first ever fantasy football rankings: quarterbacks

QB Rankings

Rank	Name
1	Lamar Jackson
2	Joe Burrow
3	Josh Allen
4	Jared Goff
5	Baker Mayfield
6	Aaron Rodgers
7	Dak Prescott
8	Jalen Hurts
9	Brock Purdy
10	Patrick Mahomes
11	Jayden Daniels
12	Justin Herbert

I’m only doing the top 12. These are the guys that you want as your QB one’s going into the season. And if you are in a two QB league or superflex league, you’ll want to grab two of these guys if you can. I’ll also put some honorable mentions at the end.

For me, the biggest knock on Lamar Jackson was that he never truly got better as a passer. In ‘23, he had the highest completion percentage of his career. Then last year, he followed that up with his first 4000+ yard season and threw 41 TD’s versus only 4 picks. I’d say he’s gotten better.

The usual suspects behind him in Burrow and Allen. I’ve never been a huge fan of Goff but the numbers don’t lie as they say. He was QB5 last year and QB7 the year before that. It’ll be interesting what happens with former OC Ben Johnson in Chicago now. But even in LA, he was putting up big numbers.

The biggest surprise on this list is the placement of Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers threw just shy of 4000 yards last season but had the most dropped passes at 39. Source. He can’t throw double digit interceptions like he did last year. But, he was still QB13 last year and his current ADP is way too low. According to fantasypros.com, Rodgers is currently QB28.

Again, the usual suspects after Aaron until we get to number eleven, Jayden Daniels. I like the kid and I’m not trying to knock him. But I’d like to see some consistency before he is anointed a top 5 QB. Very recent history suggests that we pump the breaks a bit. CJ Stroud was the darling in ‘23 as a QB11 his rookie year. He was QB18 last year. Daniels had a very good rookie season and was QB7. His current ADP is QB3 and I don’t think that is warranted. He will still likely have a top 12 season. Let’s just pump the breaks a bit on him.

I played with the idea of having Trevor Lawrence as my QB12 but couldn’t pull the trigger on it. Yes he has a new HC that pulled Baker Mayfield to a great ‘24 season as the OC. But Mayfield will still be Mayfield without him. The Chargers just have more weapons for Herbert. Add in the fact that Justin Herbert had the third most dropped passes last year with 32.

I’ll give four honorable mentions that will put my list at sixteen for the bigger leagues out there. In no particular order, my next four are CJ Stroud, Drake Maye, Jordan Love and Bo Nix. I originally had Bo Nix in my top ten. But I can’t be a hypocrite and talk about Jayden Daniels maybe regressing and then saying the opposite about Nix. Let’s pump the breaks on him a bit until we see some consistency. QB7 last year; potentially QB13 this year. Funny enough, Nix had the second most dropped passes last year with 32. Speaking of dropped passes, Jordan Love had 30, which was the fifth most in the league last year. And then I expect CJ Stroud to rebound a bit this coming season and for Drake Maye to continue to ascend into a potential top ten QB some time soon.

Funny that I said that I had played with the idea of having Trevor Lawrence as my QB12 and then don’t even have him mentioned here. When I took a deeper dive into the Jags roster, they are pretty weak. Brian Thomas Jr. is a stud, no doubts about that. Travis Hunter is still only a rookie. And they are going to need a resurgence from Ettienne Jr. They lost Evan Engram and will have to count on a Brenton Strange at TE.

The guys that I’m staying away from. Kyler Murray. He was a QB10 last year. I would possibly take a flyer on him late if he fell. But I’ve outlined 16 other guys I’d take before him.

Justin Fields. He’s only 26 and could absolutely put it together. He had his best year thus far in completion percentage last year and threw 5TD’s to only 1 Int. But he’s still a gadget guy. Incredible athleticism and he will pop off for 6-8 rushing TD’s. But he’s still not very good at going through progressions. I also don’t understand the ADP of 12 with him.

Sam Darnold. Without the support of Kevin O’Connell, Darnold will likely regress to more of what he’s always been. He will still have a good season based on his past performance but, no where near as good as his ‘24 campaign with the Vikings.

Bryce Young. Probably not news to most but, I have seen a lot of hype about Young in some social media circles. I don’t get it. He played ok the final 5 weeks last season. Still nothing to get excited about. I would only take him if it was a two QB league and I absolutely needed a second starter due to injury and he was the only one available.