FantasyPros - 2026 Fantasy Football Quarterback and Tight End Rankings & Tiers (Ep. 1968)

Welcome back to Fantasy Pros. We’re rolling on with our early ranks debates, this time zeroing in on quarterbacks and tight ends with Andrew Erickson and Jake Seely. Who’s ranked too high, who’s too low, and where do we tweak things for 2026? Let’s dive in with Jalen Hurts sitting at six.

I pushed Hurts down to QB9 because the ceiling case feels shakier with Philly’s churn at coordinator, a banged‑up and aging line, and uncertainty around his pass‑catchers. I’d rather chase cheaper upside like Caleb Williams at cost than pay near the top for Hurts to merely match last year.

I’m leaning runners up top—Allen, Lamar, Maye, Daniels—because rushing is the cleanest path to elite scores, and Hurts needs only a modest bounce in rushing TDs to get back near 21 points per game. Burrow’s great, but he has to do almost all of it through the air to keep up with that group.

Herbert time: ECR has him eighth; Andrew’s higher, Jake’s lower. What swings it?

I’m in at QB6 if Herbert finally gets protection and a healthy cast, and if Mike McDaniel unlocks his mobility and timing. With a sturdier line and real weapons, his ceiling looks like a tier‑breaker.

I’m at QB10 because I expect a slow, run‑leaning pace that caps plays and attempts, which makes 30-plus touchdowns a tall ask. Efficiency can rise, but volume risk keeps him behind the true dual‑threats.

Middle tier check‑in: Baker Mayfield popped early before injuries hit. Andrew, you’re above ECR—why?

He was a steady QB1 through late November before the shoulder wrecked things, and he still adds a pinch of rushing. If Mike Evans stays and the new offense clicks, he’s a logical bounce‑back near QB14.

CJ Stroud’s next—Jake, you’re notably lower than consensus.

He’s a mostly pocket passer who needs a pristine setup to crack the top 10, like a slightly more athletic Matt Ryan. The rushing is thin and the touchdowns haven’t popped, so I’ll fade that profile in this range.

Jordan Love sits mid‑teens; Andrew, you pushed him up. What’s the path?

He’s been highly efficient by the advanced stuff, but Green Bay kept the run dialed up and his weapons kept cycling in and out. If they lean into his arm and get everyone healthy, he can edge into the back‑end QB1 mix.

The week‑to‑week swings are brutal—one game he’s a four‑TD flamethrower, the next he disappears. I’d rather bet on Stroud to tighten the floor than ride Love’s roller coaster.

Let’s spar on Sam Darnold, who just made a deep run but still sits outside the top 20 for both of you.

He finished around QB23 per game, loses Clint Kubiak, offers little on the ground, and plays on a team that prefers to squeeze games. Solid real‑life starter, low fantasy ceiling.

Zoom out and he’s even lower when you include limited‑sample starters; he needs inflated TD rates to matter. That’s a tough needle to thread in a conservative setup.

Kyler Murray check: ECR’s 22, Andrew you’re higher.

His career is loaded with top‑20 and top‑10 seasons on a per‑game basis, and he’s going to start somewhere. Land him in a friendly system—think Minnesota‑style spacing—and that ranking jumps fast.

Daniel Jones is the opposite: ECR way down, Jake has him in the teens.

If he’s healthy and starting Week 1, the rushing alone keeps him draftable as a mid‑QB2 with top‑15 spikes. Drop him into a quarterback‑friendly room with real weapons and he’s the bad real‑life, good fantasy archetype we can use.

On to tight ends: McBride leads, then Bowers and Loveland. The next bands include Tucker Kraft, Fannin, Warren, Laporta, Pitts, then Kincaid, Gadsden, Ferguson, and Juwan Johnson. Andrew, why the hesitation on Aronde Gadsden at 10?

I initially docked him for the late‑season fade, but his route efficiency matched Warren and Fannin, and this rookie TE class was unusually deep. If Keenan Allen moves on, Gadsden’s red‑zone role could surge in a McDaniel scheme.

His splits without Keenan were eye‑opening because he soaked up that middle‑of‑the‑field role and siphoned TDs from others. If the offense funnels to, say, McConkey, Trey Harris, and Gadsden, he’s firmly in the mix.

Dalton Kincaid sits ninth in ECR, but Jake, you’ve got him outside TE1.

Buffalo’s tight end usage caps ceiling and keeps him TD‑dependent, with Dawson Knox still a factor. I’d rather chase true top‑five paths like Andrews without Likely, Brenton Strange, or even Goedert in the right target setup.

Tucker Kraft was a monster before the ACL; ECR is aggressive. Andrew, you’re a bit cooler—why?

He smashed in efficiency and per‑game scoring, but the market isn’t discounting the injury much, so price risk matters. I love the profile; I’m just weighing cost versus the chance to find the next Kraft later.

If we knew he was fully back, I’d slot him as high as TE3 because he answers more questions than most in that tier. Health clarity is the hinge.

Both of you like Isaiah Likely much more than consensus—make the case.

He’s a free agent with proven top‑10 flashes whenever he’s the focal point, and his matchup profile is a headache for defenses. Land him in the right offense and he could push into the top five, even top three in a dream spot.

Landing spot will swing him from league‑winner to committee purgatory, but we’ve already seen the ceiling when he replaces Andrews. That kind of upside is worth betting on.

That’s the show—great debates all around. Tell us which QBs and TEs we’ve got wrong, check the live ranks on fantasypros.com/rankings, and subscribe on YouTube and the podcast feed. That’ll do it for us; for Andrew Erickson and Jake Seely, I’m Joey P—see you next time, kids.