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Top Quarterbacks (QB) For Fantasy Football 2023

High-Scoring 2022 Spikes 2023 ADPs

Do you need to draft an elite QB to compete now?

Last season found Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts dominating the final QB rankings.

Each outscored the rest of the position by more than 2.5 points per game (depending some on your format). Then came Joe Burrow, likely another 3+ fantasy points per game ahead of the rest of the field.

All four sit high, of course, in our 2023 fantasy football QB rankings. And landing any of them in your fantasy football draft is attractive.

But it'll cost you.

Top 2022 QBs Going High

Current Underdog Fantasy ADP finds Mahomes, Hurts, and Allen (in that order) all going inside the first 28 picks.

That's at least down a little vs. May, when all three sat inside Round 2. Mahomes now carries the only Round 2 ADP, with Hurts just outside and Allen about four picks into Round 3.

Lamar Jackson actually sits at the end of Round 3. Burrow and Justin Fields follow, with the Bengal in Round 4 and the Bear now just beyond it (49.5 overall).

You Don't Need to Target That Group

But last year marked just the second time since 2011 that more than one QB scored as high as last year's top 4. And we haven't tended to see the same player or two lead the top fantasy quarterbacks year to year.

It might be better to look past that top shelf, where you can still find value in some players we list below.

And keep in mind that the final top 9 of 2022 also included Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins, and Jared Goff.

So you can still find answers even beyond these top QBs.

Top Fantasy Quarterbacks (QBs)

• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
• Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
• Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
• Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
• Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
• Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
  
• Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Josh Allen, Bills

The Perfect Combo of Passing and Running?

Allen has been the top fantasy quarterback two of the past three years. Since both became starters in 2018, only Patrick Mahomes has more fantasy points per game than Allen.

Change that scope to just the past three seasons, and Allen leads by nearly a point per game.

*Fantasy points (and standings) will vary by format.

Rushing Differentiates Him

Since Allen entered the league in 2018, only Lamar Jackson has more rushing yards among QBs.

Allen has rushed for 12 more TDs than any other QB in that time, though – 14 more than Jackson.

(Jalen Hurts sits second, with 42 fewer starts than Allen and 27 fewer than Jackson.)

But passing improvement has obviously been key as well. Allen ranked just 32nd and 31st in Pro Football Focus passing grade his first two years, respectively. The past three have found him sixth, ninth, and third.

It wouldn’t hurt to get bigger contributions from WR Gabe Davis and/or some combo of rookie TE Dalton Kincaid and the rest of the pass-catching corps.

But Allen has proved he doesn’t need much help to rank among the top fantasy QBs.

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Star WR Helps Boost Passing

After his two starting seasons, Hurts sits behind only Josh Allen in fantasy points per game. He leads Allen, though, in rushing yards per game (51.5) and rushing TDs (23-13 total).

That ground work primarily drives Hurts’ status as one of the top fantasy quarterbacks. But he proved in 2022 that he’s no slouch as a passer.

A.J. Brown’s arrival helped jump Hurts from 20th in PFF passing grade in 2021 to fourth last season. Hurts also increased his adjusted completion rate by 5 percentage points and bumped his passer rating by 16 points.

The Philly QB tied Geno Smith for fifth in that category.

Hurts returns Brown and DeVonta Smith as one of the league’s best WR tandems. He should get a healthier Dallas Goedert, after the TE lost five games to a shoulder injury.

Oh, and the NFL has not (yet) outlawed Hurts’ tush-push QB sneak.

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Who Needs Elite WRs?

But how is Mahomes gonna fare without Tyreek Hill? Just fine, apparently.

This full-time resident of the top fantasy QB neighborhood led the league in passing yards and TD passes in Year 1 post-Hill.

Mahomes actually increased his completion rate (slightly), his TD rate, and his yards per attempt vs. 2021. And he led all QBs in fantasy points for the second time in five years, with three other top-6 finishes in between.

