When preparing for your fantasy football draft most people usually have an idea of what player they'ed prefer over another. But sometimes one of your buddies will steal your pick and instead of panicking, you can rely on this list. Tiers are great if you're not using our draft guide. If a player you had in mind gets drafted you can quickly grab a similar player. Always have your ADP handy so you don't reach and draft a guy to soon. I personally prefer to take quarterbacks late, it’s the most plentiful position and there is a lot of value to be had. Once the tier 1 quarterbacks are drafted, it’s best to try to wait and find value. Good luck drafting!
QB Tier 1:
- Aaron Rodgers
- Russell Wilson
- Tom Brady
This trifecta of fantasy quarterbacks creates the pinnacle which is Tier 1. Any of these three are a sure staple to carry your fantasy lineup week in and week out. Rodgers is the best QB in fantasy football, without a doubt. Jimmy graham will give him a sure redzone target alongside Davante Adams, who has high potential. Russell Wilson is the best dual threat QB in the NFL and consistently puts up elite numbers with no supporting cast. Their offensive line has been slightly upgraded, which can only help things. Tom Brady is questionable in this tier due to his lack of a supporting cast, but he gets the benefit of the doubt, because despite the lack of talent around him some years, he has been consistently elite despite. These are the only quarterbacks I would consider before round 5.
You may also like our running back draft tiers.
QB Tier 2:
- DeShaun Watson
- Cam Newton
- Drew Brees
- Kirk Cousins
- Andrew Luck*
- Carson Wentz
- Jimmy Garoppolo
Tier 2 are your high upside, but either not proven or not consistent, starters that can either make or break your team. The best time to target this group is between rounds 5-8. Watson was extremely efficient last year and reasonable logic says that he should revert more towards the mean and see some regression. But if healthy, he has overall QB1 upside. Newton is the most inconsistent QB in football with his QBR swinging 41.1 points week to week but when he is on, he will win you weeks on his own. Brees had a down year, but if he throws anywhere close to his career averages, he will be a steal. Cousins has a new team, new supporting cast and new coaches. Diggs, Thielen and Rudolph should give him all the weaponry he needs to have another top 10 QB performance this year. Luck belongs in this category if healthy. If you are drafting early, you may be able to get him for a steal. Wentz is coming off a torn ACL and is still working his way back. With all the turnover on the coaching staff this is a risky pick. Jimmy G, everybodys new favorite QB. He’s never lost a game in his career. It is a very small sample size, but he has amazing upside in his first full year in Shanahan’s offense.
QB Tier 3:
- Matt Stafford
- Phillip Rivers
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Alex Smith
- Matt Ryan
- Tyrod Taylor
In Tier 3 are your run of the mill, every week starters. These guys will not hurt your fantasy team and will usually get you top 15 numbers, but they also won't really win you any games by themselves. Stafford seems to always be on the fringe. You feel like the elite upside is there, yet it never shows. I would be the most comfortable with him out of this group. Rivers has one of the better supporting casts of his career and should continue his pace as a solid top 10 QB. Big Ben should throw up some good numbers, but he is known to disappoint just as often. Antonio Brown, Ju Ju, Le’veon Bell and newcomer James Washington makeup arguably the best offense in the league. Alex Smith leaves the comfy confines of an Andy Reid offense and lands perfect with Jay Gruden. With a similar system and a supporting cast not as proven, but not lacking talent, Smith could continue what he started last year. Proving he is not a game manager. Matt Ryan is one full season removed from being the league MVP and with a full season in the books with Sarkisian he should be better in year two. Tyrod Taylor’s play is not inspiring, but he runs for extra yards and doesn’t give the ball away. With an upgraded supporting cast he should be a solid every week starter.
QB Tier 4:
- Patrick Mahomes
- Marcus Marriota
- Derek Carr
- Mitch Trubisky
- Jameis Winston
You ever play Darts? You aim right at the bullseye and everything about the throw looks perfect but sometimes right before it hits... it nosedives. That is Tier 4. It could be a bullseye or could miss the board entirely. Mahomes has big shoes to fill. The coaching staff has faith in him and he has the weapons to do succeed with Kelce, Hill and Watkins. Marcus Marriota was dreadful in his second season running the “exotic smashmouth” offense. With a new head coach and a renowned quarterback coach taking the reins there could be a bounce back brewing. Also, don’t forget they have Corey Davis, coming off of an injury ridden season, and the always reliable Delanie Walker. Carr has the best supporting cast he has ever had and could make some noise. With John Gruden as the new coach (who has had an 1000 yard receiver each of his 11 years as a head coach) he is in a better place to succeed. Trubisky could be this years Carson Wentz. With a new coach and overhauled offense, the future is looking bright. Winston is set to miss the first four games, but was quietly having the best season of his career in 2017. He should continue on that path when he returns.
QB Tier 5:
- Jared Goff
- Dak Prescott
- Blake Bortles
- Case Keenum
- Eli Manning
- Ryan Tannehill
Our final uninspiring tier has come, Tier 5. These are the quarterbacks you feel really uncomfortable with if you are forced to draft them as your QB1, but could make solid second options. Goff is in his second year with McVay and should be more comfortable. He has Brandin Cooks now and could step out from behind the veil of being a game manager. Prescott has been struggling with his deep ball all camp and has no real weapons (other than Zeke at running back). Bortles is a garbage time monster, but with a stacked defense and coach who wishes he could run every play... there is just no upside here. Keenum’s 2017 campaign was solid. This year, he has an above average supporting cast on his new team with both Demaryus Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders nearing the end of their careers. Manning is on the downslope of his career. He may capture lightning in a bottle and give you one last hoorah, but with his offensive line... I doubt it. Tannehill is coming off a torn ACL and was far from spectacular before. After purging the roster of talent, I have a hard time seeing a good season from him.