Fantasy Football Draft Rankings, Tiers & Player Notes: Quarterbacks (2022)

It’s never too early to look at rankings ahead of the 2022 fantasy football season. Now is the time to see where the experts have players ranked versus the early average draft position (ADP).

Check out our top 12 quarterback rankings along with player notes as you prepare for your fantasy football draft.

Quarterback Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Player Notes

Tier 1

1) Josh Allen (BUF – QB)
The back-to-back reigning fantasy QB1 showed no signs of slowing down in 2021. Allen led the quarterback position averaging 24.6 fantasy points per game and a whopping 26.7 expected fantasy points – nearly three points more than the next closest signal-caller. The Bills quarterback’s dual-threat ability – third in rushing yards (763) and rushing attempts (122) – provides him a fantasy ceiling that only a few other quarterbacks can match. No quarterback had more top-3 finishes or top-8 weekly finishes than Allen did a season ago. That’s why he’s deserving of being the first quarterback drafted across all formats. Because even after taking a slight step back as a passer in 2021 – 104.9 passer rating vs. 97.9 passer rating – a higher passing touchdown ceiling exists for Allen in 2022. His 5.6% TD rate was worse than in 2020 and ranked just ninth in 2021. Case in point: despite finishing No. 1 overall, Allen ended with the 5th-most fantasy points under expectation.

2) Justin Herbert (LAC – QB)
Justin Herbert finished third in touchdowns and fifth in PFF passing grade (91.8) from a clean pocket in 2021. The Bolts quarterback also wrapped up the season as PFF’s third-highest-graded quarterback overall, third in fantasy points per game (22.7), and fifth in expected fantasy points per game (21.7)The Los Angeles Chargers signal-caller is a certified stud – a top-five, elite-tier fantasy quarterback in 2022. Only Tom Brady and Josh Allen posted as many top-5 weeks as Herbert did last season. He and Brady led the NFL with nine 300-yard passing games. Since entering the NFL in 2020, Herbert has thrown for 300-plus yards in 53% of his games played. Even if his rushing doesn’t stack up with the league’s elite, Herbert’s cannon provides almost everything he needs to close the gap.

3) Patrick Mahomes (KC – QB)
Despite the ups-and-downs of the KC Chiefs offense as a response to the Cover 2 defense, Patrick Mahomes was as stellar as ever from a fantasy perspective. The former MVP ranked fourth in fantasy points per game (22.0) tying Justin Herbert with 12 weekly top-12 QB finishes. Still, Mahomes averaged fewer fantasy points per game than in 2020 (25.2). Additionally, the loss of Tyreek Hill cannot be ignored heading into 2022. The duo ranks second in combined passing touchdowns (41) since 2016 – despite Mahomes not becoming the starter until 2018. Mahomes can’t totally be written off as a top-five fantasy option – QB4 without Hill through the first five weeks of 2019 averaging 25 fantasy points per game – but there’s real concern about his top-tier weekly ceiling without Hill. Especially coming off a season where he posted a career-low PFF passing grade (77.5) and career-high in interceptions (16). He’s likely being overvalued as the QB2 in early best ball drafts on name recognition alone.

Tier 2

4) Lamar Jackson (BAL – QB)
Lamar Jackson had a season to forget in 2021, as he dealt with a plethora of injuries/illnesses and regressed immensely as a passer. Two key metrics at PFF that are important to analyze for QBs are performance in a clean pocket and throwing at the intermediate level. Jackson ranked 28th in passer rating from a clean pocket (90.4) and 22nd in PFF passing grade at the intermediate level (70.0). Despite all his shortcomings as a passer, Jackson still finished the season second in expected fantasy points per game (23.8) and seventh in fantasy points per game (21.3). His expected fantasy point per game output marked the highest of his career thanks to the Ravens’ willingness to throw more in 2021. From 2019-2020, Jackson had 37 or more passing attempts in a game only four times. He did so five times in 2021, with Baltimore throwing at a 60% clip. However, I would not anticipate the pass-heavy approach to continue into 2022. Their philosophical change on offense was forced out of necessity based on the injuries. But a lack of passing doesn’t impact Jackson the way it does most other QBs with his greatest fantasy asset being his legs. Jackson may never recapture his 2019 rare MVP form when he averaged north of 28 fantasy points per game, but a 22-point per game average seems like his norm based on his last two years of fantasy production. In 2020, he led all QBs in fantasy points per dropback. That cements him as a clear-cut top-5 fantasy QB.

5) Kyler Murray (ARI – QB)
Last season was another tale of two halves for Kyler Murray. In Weeks 1-8, with DeAndre Hopkins healthy, he was on fire as the QB6 completing 72.6% of his passes with 8.8 yards per attempt while averaging 284.5 passing yards per game. After Week 9, with Hopkins banged up and in and out of the lineup, Murray was the QB16 with a 65.3% completion rate, 6.7 yards per attempt, and 251.8 passing yards per game. Fast forward to this season, and Hopkins is now slated to miss the first six games of the season. The trade to acquire Marquise Brown‘s services and drafting Trey McBride will help, but it’s understandable to tread carefully with Kyler Murray exposure this season.

