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Matt Donnelly's fantasy football QB1 sleepers for 2026. His undervalued dark horse quarterbacks to finish inside the top 12 and challenge for the QB1 overall crown.
Never in the history of fantasy football has waiting on a quarterback been a more integral part of roster construction than it is today. Last season, nine quarterbacks produced 300 or more fantasy points, while 12 quarterbacks averaged 18.0-plus fantasy points per game.
While some managers may feel the need to secure a Josh Allen, Drake Maye, or Lamar Jackson-type quarterback, some quarterbacks are going to be available after you’ve locked in your starters at the skill positions. Quarterbacks you are going to draft in the eighth or ninth round who will give you close to the same levels of production and possibly more.
Here are five fantasy signal-callers you can likely select in those mid rounds who have the same sneaky potential to finish as the overall QB1 in fantasy in 2026.
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Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings
With J.J. McCarthy’s early career struggles and the windows to contend for championships smaller than ever in the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings made the move this offseason to add Kyler Murray to their roster to help them contend in the highly competitive NFC North division.
For Murray, it is an opportunity to re-establish himself as one of the premier fantasy football options at the quarterback position.
Murray hasn’t had the kind of talent that he has surrounding him in Minnesota since perhaps the 2020 season, when the then-second-year quarterback had DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, and Kenyan Drake at his disposal.
Upon his arrival in Minnesota, Murray finds himself under center with the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, Aaron Jones Sr., and T.J. Hockenson.
For those who can’t recall, in the 2020 season, Murray completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,971 yards, added 819 rushing yards, and totaled 37 touchdowns, turning the ball over just 13 times. Murray finished that season with 390.7 fantasy points, trailing only Josh Allen while averaging 24.4 fantasy points per game.
Looking back on Murray’s career, and while there has been some inconsistency and some time missed due to injury, especially in recent years, Murray has been a solid fantasy option on a points-per-game basis. Outside of last season, Murray has never finished worse than QB12 in fantasy points per game, dating back to 2019.
Last season was Murray's worst as he averaged just 16.2 fantasy points per game over five contests. However, the last time Murray was healthy, he put up 308.3 fantasy points and averaged 18.2 fantasy points per game (2024).
Over 87 career contests, Murray is averaging 20.06 fantasy points per game. If he were to settle for his career average, that would have positioned him as the QB5 last season behind Trevor Lawrence.
Marvin Harrison Jr. ARE YOU SERIOUS?
TENvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/44RgpWWK5x
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
Murray’s current ADP has him at 102.6, which has him coming off the board in most drafts in the ninth round. Any quarterback after the eighth round is a prime example of a quarterback who you could partner with another late-round option and double your chances of hitting big later on in your drafts.
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Speaking of late-round options, is there a quarterback who gets less respect from the fantasy community than Matthew Stafford? Despite throwing for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns, despite producing the third-most fantasy points last season, and despite winning the NFL MVP, Stafford finds himself, like Murray, being drafted in the ninth round with an ADP of 101.1.
Based on fantasy production, Stafford is anything but sneaky; however, since the fantasy world continues to ignore his achievements, here we are.
Look, Stafford is 38 years old, and that does play a factor, but QB14 is just plain wrong. Perhaps it’s the regression risk that comes with age that has some scared off.
While 46 passing touchdowns looks like a tall task to repeat, and the lack of rushing upside is also a deterrent, Stafford still has Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, along with a defense that will certainly get the ball back to him more often than not.
Over the last three seasons, when looking at adjusted air yards per attempt, only Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff have been more productive than Stafford, who has averaged 7.26 over that period. Only five quarterbacks posted touchdown rates greater than 6%, with Stafford being among that group in 2025, leading the way at 7.7%.
In three playoff contests, Stafford amassed 936 passing yards and six touchdowns, with 374 of those passing yards coming in that NFC Championship loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In fact, Stafford aged like fine wine as the season progressed, accumulating 43 touchdown passes in the final 14 contests (playoffs included) after his worst game of the season against the Ravens.