Good luck finding any metric that doesn’t smile on Mahomes. And he showed us last year that him plus Andy Reid’s offense plus TE Travis Kelce equals big fantasy upside regardless of who else is catching passes.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

How Different Will These Ravens Look?

You might have heard that Jackson can run a little bit. 

As I mentioned earlier, he leads all QBs in rushing yards since 2018, when both he and Josh Allen entered the league. And Jackson didn’t even start until the final seven games of that year.

That rushing ability won’t go away. The big question for this year, though, is how much more passing can we expect. It will obviously be more.

Baltimore dumped run-heavy OC Greg Roman for pass-leaning Todd Monken. Check this difference from Jared’s enlightening “105 Things I Learned Doing 2023 Fantasy Football Projections”:

New Ravens OC Todd Monken has averaged a +1.8% Pass Rate Over Expected across four seasons as an NFL OC. The Ravens averaged a -5.5% Pass Rate Over Expected under former OC Greg Roman over the past four seasons.

Jackson’s breakthrough 2019 included 1,206 rushing yards. But it also included league-leading numbers in TD passes, TD rate, and QBR. The following year found him tied for third in TD rate and ranking seventh in QBR.

Deteriorating WR talent, a run-heavy offense, and injuries have limited Jackson’s impact the past two years.

Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Jackson

But the injuries have been one-offs. The ankle sprain that effectively ended his 2021 early didn’t carry over into last season. The PCL sprain of 2022 never seemed like it was expected to end his year. And the record extension Jackson got this offseason tells us the team isn’t worried about his health.

On top of the OC switch, Baltimore spent big for WR Odell Beckham Jr. in free agency and drafted WR Zay Flowers in Round 1. The Ravens will also get WR Rashod Bateman back from a Week 4 foot injury that wound up ending his season.

This should pretty easily be the best pass-catching corps of Jackson’s career. The backfield is also healthier, with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards each a full season removed from summer 2021 ACL tears.

Add all that to the new pass-friendly OC and Jackson’s top-shelf rushing production, and you have a guy with the upside to lead the top fantasy football quarterbacks.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Might Be League’s Best Passer

It’s easy to forget, but last year marked the first full NFL season in which Burrow wasn’t coming off a major knee injury.

His completion rate, TE rate, and yards per pass attempt actually decreased vs. 2021, which began with Burrow less than a year beyond tearing the ACL and MCL in his left knee.

Burrow turned it on late in 2021 and has led all QBs in PFF passing grade each of the past two years.

Cincinnati wisely decided to lean more on Burrow in 2022. After ranking just 13th in neutral-situation pass rate in 2021, the Bengals jumped to No. 1 last season.

With Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins continuing to lead the receiving corps for one of the top fantasy QBs, we see no reason to believe Cincinnati will change for 2023.

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Bad Luck, Other Factors Limited His 2022

Bad luck might have kept Herbert from sitting higher among the top fantasy quarterbacks last season.

He attempted the second most passes in the league, trailing only Tom Brady. Yet Herbert’s fantasy points per game fell more than 5.0 behind each of his previous two seasons.

Blame a terrible TD rate as the primary culprit. His 3.6% tied for 21st in the NFL. Herbert ranked eighth in 2021 and 14th in 2020, each time finishing at least 1.5 percentage points higher than last year.

Injuries to WR Keenan Allen (seven missed games) and WR Mike Williams (four) also didn’t help.

Chargers Saw Need for Change

The Chargers clearly didn’t believe it was just bad luck, though. After falling from fourth in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA to 19th, they fired OC Joe Lombardi and Shane Day, who served as pass game coordinator and QBs coach.

Kellen Moore takes over after piloting the Cowboys offense the past four years. Three of those teams ranked 13th or better in pass-offense DVOA, including two inside the top 6. The fourth missed Dak Prescott for three-quarters of the games. Dallas also performed better (11th in pass DVOA) after Prescott returned from his thumb injury.

A coaching change, better health for his WRs, adding first-round WR Quentin Johnston, and some better luck should push Herbert up the ranks of the top QBs for fantasy football.

Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

Can He Become More Than Just a Runner?

