Fantasy Football Quarterback Ranking Tiers
2023 Fantasy Football Quarterback Tiered Cheat Sheet
Quarterback! The most important position in all of team sports. They touch the ball on almost every single play, and touching the ball is a requirement for gaining fantasy points. In most formats, quarterbacks almost always score the most of any position (QB/RB/WR/TE). While the best of the best fantasy quarterbacks do score a ton of points, they usually come at a high opportunity cost. The top 3 quarterbacks are currently going 17th-23rd overall.
While they are almost a lock to have a great, high-scoring season, you’re opting to bypass drafting a running back or wide receiver, which you’re usually starting 2-4 of each. With a position like quarterback, where you are starting one, I like to draft a quarterback later so that I can still stockpile and hoard stud RBs and WRs while they’re available in the early rounds, while still getting a quality QB of my liking later.
Tiers
Please note, these rankings are tiered. What are tiered rankings? Why use tiered rankings? First the tiered rankings – They are rankings that put a group of players that I believe will end up around the same fantasy stats at the end of the year. Why use tiered rankings? It’s simple. My philosophy with the tiered rankings is that if I’m on the clock and I’m looking to draft one of these players, I’m trying to get the most bang for my buck. Drafting a player at the end of a specific tier, allows you to draft other positions at other parts of the draft.
An example: Let’s say you’re on the clock now and also pick again in 4 turns. You’re interested in drafting a QB right now, but there are 5 QBs in the tier you’re interested in. This is where tiered rankings come in clutch. You can draft another position right now and then in 4 turns, even in the unlikely situation everyone drafts QB at all 4 of those spots, you still get the last guy of the tier you would have been happy with anyways. So without further ado, here are my 2023 quarterback rankings – with tiers!
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Tier 1: The Fantasy Elite
- Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
- Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs
- Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles
These guys are the best of the best. Almost all locks go out each week and score the most points, but they also come at a high draft capital cost (these are the fellas I said were going at the end of round 2, picks 17-23 overall). You can certainly draft one of these guys and forget about quarterback for the rest of the year (hopefully). Set it and forget it. You won’t have to play the waiver games of which quarterback has a good matchup this week or next week and play quarterback roulette. I’m personally avoiding them unless they fall much further down the draft board, which probably isn’t happening.
Tier 2: Almost Elite
4. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens
5. Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals
6. Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers
Any one of these guys could end up as the QB1 in fantasy for 2023. They have lower odds to finish as the QB1 than the Fantasy Elite tier, but there is a world they do. I like this tier because they have the upside to finish higher, but they don’t cost as much as the Fantasy Elite. With Burrow and Herbert, they aren’t QBs who run, which means we are banking on a high passing yardage/high touchdown season for them to produce at a high level. Both Burrow and Herbert have great weapons so I view them nearly the same. I would personally just take the cheaper of the two (currently, that’s Herbert).
Lamar tops this tier because they’ve brought in Todd Monken as their new OC. Monken’s offensive scheme has generally been pass-heavy, creating space, and making explosive plays down the field. That’s something Lamar’s weapons have flashed and shown they are capable of. Mix big plays down the field with his rushing upside and you could be looking at another Lamar Jackson MVP type of season, if healthy.
Tier 3: Justin Fields is the man
7. Justin Fields – Chicago Bears
This is where fantasy and real NFL football differ. I’m not sure there are many Fields stans saying he’s a top 7 QB in the league, but in fantasy… he’s becoming something special. Justin Fields comes in as the QB7 in my rankings and in a tier of his own. His rushing ability alone last year showed why he is a top-10 fantasy QB. Starting just 15 games in 2022, he still finished as the QB7. In his 2022 campaign, he single-handedly won you the week with his week 9 and 10 performances (42 and 38 points). Fields broke Michael Vick’s 20-year-old record for most rushing yards by a QB in a regular game with 178 yards. He was only 64 yards away from breaking Lamar’s record for most rushing yards in a season.
During the offseason, they upgraded by adding veteran WR DJ Moore and drafted an OL with the 10th overall pick in the draft. This year could catapult him into the Almost Elite tier with Lamar Jackson. The only concern is that in 2022, the Bears passed at the lowest rate in the NFL so that leaves some concern for putting most of the points coming from Fields’ legs.
