2023 Quarterback Fantasy Football Rankings

‘Tis the season. Draft season. Fantasy draft season, that is. Some leagues have already completed their drafts (fiends). For a majority of leagues, however, their draft will be in the next couple of weeks – mine included. With that in mind, here’s my 2023 Fantasy Football Preseason Rankings: Quarterbacks.

These won’t be your traditional rankings. While rankings that give a definitive rank/value to players are helpful, we can sometimes get too caught up in where guys rank and limit our team building potential. The idea here is to let the board fall to your advantage – no matter who is there when you’re on the clock, you will have quality options. Instead of ranking guys just numerically, they will be sorted by order of interest into labeled tiers with a brief explanation after.

Tier 1 – QB1

Josh Allen, BUF

Patrick Mahomes, KC

Jalen Hurts, PHI

Lamar Jackson, BAL

Justin Fields, CHI

Joe Burrow, CIN

Justin Herbert, LAC

Trevor Lawrence, JAX

Dak Prescott, DAL

Deshaun Watson, CLE

Tua Tagovailoa, Mia

Daniel Jones, NYG

Analysis: I wouldn’t mind having any of these guys as my QB1 at the start of the season (10-12 team league). Each one of these guys has the potential to either put up elite passing numbers, elite rushing numbers (for a quarterback), or a little of both. Allen, Mahomes, and Hurts should all challenge for the top spot if healthy – Allen finished as the top overall QB two of the last three years. Buffalo personnel have said they want Allen to take less hits, so it is worth watching to see how that affects his rushing production.

While Jackson and Fields aren’t the passers some of the other guys in this tier are, their elite rushing ability gives them top five potential. Both the Ravens and the Bears spent the off-season beefing up their passing games in an effort to help their quarterbacks reach the next level. Jones’ passing stats may not be on par with the rest of this list, but he ran for 700+ yards with 7 rushing touchdowns last season, and was a legit starting option. Burrow-Tua should all put up elite passing numbers, and Watson’s mobility could raise his ceiling.

Tier 2 – QB 2

Aaron Rodgers, NYJ

Kirk Cousins, MIN

Anthony Richardson (R), IND

Geno Smith, SEA

Russell Wilson, DEN

Jared Goff, DET

Derek Carr, NO

Matthew Stafford, LAR

Jordan Love, GB

Kenny Pickett, PIT

Bryce Young (R), CAR

Kyler Murray, ARZ

Analysis: This was a weird group for me to rank. The top half of this group has legit QB1 potential this season. Rodgers and Cousins have quality weapons and could easily both be top ten fantasy starters and tier one guys. Smith and Goff were both major surprises last season, with both finishing as top ten quarterbacks. Wilson, Carr, and Stafford will look to prove their disastrous seasons last year were just a bump in the road, as opposed to the inevitable “fall off”. Wilson has the most potential of the three, due to a new head coach (Sean Payton) with a quarterback friendly system, a shored up offensive line, and plenty of young weapons.

Anthony Richardson is the wild card. I came this close to putting him in tier one, but then I came to my senses. As a Florida Gators fan, I saw Richardson struggle as a passer week in and week out in his lone season as the starter. While Richardson needs a ton of development as a passer, his upper echelon rushing ability raises his potential floor. Pickett is a sleeper candidate coming into his second season; Pittsburgh bolstered the offensive line and has a bunch of weapons on offense.

Tier 3 – No man’s land

Jimmy Garoppolo, LV

Brock Purdy, SF

Sam Howell, WSH

Mac Jones, NE

Ryan Tannehill, TEN

Baker Mayfield, TB

C.J. Stroud (R), HOU

Desmond Ridder, ATL

Analysis: None of the guys in this tier offer any sort of excitement on any front. They are either: on bad teams, in bad systems, lacking quality weapons, offer little to no upside as passers or runners, or a combo of those. There’s a world where Jimmy G, Purdy, Jones, Howell, and Tannehill are startable (they have some good talent/coaching around them), but I’m not gonna be the one who tells you to make Jimmy G or Tannehill your QB1 in week one. Yuck.