Fantasy Football: Quarterback tiers for your 2022 season

Training camps starting around the NFL means that the most exciting time of the year is coming. Fantasy Football is gearing up and players are starting to analyze and create their draft boards, and we’re also gearing up our Fantasy Football coverage in YebScore as well, whether you’re playing in a standard method or if you prefer the DFS games.

It’s always smart not to draft a quarterback in the first round of a Fantasy Football draft, but you still need a capable player who’s capable of consistently putting up good numbers if you want to compete for the title. The talent available is deep, so you don’t have to search a lot and you can always find a replacement; nevertheless, if you get the right guy, it’s one less thing you have to worry about during the season.

A year ago, we’ve discussed whether it was smart to draft a quarterback in the earlier rounds of Fantasy Football. As always, the key is to find value: you don’t have to spend a first-round pick on a passer, but if you wait too long, the right guy might slip through your cracks and you’ll be disappointed. It’s up to you to judge when it’s the right time to take your guy.

Let’s break down the 2022 fantasy quarterbacks in tiers, explaining where you should be looking to draft any of them.

Tier 1: Elite quarterbacks, Rounds 2-4

Members: Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson.

The four elite members who open up our list have something in common: in addition to putting up huge numbers as passers, they can also attack through the ground. Allen has been the number one quarterback in Fantasy Football for the previous two seasons and he’s the favorite to make it a three-peat;

Mahomes and Herbert will dominate with their deep throws and touchdowns, while Jackson is always a favorite option for Fantasy Football owners as he’s a complete dual threat with over 1,000 rushing yards in the two seasons that he played at least 15 games.

Any of these guys will be fantastic for your team, but you’ll have to spend an early pick on them. It’s about finding the perfect value.

Tier 2: Great quarterbacks, rounds 5-8

Members: Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts, Matthew Stafford, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers.

Having any of these guys as your starter guarantees that you can be safe week in, week out – but their chances of exploding in a game are slightly smaller than those from Tier 1. Murray and Prescott are great passers on the move, but they’re not a threat running the ball as, say, Allen or Jackson.

Burrow and Stafford are two magnanimous passers who should give you big numbers as well, but they don’t offer much outside the pocket – the same can be applied for Tom Brady here. Aaron Rodgers, back-to-back league MVP, will see a drop in his numbers with Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling moving to other teams, while Jalen Hurts is a dual-threat but he lacks consistency as a passer to rank in Tier 1.

Tier 3: Good quarterbacks, rounds 9-10

Members: Trey Lance, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins.

With these three guys, you’re well positioned, but you’re going with consistency rather than shooting for the stars. Guys like Carr and Cousins are good quarterbacks who rank just outside the top 10 both in the NFL and in Fantasy Football – if you’re in a 10 or 12-person league, perhaps you should consider going with the guys from previous tiers, even if you have to reach a little bit.

Trey Lance is an unknown here as nobody knows how he’s going to perform in his first season as a starter. But with his starter job confirmed and his rushing ability from his North Dakota State days, you might be able to buy him low and get yourself a damn good dual-threat weapon.

Tier 4: Intriguing quarterbacks, high upside, starter potential, rounds 11-13

Members: Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence, Ryan Tannehill, Matt Ryan, Deshaun Watson.

None of these guys should be considered good enough to start for your team, but if you get them on the roster, rest assured you have a competent backup for when your starter gets hurt or is in a bye week.

We can start with Fields here. He’s probably the worst passer of the bunch, but his stock gets a huge boost as he’s also a running threat; Lawrence can be the surprise of the season depending on how he performs under the new coaching staff and with a renewed supporting cast; Tannehill, Ryan are two older guys who offer something as passers, but you should not expect them to lead your team.

The other guy here, of course, is Watson. Nobody knows for how long he’ll be suspended, so drafting him should be something of a last hurrah. If he gets half a year, it’s a good thing to have him for the second half of Fantasy Football season as well; but if he’s out for the entirety of 2022, then you’re just wasting a pick on a guy that you can’t count with. Wait as long as you can to get him.

Tier 5: Low upside, backups, rounds 14+

Members: Jameis Winston, Mac Jones, Zach Wilson, Davis Mills, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Daniel Jones.

If any of these guys are your primary backup, then you better pray that you have a good starter and that he’s not going to get hurt. Although all of them are starters in the NFL, none is a top-20 quarterback in Fantasy Football and their upside is low.

Sure, for a game or two, they can serve you well. But don’t expect them to have a good season out of nowhere and help you win your league, because they’re not going to do that.

More NFL News:
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire opens camp on PUP list
Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick (wrist) put on NFI list
Jets activate OT Mekhi Becton, DE Carl Lawson, TE C.J. Uzomah
Drew Brees won’t pursue broadcast gig to spend time with family