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Chris Meaney
Fantasy football draft season is here, so it’s time to roll up your sleeves and finalize your prep. One of the most useful weapons to have in your draft-day arsenal is fantasy football tiers. With a tier-based approach, you can see how each player stacks up at his respective position. Tiers are slightly different from fantasy football rankings because it’s not just a straight list of players. These groupings allow for a more flexible approach to drafting that you can ultimately build into your draft board.
Over the next few days, I’m going to go position-by-position and give you my tiers for 2022 fantasy football drafts. We’ll kick things off today with quarterback fantasy football tiers. Of course, don’t forget that you can check out more rankings and fantasy football projections.
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(Check out the positional tiers: Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Overall)
Fantasy Football Tiers Rankings – QB
Here is a look at the tiers for each set of QB rankings for the 2022 fantasy football season.
Tier 1 – Elite
Josh Allen
Patrick Mahomes
Justin Herbert
These three are undoubtedly the top options at their position. Allen is coming off back-to-back first-place fantasy finishes. And the scary thing is that he hasn’t reached his ceiling yet. Mahomes is an annually threat to top 5,000 passing yards. Likewise, Herbert topped that benchmark last season and continues to improve as a player.
All three players are more than capable of putting up monster numbers yet again this year, but there’s a problem. They’re going so early in drafts, that they’re essentially priced out of most draft boards. Don’t get me wrong. They’re both extremely valuable, but you’ll be able to construct a more balanced roster by waiting at the position.
Tier 2 – No. 1 Potential
Lamar Jackson
Kyler Murray
Joe Burrow
Jalen Hurts
It wouldn’t be at all shocking if any of these three players ended up finishing as the No. 1 option in 2022. Sure, Jackson has come back to the pack over the last two season, but his legs give him a massive fantasy floor and we’ve already seen what his ceiling looks like. Murray can also get it done with his legs and has arguably the highest ceiling of this group with his arm. He’s already shown to be elite for stretches, but his biggest issue has been staying healthy. Burrow is the new fantasy football golden boy following his massive stretch run that helped propel many fantasy managers to their league championships last year. He’s a fantasy favorite for a lot of people, which might end up causing him to be overdrafted in your home leagues. Hurts has a lot of similarities with Jackson. He offers a high floor with his legs and should improve his passing numbers thanks to the offseason addition of A.J. Brown.
Tier 3a – High-Ceiling QB1s
Dak Prescott
Russell Wilson
Trey Lance
And we’ve reached the sexy segment in our quarterback tiers. Prescott wasn’t able to match his pre-injury output last season, but he still managed a top-10 fantasy finish and is now one year further removed from the injury. As for Wilson, we should see him cook in a new setting with the Broncos. He’s now paired with a fleet of young offensive weapons in an offense that is being catered to his skillset under new head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Ideally, we were one year early on Lance, who was a popular late-round target in 2021. While Jimmy Garoppolo is still on the roster, the team has made it clear that this is Lance’s job. His ability as a runner along with the 49ers’ upside weapons in the passing game place him atop this tier.
Tier 3c – High-Floor QB1s
Tom Brady
Matthew Stafford
Aaron Rodgers
You don’t quite have sex appeal with this group, but you do essentially know exactly what you’re going to get with them. Brady is coming off one of his best statistical seasons as a pro and showed no signs of decline at 44 years old. Rodgers is also getting long in the tooth but has posted two straight MVP seasons. Of course, he’ll be without Davante Adams this season, so his fantasy arrow is pointing down slightly from last season. Stafford showed that a change of scenery was all he needed, as the veteran came within shouting distance of 5,000 passing yards and seems to have a mind meld with Cooper Kupp.
Tier 4a – Late-Round Safe Options
Derek Carr
Kirk Cousins
Matt Ryan
If you want to execute the “safe and upside” late-round approach in your drafts, where you take one safe option and one upside option, this is your safe tier. These guys may not all be available at the end of your drafts, but it’s extremely likely that at least one will be. These four signal callers may not have the highest ceilings, but their floors make them appealing options.
Carr has emerged as this generation’s Philip Rivers. While there has been very little flash, he consistently finishes as a top-15 fantasy quarterback. He’s positioned at the top of this tier thanks to the addition of Davante Adams. Cousins already has his all-world wideout in Justin Jefferson and should get to run a more balanced offense with Mike Zimmer no longer calling the shots in Minnesota. Ryan will helm a run-heavy Colts offense, but he does have Michael Pittman at his disposal.