6) Joe Burrow (CIN – QB)
Joe Burrow finished the regular season as PFF’s highest-graded passer (91.2) while also ranking first in super sticky stats like passing grade from a clean pocket (94.6) and passing grade throwing at the intermediate level (95.6). He finished the season as the QB8 averaging just north of 20.5 fantasy points per game. The Bengals quarterback has undoubtedly entered the conversation as one of the league’s best real-life NFL passers, but might be slightly overvalued based on early best ball ADP with impending regression. He’s the QB6 despite finishing as a top-6 fantasy quarterback just thrice in 2021.No quarterback scored more fantasy points over expectation, which hints that regression will hit Burrow in 2022. The LSU product also rushed for just 118 yards and two TDs. He rushed for fewer yards than Mac Jones, who is notorious for being ranked low across consensus due to his lack of upside as a rusher. However, there is a legitimate path for Burrow’s upside to be further unlocked if the Bengals increase their pass rate as they did during his rookie season and down the playoff stretch. Burrow led the NFL in passing attempts per game (40.4) during his rookie season and averaged 38 passing attempts/23.0 fantasy points per game in his final six weeks An uptick in passing volume won’t help Burrow’s efficiency per se, but his fantasy numbers will be much more stable from week to week. Also can’t forget to mention the Bengals revamped their offensive line as they look to not let their franchise quarterback get sacked 70 times – 22 more than the next closest quarterback.

7) Jalen Hurts (PHI – QB)
In his first full season, Jalen Hurts was the QB6 in fantasy points per game as the Eagles’ starting quarterback. An ankle sprain dropped his rushing numbers from 57.9 to 29.7 yards per game over his final three contests. Without that ding, his full-season numbers could have been even better. With another season in this offensive system incoming and A.J. Brown now on the roster, Hurts has top-three fantasy quarterback upside in 2022.

8) Tom Brady (TB – QB)
At age 44, Tom Brady attempted the most passes in the league (719) and finished with the most passing yards (5,316) and second-most passing touchdowns (43) in any single season of his career. Brady was the QB3 in fantasy points per game. While he might not reach those heights in 2022, he will still be leading one of the NFL’s fastest-paced and most talented offenses. If Brady’s fountain of youth and avocado milkshakes can hold off father time, he’s a top 5-10 option at the position in fantasy.

9) Dak Prescott (DAL – QB)
Dak Prescott rebounded nicely from a lost 2020 season (due to injury) as the QB9 in weekly fantasy scoring. Prescott’s former rushing floor evaporated as he finished with the lowest rushing yardage total (146) for a full season of his career. Despite losing Amari Cooper this offseason, the Cowboy’s passing attack should be fine as the team retained Michael Gallup and Dalton Schultz and added Jalen Tolbert and James Washington. Dallas led the NFL in neutral pace last season. With heightened play volume helping his passing numbers, Prescott should have no issues compensating for the lost rushing production as a locked-in top ten fantasy quarterback.

Tier 3

10) Russell Wilson (DEN – QB)
Russell Wilson‘s weapons/supporting cast overall are pretty even going from Seattle to Denver, but Nathaniel Hackett calling the shots is an upgrade over Pete Carroll. Hackett’s obviously had success with Aaron Rodgers that has translated into fantasy, so a top-five fantasy quarterback outcome is firmly in play with Wilson in 2022. After all, Wilson’s long track record of efficient fantasy play is undeniable – he has finished among the top-six fantasy QBs five times since 2014. I like his chances of making it seven in 2022. Because Wilson is still among the league’s elite passers when healthy. Before the finger derailed his season, Russ led the NFL in yards per attempt (10.4), passer rating (133.6), and passer rating from a clean pocket (130.9) before Week 5. Wilson also finished the season on a high note, averaging over 24 fantasy points per game in his last three contests. All in all, 2021 was a typical season for Wilson: peaks and valleys. He averaged 23 fantasy points per game from Weeks 1-4 and Weeks 16-18. In his six games post-injury, Wilson averaged an abysmal 13 fantasy points per game. Buy the inevitable 2022 dip on the future Hall of Fame quarterback in a new situation. That combined with a plethora of weapons in Denver, makes it very plausible he sees similar immediate success that other quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford have had since changing teams late into their careers.

11) Matthew Stafford (LAR – QB)
Weapons are the name of the game with Stafford, who finished the season 11th in fantasy points per game (20.4) on the back of 41 passing touchdowns. Forty-plus TDs is no easy feat and should not be overlooked by fantasy drafters in 2022, especially because it was Stafford’s first season in Sean McVay’s offense.

12) Aaron Rodgers (GB – QB)
Aaron Rodgers doesn’t look like he’s lost a step at all after finishing last season as the QB8 in fantasy points per game. Rodgers was top-five in fantasy points per dropback and clean pocket completion rate. Losing his bae Davante Adams hurts his ceiling and per-play efficiency outlooks. Efficiency has been the driver of his fantasy goodness because he resides inside one of the NFL’s slowest-paced offenses. Raw volume won’t be there to help counteract the dip there, so Rodgers falls into the QB2 bucket with weekly top 12 upside.

FantasyPros Staff Consensus 2022 Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings