Fantasy football draft season is here. If you haven’t already, it’s time to start preparing for your draft. One of the most useful weapons to have in your arsenal on draft day is fantasy football tier rankings. With a tier-based approach, you can see how each player stacks up at their respective position. Tiers are slightly different than fantasy football rankings because they aren’t simply a straight list of players. These groupings allow for a more flexible approach to drafting that you can ultimately incorporate into your draft board.
Over the next few days, I’ll be going through position by position and giving you my tiers for the 2024 fantasy football drafts. We’ll start today with fantasy football tiers for quarterbacks. Of course, don’t forget that you can check out all of our fantasy football rankings and projections.
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Level 1 – Elite
Josh Allen
Jalen is in pain
Lamar Jackson
Patrick Mahomes
Here’s the cream of the crop. Allen, Hurts and Jackson are all elite runners who are more than capable of putting up numbers with their arms. Mahomes is no slouch in the running game, but he offers tremendous potential as a passer.
All four of these players are more than capable of putting up monstrous numbers again this year, but there’s a problem. They’re being drafted so early that they’re practically unaffordable on most draft boards. Don’t get me wrong. They’re all extremely valuable, but you can build a more balanced team by waiting at this position. I cover this concept in more detail in the Roadmap fantasy draft strategy article in my Game Plan draft guide.
Level 2 – Borderline Elite
CJ Stroud
Anthony Richardson
Joe Burrow
It wouldn’t be surprising at all if one of those three players ends up finishing first overall in 2023. Stroud was a huge surprise last year and the Texans have only gotten better this offseason with the additions of Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon. It’s aggressive to have Richardson here, but he averaged over 26 fantasy points per game in his two healthy starts last season. Likewise, Burrow is coming back from injury but has already shown the ability to put up borderline elite numbers.
Level 3a – QB1 high ceiling
Kyler Murray
Love Jordan
Your Tagovailoa
This third group really needs to be broken down into two subgroups, because the next five quarterbacks aren’t all cut from the same cloth. This trio has higher upside, but also more volatility. Murray showed high upside after returning from injury last season. He also has Marvin Harrison Jr. in the mix. Love played near-perfect football over the final two months of the season last year. And Tagovailoa leads one of the most explosive offenses in the league.
Level 3b – High Level QB1
Dak Prescott
Brock Purdy
This group isn’t as sexy as the first subset of Tier 3, but both have higher fantasy levels. Prescott just finished last season with a league-high 36 touchdowns. Purdy, meanwhile, showed no ill effects from his elbow injury and set a 49ers franchise record for passing yards.
Level 4a – Last Minute Safe Options
Jared Goff
Matthew Stafford
Kirk Cousins
Aaron Rodgers
If you want to take the late-round “safe and upside” approach to your drafts, where you pick one safe and one upside, this is your safe tier. These players may not all be available late in your drafts, but it’s extremely likely that at least one of them will be. These four signal-callers may not have the highest ceilings, but their floors make them attractive options.
Level 4b – Last Minute Upside Options
Jayden Daniels
Justin Herbert
Caleb Williams
Trevor Lawrence
This is the group to pair with your safe option. These four players don’t have a high floor, but each of them has the potential to give you a massive return on investment if they succeed this year. If you’re going to use the safe and high-yield strategy in your 1QB leagues, you’ll want to draft one player from the safe tier and one from the high-yield tier. Doing so will give you the opportunity to hit hard on the high-yield tier without getting completely eliminated if you miss. The safe option won’t win you your league, but it will tide you over while you work the waiver wire.
Level 5a – Superflex Objectives
Deshaun Watson
Will Levis
JJ McCarthy
Drake Maye
Russell Wilson
Bo Nix
These players aren’t likely to be drafted in 1QB leagues, but they’re all considered in 2QB and superflex formats. This is a high-upside group, to be sure, but it’s too aggressive to consider them as late-round options in 1QB leagues with 12 teams or less.
Level 5b – Superflex avoids
Baker Mayfield
Geno Smith
Derek Carr
Daniel Jones
Bryce Young
Gardner Minshew
This group offers a much lower ceiling or poses a lot more questions than 5a players, so it’s a good idea to avoid them as a third quarterback option in a superflex or 2QB format.
Level 6 – Watchlist
Justin Fields
Aidan O’Connell
Michael Penix Jr.
Jacoby Brissett
Sam Darnold
Sam Howell
Jake Browning
Jarrett Stidham
Drew Lock
These guys won’t be drafted in full-size leagues, but you should keep an eye on them.