Tier 4: Good Enough
8. Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars
9. Daniel Jones – New York Giants
10. Geno Smith – Seattle Seahawks
11. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys
12. Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins
In a single QB league, this is the last tier of QBs I’d actually be happy and comfortable with drafting. These QBs either run the ball enough to be fantasy-relevant (Daniel Jones) or have great pass-catching weapons that can ball out on the week. I’d put the odds of any of these QBs finishing as the QB1 on the season at almost 0%, but they should be good enough to keep your team in the fight with some high-ceiling weeks. If you’re drafting a QB in this tier, you’ve likely got a ton of stud and solid RBs and WRs or an elite TE. I personally like filling in those RB and WR positions because 1.) you start more of them each week and 2.) the QBs in this tier aren’t actually going to lose you a week
Tier 5: Not Exciting Wildcards
13. Deshaun Watson – Cleveland Browns
14. Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings
15. Aaron Rodgers – New York Jets (that felt weird typing)
16. Russell Wilson – Denver Broncos
17. Jared Goff – Detroit Lions
The biggest wildcard of this group is by far Deshaun Watson. Before Watson’s off-the-field issues, he ended as the QB5 3 years in a row. If you watched Watson play in 2023, you’d ask yourself “How is that possible?”. He was awful. Was he just rusty after not playing for almost 2 years? Do we have a case of moral hazard since he already got the bag of $230m guaranteed? I know the upside is there, but he’s going much earlier than the QB13 (currently going off the board as the QB9 in the early 7th round) and he could be done for. It’s just too risky for me, so I’m likely just staying away.
I know Cousins and Goff finished 2022 higher than this, but that was mainly because they played every game last year. Both only had 1 game each above 27 fantasy points (AKA a week-winning performance). Solid players, but not sure the upside is there.
Tier 6: Anthony Richardson runs too, but….
18. Anthony Richardson – Indianapolis Colts
You wanna talk about a true wildcard? That’s Anthony Richardson. Reasons I’m IN on him: He had the best combine by a QB ever. He’s a super athlete who just got paired with Shane Steichen, who just worked with Jalen Hurts on his spectacular 2022 season and stud QB Justin Herbert during his rookie campaign in 2020.
If you watch his highlight film, you’ll ask yourself “Why wasn’t he drafted 1st overall?”. Reasons I’m OUT on him: If you watch a full game or two of Anthony Richardson, you’d likely want to close your eyes. Here’s how most of the drives went: incomplete short pass (inaccurate), incomplete pass (inaccurate again), big deep ball for 40 yards, incomplete, incomplete, rushes the ball for a 30-yard touchdown. His style of play was picking up big yards with bombs down the field or by picking it up with his legs. He was exceptionally inaccurate in college, but he really only has 1 season under his belt as a starter. He’s very green so there is certainly room for growth.
Take this with a grain of salt, but the other rushing QBs that entered the league were almost all better passers than Richardson. Here are some names of rookie QBs (who rush the ball often) and how many points they averaged per game in the games they started in their rookie season: Lamar Jackson (17.74 would have been QB14 in PPG in 2022), Josh Allen (19.11 would have been QB7 in PPG in 2022), and Justin Fields (13.39 would have been not good in any year). Note: I’m not using Hurt’s rookie season because his sample size was just 3 games, but he did ball out. Take the gamble if you dare.
Tier 7: I’d Prefer Not
19. Derek Carr – New Orlean Saints
20. Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers
21. Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams
22. Jimmy Garoppolo – Las Vegas Raiders
I think this tier of quarterbacks could keep you afloat, but I see them losing you more weeks than winning you weeks. I’d prefer not to have to start them. But if you completely punt the position, you can get values elsewhere and grab one of these dudes in the last round or maybe even off waivers.
Tier 8: Yuck
23. Kenny Pickett – Pittsburgh Steelers
24. Jordan Love – Green Bay Packers
25. Ryan Tannehill – Tennessee Titans
26. Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals
27. Sam Howell – Washington Commanders
28. Mac Jones – New England Patriots
29. Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30. Bryce Young – Carolina Panthers
31. C.J. Stroud – Houston Texans
32. Desmond Ridder – Atlanta Falcons
33. Trey Lance – San Francisco 49ers
34. Jacoby Brissett – Washington Commanders
35. Colt McCoy – Arizona Cardinals
36. Taylor Heinicke – Atlanta Falcons
37. Will Levis – Tennessee Titans
I wouldn’t want any of these QBs as my starter in a 1QB league. Not even in a superflex league (starting 2 QBs), I’d try to avoid most of these players. My beliefs: Pickett could take a step forward in his 2nd season, but I’m not banking on it. Jordan Love could be something, but again, no need to gamble on a player making his first season as a starter.
Coming off a season-ending injury in week 14 in 2022, I wouldn’t expect Murray back until late in the season, if he even comes back. The Cardinals are projected to be one of the worst teams in the league so they may just let him rest the whole year. If you want to take a last-pick flier and drop him in your IR spot, that’s okay. I don’t like taking rookie QBs in fantasy because they usually go through a learning curve (plus the Panthers, Texans, and Titans’ WR rooms are pretty grim). If there is still a QB battle going on in San Francisco come preseason, I could see taking the shot on Trey Lance because you can take him with your last pick. Nevertheless, let your league mates or the waivers take this lackluster group of QBs.
Again, if you enjoyed what you read or have questions, you can find me on Twitter @_ColtWilliams
