Best Ball Quarterback Rankings and Tiers

September 1, 2019

RotoBaller's updated quarterback rankings and tiers for 2019 fantasy football best ball drafts. Pierre Camus analyzes key QBs to draft for best ball formats.

Best-ball drafts are winding down as the NFL season approaches. On the cusp of the biggest draft weekend of the year, we continue with our recently updated rankings and tiers by position.

Quarterback is a different beast altogether in best-ball compared to typical redraft leagues. In many 10 or 12-team redraft leagues, you can get away with drafting one QB and/or streaming the position outright. That's simply not possible in best-ball formats, with a minimum of two quarterbacks needed to cover bye weeks and possible injuries. On the other hand, going overboard by selecting more than three QBs could actually hurt your roster construction. Unless you are in an ultra-competitive FFPC Satellite League with a 28-round draft!

As always, we will keep updating our rankings in all formats during the final days of draft season; you can find the latest rankings right here.

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Updated Quarterback Rankings - Best Ball

Tier 1  

As much as we preach not reaching too high on a QB, Mahomes remain in a tier of his own as the only one at his position ranked within the top 50 overall. He stands above the rest of the crowd because his big-game potential outshines the rest. In his first season as the starter, Mahomes posted 10 games of 300 or more passing yards (he fell five yards short in another) and 10 games of at least three touchdowns. He also chipped in a pair of rushing TDs and 272 rushing yards, good for 11th among all QBs. If you do take Mahomes early, you could reason that you are adding an extra RB or WR by the fact you should only need one backup QB the rest of the draft.

Tier 2

Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson are obvious names to find next but sandwiched firmly between Rodgers at #60 and Russell Wilson at #80 is Baker Mayfield at 70. He makes the cut for this tier as a likely fifth or sixth-round draft pick by our account. Many are tantalized with his arm talent and newfound supporting cast; you can count me among that crowd. He completely nearly 64% of his passes as a rookie before the arrival of Odell Beckham. With a coach that fully supports him and enough swagger to carry the team by himself, Mayfield's inflated (and still rising) price is the only reason to be wary.

Mayfield is currently being drafted as the QB5 in FFPC Best-Ball leagues with an ADP of 78. We are slightly more bullish on him as the QB4 so if you want to pull the trigger on a passer early but not at the cost of a third-round pick as Mahomes would cost, this might be your next best option.

Tier 3

DangerRuss Wilson isn't being taken inside the top 100 overall picks in recent FFPC Best-Ball leagues and is down to QB10. The Seahawks did run the ball more often than any team last year, so that coupled with the retirement of Doug Baldwin has cooled drafters to the thought of making him their top passer. We aren't so pessimistic, as he is one of the most accurate passers around, completing 65.6% of his passes last year. Even on a run-heavy offense, he found a way to toss 35 TD after throwing for 34 scores the year before. If you have foregone the first two tiers and see Wilson available after pick 100, don't hesitate to pounce. Don't forget, he has never missed a game in seven NFL seasons. In 16-team leagues, owning Wilson means you only need one backup QB.

Jameis Winston's once-tarnished star is on the rise again. His ADP hasn't caught up in best-ball yet, as he isn't a top-12 quarterback in FFPC drafts. This is surprising because a solid backup can erase any concerns over his multi-pick performances. Those start/sit decisions and clunkers won't cost you like they would in other formats. His ceiling makes him well worth a selection as long as you go conservative with your next QB in the following rounds.

Tier 4

The elephant in the room is Kyler Murray, who we have ranked 100 overall as the QB11. High stakes players must be enamored with his upside because he is being taken seventh at the position, ahead of Russ Wilson, Cam Newton, and Drew Brees. I get it - there are going to be those boom games, long touchdown runs, and highlight-reel bombs on occasion. I have the feeling there will be just as many games where he throws a pair of interceptions and/or fails to lead his team to the end zone. Sure, the risk is mitigated in this format but I think some of us are getting carried away with the idea of him running wild over NFL defenses. It might happen but probably not in year one.

Tier 5

Tier 6

Tier 7 and beyond

I'll admit my favorite late-round backup QB or third QB if I've waited on the position is Joe Flacco. He's got a number of young, talented receivers and a reliable pass-catching back in Phillip Lindsay. He wore out his welcome in Baltimore, as the team wanted to focus on a ground-and-pound offense with new QB Lamar Jackson. He could get the chance to air it out once more to Emmanuel Sanders, who is fully healed somehow, along with Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, and others.

These rankings were published just days before Andrew Luck's retirement. While you won't see his name here, you also don't see Jacoby Brissett high enough. He's an ideal late best-ball target because he will have enough moments to be worth rostering.

Nick Foles won't be asked to throw it nearly as often in Jacksonville, so don't consider him more than a third quarterback to hedge your bet if you waited past the first 12 passers to grab one. The best reason to have optimism about Foles is that there is no viable threat behind him in terms of a QB of the future. As long as he avoids injury, he could play a full 16 games this season.

You want a real dart throw? Try unranked and mostly undrafted Ryan Tannehill. It's becoming obvious that the Marcus Mariota era is nearing an end. He's had his share of injuries too, so it's very likely Tannehill sees action at some point this season. With a third-year potential breakout by Corey Davis, the return of Delanie Walker, and the addition of dynamic A.J. Brown in the draft, Tannehill could put together a couple of decent games. Of course, his selection is ideal in a 28-round league such as FFPC Best-Ball formats rather than shallower leagues.

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