Interestingly, the Bears increased both their passing rate and Fields’ rushing attempts per game over the second half of last season.

His nine carries per game through six contests already marked a high rate for the position. But Fields then averaged 11.8 over his final nine outings. That’s a bit misleading, however.

The Bears debuted WR Chase Claypool in Week 9, after acquiring him from the Steelers. Before that game, 59.9% of Chicago’s plays produced rushing attempts (including QB scrambles). 

Bears Threw More After Trade

From Week 9 on, that dipped to 52.8%. Even if you remove the two games Fields missed in that segment, the rate was still 54%.

Chicago has since made a big trade for WR D.J. Moore. And the team drafted a OT Darnell Wright 10th overall. (He’s expected to start at RT.)

You can bet on this team passing more. How much more? We can’t know that until the season starts. And Fields’ escapability will always shift those rates. According to Pro Football Focus, 44% of his rushing attempts last season came via scrambles.

Fields’ ability to rank among the top fantasy QBs will rely heavily on his rushing production. But whether and how he improves as a passer could determine how high that ceiling goes. 

Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns

Can He Rebound, or Should We Be Worried?

Watson missed nearly two years of action between his last game with the Texans in 202 and his first Browns appearance. So it shouldn’t have surprised anyone if he was a little rusty.

But is that all it was? He was pretty bad.

His 58.2% completion rate and 4.1% TD rate were easily career lows. His 6.5 yards per attempt would have tied Davis Mills for 28th in the league, if Watson had passed enough to qualify. His 38.3 QBR would have ranked 28th as well.

So what makes this guy one of the top fantasy QBs for 2023?

A Force Before His Suspension

This guy still won’t turn 28 until Sept. 14. Before Houston effectively suspended him for all of 2021 and then the NFL sat him officially for 11 games last season, Watson had never finished lower than seventh among QBs in fantasy points.

Since he entered the league in 2017, only Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have averaged more fantasy points per game than Watson. He also ranks:

• 11th among active QBs in passing yards per game
• eighth in rushing yards per game
• sixth in passing TD rate

Watson has been very good for most of his career. And Cleveland’s offense presents plenty of talent, led by WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku. The trade for WR Elijah Moore and third-round selection of WR Cedric Tillman add options, and WR Donovan Peoples-Jones has averaged 16.0 yards per catch through three seasons.

As long as Watson didn’t forget how to play QB, we’re betting he’ll jump back among the top fantasy QBs in 2023.

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Room to Build Off Second-Year Rebound

Lawrence made big improvements from Year 1 to Year 2. In fact, he even stepped it up during that second season.

Through Week 8, Lawrence tied for just 33rd in Pro Football Focus passing grade. From Week 9 through the playoffs, he checked in second. Lawrence also ranked fourth in adjusted completion rate and eighth in passer rating over the latter span.

Jacksonville imported TE Evan Engram and WR Christian Kirk to improve the surrounding talent in HC Doug Pederson’s first season. They also traded for WR Calvin Ridley, who now becomes available after sitting out 2022 on a gambling suspension.

Watch for Efficiency Boost

Lawrence climbed to seventh among QBs in fantasy points in 2022 and tied for ninth in fantasy points per game. And there’s clearly room for growth.

His average target depth dipped by a half-yard in Year 2, ranking 22nd in the league. And Lawrence’s yards per attempt fell short of even that number (7.0 vs. 7.4). His 4.3% TD rate also ranked just 18th.

Jacksonville has the pass-catching talent to help Lawrence improve any of those numbers – with potential to grow all of them.

Why Stop Here?

Are you really only interested in the top fantasy quarterbacks for 2023?

If you're just skimming the top names and following ADP, then you're basically donating money to your competitors. Save yourself some time and just Venmo it to them.

Or maybe you actually want to enhance your fantasy football strategy for 2023.

That's the entire reason we're here.

So dig into our 2023 fantasy football rankings to start your planning. And get your Draft War Room fired up early, so you're ready to make them pay come draft day.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.