QB1 has missed 31.4% of his team's games over the last three seasons and has only finished three seasons with more than 10 games played.

Flacco has already produced well in this system with this set of players, and should Burrow miss time, which is far from unlikely, the 41-year-old will be back to putting up high-volume numbers.

J.J. McCarthy - Minnesota Vikings

Perhaps the most scrutinized and ridiculed quarterback, or even player, in the NFL today, J.J. McCarthy is having a nightmarish start to his young career.

He tore his meniscus months after winning the National Championship at Michigan and being drafted 10th overall by the Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft, causing him to miss the entire 2024 season.

His NFL debut went great, as he threw for two touchdowns, ran for another, and accumulated 23.2 fantasy points. However, he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2 and threw four touchdowns to just seven interceptions in his first four games back.

However, most forget how McCarthy ended the season. He accounted for seven total touchdowns to three turnovers with an impressive 100.4 passer rating in his last four games of the year, all wins.

The high ankle sprain wasn't the only ailment McCarthy had to deal with in 2025, as he also missed time due to a concussion and a hand injury, not to mention the mental toll of returning from the previous season's meniscus tear.

New addition Kyler Murray was named as the team's new starter ahead of McCarthy in 2026, as the Vikings want to "win now." However, Murray has averaged just 6.6 yards per attempt over his last four seasons and hasn't led a WR to a 1,000-yard season since DeAndre Hopkins in 2020, which is of the utmost importance to Justin Jefferson.

Most assume Murray will be "rehabilitated" by Kevin O'Connell similar to Sam Darnold, but Darnold showed he could be an eventual Pro Bowler in his last eight games as a starter before joining Minnesota.

Murray hasn't shown that level of form since the first half of the 2021 season, and the likelihood of him flaming out and McCarthy taking over late in the year is higher than you think.

Mac Jones - San Francisco 49ers

Speaking of Darnold, he perhaps got his final "polish" to become a star quarterback during his one-year stint as the 49ers' QB2 in 2023.

Mac Jones threads the needle to De'Zhaun Stribling 🪡

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Kyle Shanahan does have a better track record with QBs (Robert Griffin III, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Brock Purdy, who, lest we forget, was the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft) than Kevin O'Connell, after all.

Mac Jones is very similar to Darnold. Both were first-round picks by AFC East teams, both flamed out after three years, and both entered their sixth NFL season as Purdy's backup.

Jones started eight games last year, throwing for 13 touchdowns and six interceptions with a 97.4 passer rating while also averaging 17.2 fantasy points per game.

Jones' poise turned him into a trade target for many teams, but San Francisco's reported asking price of "a second-round pick plus more," per The Athletic's Zack Blatt, caused those teams to back off.

Still, teams get more desperate around mid-season, and there's a good chance some team will cough up an SRP if their starter goes down. Even if that doesn't happen, it's not like the 49ers are not immune to injury crises (looking at you, mysterious and evil electrical substation).

Either way, there's a good chance Jones will see solid playing time this year, and there's no reason to think that he can't produce.

Jameis Winston - New York Giants

Not all highly-drafted quarterbacks get to have a redemption arc like Darnold or Baker Mayfield. Just ask Jameis Winston, who never managed to redeem himself after failing to live up to expectations as a former first overall pick.

Maybe Winston was too volatile on (and off) the field to be molded into a star quarterback. However, he still provides entertainment and plenty of volume wherever he goes.

Winston is now the Giants' undisputed QB2 following Russell Wilson's retirement, and given Jaxson Dart's style of play, which led to plenty of injuries last season, Winston will have a good chance of playing this year.

One of the last players of the "I don't care, I'm gonna sling it" mold, Winston has thrown for 4,374 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions in his last 17 starts.

He averaged 18.1 fantasy points in those games, and scored 44.3 points (45.3 PPR points, due to his receiving touchdown in Week 12) in his two games as the Giants' starter last year. Relying on Winston won't be pretty, but it'll be fun!

Tanner McKee - Philadelphia Eagles

Easily the most unknown player on this list, Tanner McKee is the only QB here who wasn't drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft. In fact, he was drafted 188th overall by the Eagles in 2023.

Brittain Covey gives the Eagles the lead 🦅

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McKee didn't play in his rookie year, but he threw four touchdowns to zero interceptions in the final two games of the 2024 regular season and was part of the Eagles' Super Bowl-winning squad.

This led to rumors that Philadelphia was asking for at least a second-round pick to trade McKee, which seemed ludicrous for a player who had only played 89 snaps up to that point.

His cameos in the 2025 season didn't go as well as they did in 2024, but he is still considered a valuable member of the organization. McKee had a phenomenal outing against the Patriots in this preseason, throwing for two touchdowns and a sparkling 125.8 passer rating.

Per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Reuben Frank, HC Nick Sirianni was pleased with McKee's performance, though he still hasn't named him as the QB2 over Andy Dalton.

Dalton had a poor performance in that same Patriots game, and due to his age, it's hard to see McKee not being prioritized if anything were to happen to QB1 Jalen Hurts.

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