Brock Purdy, Baker Mayfield, And 2 Other Must-Have Fantasy Football QBs

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With draft week quickly approaching for many fantasy managers, there are several ways to assess the QB position. Here are four QBs who have outstanding value for where they are projected to get drafted and should be targets for fantasy managers in their drafts.

Brock Purdy

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy fantasy football

Dec 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the first half at Levi’s Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy had a bit of an up-and-down 2025 season. He missed some time due to injury and had a couple of dud performances. However, in his final stretch of the regular season, he was one of the best QBs in fantasy football.

In three out of four of Purdy’s last regular-season games in 2025, he had three or more TD passes, and in three of those games he had 295 or more passing yards. Over that short span, he was QB2 in fantasy football. 

With the momentum from the end of last season going into 2026, Purdy, and with where his ADP is, Purdy becomes a must-have QB in fantasy football. ESPN has Purdy ranked as QB11 going into the 2026 season.

Baker Mayfield 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield fantasy football

Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) leaves the field after defeating the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield is being severely undervalued going into the 2026 season. ESPN has him ranked as QB20 for fantasy football for the upcoming season. In 2025, he finished as QB12.

Mayfield will be without his favorite target, WR Mike Evans, for the first time since he has been in Tampa Bay. Some may think that could equate to him having a down year, but he has other weapons–Emeka Egbuka, Cade Otton, Jalen McMillan. Those players should take away from knocking down Mayfield’s fantasy stock drastically.

Tyler Shough

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough fantasy footbal

Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) in action against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tyler Shough had the best close of any rookie QB  to their 2025 season. In his last four games, he averaged 293 passing YPG and had a TD-INT ratio of 5-1. Coming into 2026 with that success, Shough is set up to continue to look like the franchise QB New Orleans Saints fans have been waiting for.

The Saints’ WR room has had a lack of talent for a while. Outside of Chris Olave, they have not had a talented WR2 option to point to. That will change in 2026 with them drafting a WR in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Jordyn Tyson. He is a dynamic WR who has WR1 potential. With him and Olave, Shough’s chances for having a big fantasy season get a bump.

Dak Prescott

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott fantasy football

Jul 29, 2026; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws the ball at training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, with the weapons he has available to him on offense, is a must-have QB already–WRs George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. Last season, Prescott finished as QB5 in fantasy football. ESPN has him ranked as QB9 going into 2026 for fantasy football.

With Prescott having the same WR targets he had a season ago, there is absolutely no reason he can not finish as a top-five fantasy QB again in 2026. There is also real potential for him to place higher than that. Another year to build chemistry with Pickens and hopefully having Lamb available for the entirety of the season could raise his fantasy ceiling.

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