Tier 4b – Late-Round Upside Options
Tua Tagovailoa
Justin Fields
Trevor Lawrence
Jameis Winston
This is the group to pair with your safe option. These four players do not come with a high floor, but each of them has the potential to give you a massive return on investment if they hit this year. If you’re going to use the safe-and-upside strategy in your 1QB leagues, you’ll want to draft one player from the safe tier and one from the upside tier. Doing so will give you the opportunity to swing for the fences on upside while not completely striking out if you miss. The safe option won’t win you your league, but he will tide you over while you work the waiver wire.
Tagovailoa does not have as high of a ceiling, but he’s position well to break out thanks in part to the offseason acquisition of Tyreek Hill. Last season was one to forget for Lawrence and the rest of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he now has a fresh start under Doug Pederson and has more weapons at his disposal thanks to the addition of Christian Kirk and Evan Engram. While those guys aren’t necessarily starts, they’re much better than what Lawrence had in 2021. Unfortunately, Fields isn’t in as good of situation. He’s going to operate behind a poor offensive line and has a suspect group of wide receivers. He has upside but is the riskiest target of this group. Meanwhile, Winston returns from injury and has displayed QB2 fantasy ability in New Orleans.
Tier 5a – 2QB Meh Options/Streamers
Ryan Tannehill
Jared Goff
Carson Wentz
Baker Mayfield
Geno Smith
These guys aren’t likely to be drafted in 1QB leagues, but they’re all in consideration in 2QB and superflex formats. However, none of these guys offer a particularly high fantasy ceiling. For your third quarterback, you may want to swing for the fences and select one of the players in Tier 6b.
Tier 5b – 2QB Volatile Options/Streamers
Daniel Jones
Mac Jones
Zach Wilson
Davis Mills
You may end up streaming these guys in 1QB leagues, but they’re very much in play as third quarterback options in 2QB and superflex leagues. Daniel Jones has disappointed in his first three season, but there is at least a glimmer of hope with new head coach Brian Daboll in New York. Mac Jones is coming off an impressive rookie season but will operate in a run-heavy offense. Wilson seems to be set up for success with a loaded group of Jets skill position players and a good offensive line, but he’ll need to take a step forward as a player. He’ll be sidelined for the remainder of the preseason, but his two- to four-week timetable positions him well to be back on the field for Week 1. As for Mills, he’s the riskiest of this group, but should have an extremely long leash as the starter in Houston.
Tier 5c – Deshaun Watson
Watson will be suspended for the first 11 games of the season. That puts him out for 87% of the fantasy football season, making it very difficult to draft him. That’s a long time to eat up a bench spot or even an IR spot. At the same time, Watson will be a player we’ll want to scoop up off of waivers as we approach the middle of the season.
Tier 6a – 2QB Early-Season Options
Be careful with this duo, as both quarterbacks enter 2022 on borrowed time with both the Falcons and Steelers selecting a quarterback in April’s draft. They may open the season as starters, but it’s unlikely they remain in those jobs for more than a month.
Tier 6b – 2QB Late-Season Options
While neither of these guys was a high-end first-round pick, there has been some buzz that both could take over as starters sooner rather than later. Pickett was a first round selected, as the Steelers took him 20th overall. It’s tough to envision that organization using a premium pick on quarterback without having a plan to get him on the field in Year 1. However, Ridder wasn’t selected until the third round. The last decade has shown us that quarterbacks drafted in the third round aren’t anything more than career backups. We haven’t seen major impact from a third-round quarterback since Russell Wilson. However, Ridder may get a look if the team gets out to a slow start.
Tier 7 – Watch List
Drew Lock
Jacoby Brissett
Jimmy Garoppolo
Sam Darnold
Malik Willis
These guys aren’t going to be drafted in regular-sized leagues, but you should keep your eye on them. Lock offers more appeal than Smith, but he’s far from guaranteed to win the job. Brissett’s fate hinges on the league’s decision on Watson. As for Garoppolo, his future depends on what the 49ers decide to do with him. Trading him seems less likely by the day. He could also end up being cut, in which case he’d almost certainly be immediately signed. Darnold is also worth monitoring in case he’s able to beat out Baker Mayfield for the starting job. Willis is well behind Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, but the rookie did flash upside in the preseason opener.
More fantasy football draft strategy and rankings
FTN Fantasy has plenty to help you win your fantasy leagues in 2022. Check out the rest of our rankings and strategy content:
- 2022 fantasy football rankings
- 2022 fantasy football draft strategy guide
- 2022 fantasy football draft day checklist
- Fantasy football tiers: Overall
- RB tiers for fantasy football
- WR tiers for fantasy football
- TE tiers for fantasy football
- Fantasy keepers and value chart
- Dynasty rankings for fantasy football
- Dynasty rookie rankings for fantasy football