While regression is the one word most commonly liked by the fantasy community when Stafford's name comes up, Vegas seems to still have a soft spot for the old gunslinger, with many books setting his passing touchdown prop bet at 30.5, the second-highest among his quarterback peers.
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
According to Vegas and the implied touchdown totals, behind Stafford and Joe Burrow comes Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions, last season's unheralded QB8. Like Stafford, despite being a top fantasy option last season, Goff finds himself saddled with an ADP of 116.1 and coming off the board as QB16 in Round 10 of many fantasy drafts.
Since 2022, Goff has been a consistent fantasy staple, finishing as a top-10 quarterback in each of the last four seasons and producing 290 or more fantasy points and throwing for 4,400 passing yards and 29-plus touchdowns in each year.
If you average out those four seasons, you have a quarterback who is averaging 32.5 passing touchdowns and 4,551 passing yards per season. That is definitely a body of work worthy of consideration for overall QB1 potential.
Goff has been one of the more productive touchdown-makers over the last four seasons, but even more impressive has been his ability to protect the ball. Especially last season, when he threw just eight interceptions on 578 passing attempts.
Since 2022, when looking at highly accurate throw rates, only Burrow has been more accurate than Goff, whose throw rate is 47.8% on balls thrown beyond 10 yards through the air.
Cali boys connect for 6️⃣#ProBowlVote | @amonra_stbrown | @JaredGoff16 pic.twitter.com/hQFQkS70In
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 14, 2025
It doesn’t hurt that Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are out there, along with Jahmyr Gibbs. Guess what, the band is back together in 2026, so stop sleeping on Goff.
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
It’s really starting to feel like ageism has taken over all aspects of fantasy football. Now, for dynasty, I get it: managers want young assets with high ceilings who can develop into something more. However, in redraft or season-long leagues, seasoned or “bridge” quarterbacks can offer fantasy managers more for less.
Take Jacoby Brissett, for instance. At 33 years old, Brissett was one of the top fantasy options from Week 6 on. Over the final 12 games of the Cardinals' 2025 campaign, Brissett averaged 19.6 fantasy points per game and produced 235.2 fantasy points, the sixth most. In half of those contests, Brissett surpassed 20 fantasy points.
If you are looking for a sneaky quarterback option to threaten for the overall QB1 crown, I want a player who is capable of finishing inside the top five overall. If you take Brissett's average over those 12 games over the course of a 17-game season, you get 333.2 fantasy points, which would have ranked him third behind Josh Allen and Drake Maye.
Brissett is basically free in fantasy as he and the Cardinals appear distant on contract negotiations. Current ADP suggests Brissett's value is somewhere in the Round 16-17 range in non-superflex formats.
Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
Daniel Jones isn't quite 30 yet, but coming off an Achilles injury has many in the fantasy world looking to avoid the Colts signal-caller in 2026. As we enter draft season, Jones currently finds himself residing in the 12th round with an ADP of 133.2. Perhaps the start of the 2025 season is an outlier, but maybe it’s not.
Jones suffered an Achilles injury in December and, by all accounts, should be ready for Week 1 as HC Shane Steichen said that he expects Jones to participate in 11-on-11 drills when training camp kicks off in July. In 13 contests last season, Jones threw for 3,101 yards and had 19 passing touchdowns while adding five more to that total on the ground.
Jones still has plenty of options in the passing game, including Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren, and Josh Downs. There is also some guy in the backfield, Jonathan Taylor, who commands the respect of opposing defenses.
DANNY DIMES DEEP BALL TO ALEC PIERCE.
ATLvsIND on @NFLNetwork
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/offSgAe7ul— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025
From a fantasy perspective, Jones was averaging 19.4 fantasy points per game before suffering the injury in Week 14. Like Brissett, when averaging that production out over the course of 17 games, you have a quarterback capable of producing 330 or more fantasy points and finishing inside the top five overall.
From there, all you need is an injury or two to occur, and that overall QB1 can be yours. Allen was the top-producing quarterback in fantasy last season, accumulating 374.6.
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