Fantasy Football 'Way Too Early' 2026 Quarterback Rankings: FFT predicts the top-12 QBs for 2026
It's never too early to start thinking about your 2026 Fantasy drafts
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4 min read
It's never too early to look ahead, and we're already starting to plan for the 2026 Fantasy season. That's right, it's not even the Super Bowl yet, but we're already getting ready for the next Fantasy campaign.
With that in mind, here is the first look at our early 2026 quarterback rankings. We're well aware that a lot could change with free agency and the NFL Draft.
But based on what just happened with the 2025 season, as well as what we think could happen this offseason, here are the top 12 quarterback rankings for 2026 from members of our CBS Sports staff.
Jamey Eisenberg
1. Josh Allen
2. Joe Burrow
3. Drake Maye
6. Jaxson Dart
7. Brock Purdy
8. Jalen Hurts
10. Dak Prescott
11. Caleb Williams
12. Trevor Lawrence
What stood out: Jacob and I are the only ones who ranked Lawrence in the top 12, and he had an amazing season in his first year with coach Liam Coen. He closed the season with at least 23.1 Fantasy points in each of his final seven games, including 54.3 points in Week 15 and 37.2 points in Week 16. Two things that stood out to Lawrence are that he accomplished this while Brian Thomas Jr. had a down season, and rookie Travis Hunter (knee) was lost for the year after Week 7. And he set career highs in rushing yards (348) and rushing touchdowns (nine). Lawrence will be a steal on Draft Day in 2026.
Adam Aizer
1. Josh Allen
2. Joe Burrow
3. Lamar Jacson
4. Drake Maye
5. Jayden Daniels
6. Jalen Hurts
7. Dak Prescott
8. Caleb Williams
9. Jaxson Dart
10. Brock Purdy
11. Patrick Mahomes
12. Matthew Stafford
What stood out: Adam was the only one who had Mahomes ranked in his top 12, and it will be interesting to see where he gets drafted in 2026 coming off the knee injury he sustained in Week 15. Mahomes, who had surgery to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee, is hopeful to be ready for Week 1. But can he return to his previous form right away? In 2025, Mahomes averaged 23.6 Fantasy points per game, which was his best season since 2022. Mahomes will hopefully have a healthy Rashee Rice for the entire year, but we'll see if Travis Kelce decides to retire. And it would be nice if Kansas City has an improved offensive line and run game. I probably won't draft Mahomes as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback, but Adam is confident in Mahomes as a starter heading into 2026.
Heath Cummings
1. Josh Allen
2. Drake Maye
3. Jalen Hurts
4. Matthew Stafford
5. Lamar Jackson
6. Joe Burrow
7. Dak Prescott
8. Jayden Daniels
9. Jared Goff
10. Jaxson Dart
11. Caleb Williams
12. Brock Purdy
What stood out: Heath is the highest on Stafford, who averaged 23.9 Fantasy points per game, which was his best season since 2021. Jacob and Dan don't have Stafford in their top 12, and he will be fascinating to debate all offseason after his incredible 2025 performance. Stafford turns 38 in February, which isn't ideal. But in one season with Davante Adams joining Puka Nacua -- and Stafford staying healthy -- he had an incredible campaign that is hard to ignore. We'll see what happens this offseason with the Rams, but aside from Heath, we all might have Stafford too low if he can come close to repeating what he accomplished in 2025 once again in 2026.
Jacob Gibbs
1. Josh Allen
2. Drake Maye
3. Lamar Jackson
4. Jayden Daniels
5. Jaxson Dart
7. Jalen Hurts
8. Trevor Lawrence
9. Caleb Williams
10. Joe Burrow
11. Dak Prescott
12. Brock Purdy
What stood out: Jacob is the lowest on Burrow, who was limited to eight games in 2025 due to a toe injury. He has now played 10 games or fewer in two of the past three seasons, and it's understandable if anyone has injury concerns about Burrow. That said, when healthy, he's a star. He scored at least 23.2 Fantasy points in five of his final six games, and he averaged 26.9 Fantasy points per game in 2024 when he played the entire season. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are arguably the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, and Burrow will likely continue to be in plenty of shootouts due to Cincinnati's defense. While Jacob would like to wait on Burrow based on his ranking, everyone else has him in the top six.
Dave Richard
1. Josh Allen
2. Drake Maye
3. Joe Burrow
4. Jaxson Dart
5. Jayden Daniels
6. Lamar Jackson
7. Caleb Williams
8. Dak Prescott
9. Jalen Hurts
10. Matthew Stafford
11. Brock Purdy
12. Justin Herbert
What stood out: Dave is the highest on Dart, who had an impressive rookie season and scored at least 21.4 Fantasy points in nine of 12 starts. There's a lot to love about Dart, who will get Malik Nabers (knee) back next season and hopefully another addition to the receiving corps, although Wan'Dale Robinson could leave as a free agent. The biggest question mark is who will be the head coach for the Giants, but we love that Dart is one of the best running quarterbacks with nine rushing touchdowns, which was second to only Allen (14). And his 455 rushing yards through Week 17 was third behind only Allen and Herbert. Dart should be a star in 2026.
Dan Schneier
1. Josh Allen
2. Lamar Jackson
3. Jayden Daniels
4. Joe Burrow
5. Jalen Hurts
6. Drake Maye
7. Brock Purdy
8. Trevor Lawrence
9. Caleb Williams
10. Jaxson Dart
11. Dak Prescott
12. Justin Herbert
What stood out: Dan is the only one who doesn't have Maye in his top five, and I'd be surprised if he's not a top-five quarterback in Average Draft Position in 2026. Maye had a breakout season in 2025 when he averaged 23.3 Fantasy points per game. He was one of six quarterbacks with at least 4,000 passing yards and one of four quarterbacks with at least 30 passing touchdowns. Maye was also fourth in rushing yards with 450, and he scored four rushing touchdowns. The Patriots will hopefully enhance their receiving corps this offseason, and it wouldn't surprise me if Maye challenged to be the No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in 2026. Dan has a solid top five at quarterback, but the only guys I would consider drafting ahead of Maye as of now are Allen and Burrow.
