Backup QB Battles To Monitor For 2026 Fantasy Football

Get your quarters and your cowboy hats ready, folks, because there’s a lotta QB carousels to ride this offseason.

Between the outright training camp battles and the high number of veteran quarterbacks barely clinging to their starting gigs, there’s not a big list of “surefire” starters at the position.

Let’s dive into our projections to see which fringe QBs we expect to win the gig this offseason …

Shedeur Sanders vs Deshaun Watson

On one hand, Watson has one of the three worst EPA per dropback marks of any QB over the last two seasons.

On the other hand, the two QBs joining him in that bottom three are Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Oh, and Sanders also had the lowest completion percentage of any QB with at least 200 pass attempts last year. Get those paper bags ready, Browns fans!

It won’t be pretty, but Cleveland needs to know if Sanders can develop into a capable starter.

Our Projections: Sanders 10 starts, Watson 7

Kyler Murray vs J.J. McCarthy

Dwain McFarland isn’t making this out to be much of a competition, with Kyler getting mostly a full season to start.

I’m as big a Kyler apologist as you'll find outside of the Murray family tree, but I’m still a little worried that the Vikings try to (unsuccessfully) double down on McCarthy, at least right up until the buzzer. That could make it tough for Kyler to get on the same page with his receivers early on.

Essentially, Minnesota is Gretchen Wieners. McCarthy is the word “fetch.” And fantasy managers are soon to be Regina George.

Our Projections: Murray 15.5, McCarthy 1.5

Tua Tagovailoa vs Michael Penix

The battle for left-handed dominance takes center stage in Atlanta this summer. The Dolphins paid way more in dead money to get rid of Tua than the Falcons did to sign him, so I expect shades of 2024 Russell Wilson, with the Steelers letting the competition play out without any sunk-cost fallacies getting in the way.

For what it’s worth, Wilson played 11 games for Pittsburgh that season.

Our Projections: Tagovailoa 9, Penix 8

Other Fringe Starters:

Jacoby Brissett

Between his contract standoff with the Cardinals and the buzzsaw of stout defenses Arizona faces early on, we expect a healthy dose of rookie Carson Beck by season’s end. Sorry in advance to the Marvin Harrison believers.

Our Projections: Brissett 11, Beck 6

Geno Smith

The Jets are once again trying to turn over a new leaf as a franchise, but Aaron Glenn is still the head coach, and Woody Johnson is still the owner. Ya know, the same guys who handled Justin Fields like a sandwich bag full of hepatitis last year. Geno should give the Jets a better chance to win games, but the team is also on the wrong side of the median strength of schedule.

Our Projections: Smith 14, Cade Klubnik 3

Kirk Cousins

The soon-to-be 38-year-old khaki pant enthusiast signed what amounts to a one-year deal as a bridge quarterback for Vegas. The $11.3 million in guaranteed money is just enough to cement Cousins as the Week 1 starter, but not enough to hold off the Raiders’ first overall pick, Fernando Mendoza, for very long.

Our Projections: Cousins 4, Mendoza 13

Around the Watercooler

The latest fantasy and NFL gossip, news, memes and more from our merry band of football nerds …

📈 With Mahomes on the mend … what’s happening to the Chiefs’ rankings in fantasy land?

🤔 All of the hype surrounding the Jags RBs, but should you be selling one of them?

👀 Is there a case for Christian McCaffrey as THE RB1 in 2026? Ian and Dwain dig in.

📝 Have your rookie draft coming up? Our rookie rankings are here to help.

🚨 ICYMI: Track every bye week of 2026 and draft accordingly.

Years Of Guarantees With Josh Allen

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Buy-Low Targets For Dynasty Fantasy Football

You don’t need me to tell you that dynasty is all about the long game. But to paraphrase Lloyd Christmas, there are some leagues where the trades flow like wine and active managers flock to the group chat like the salmon of Capistrano.

And in those trade-heavy leagues, it can be advantageous to flip some of the more fringe dynasty assets depending on the direction of the wind. So if the early-season schedules look especially favorable for a player with relatively low value, we shouldn’t hesitate to go after them.

If they give us a boost early on as we expect, great, maybe we can offload them for an even bigger return once their schedules stiffen. And if they don’t give us that boost? Well, please send your strongly worded letters to Sam Wallace …

Isaiah Likely | TE | NYG

TWO MORE SCREAMING BUYS

The Late-Round RB Sleeper Of 2026?

The Carolina Panthers spent a second-round pick on Jonathon Brooks back in 2024, and he's played in just three games over his first two seasons. With his return to health seemingly nearing completion, should dynasty managers be paying more attention to the still-only 22-year-old RB?

Let's rewind the clock a bit.

Courtesy of our Rookie RB Model, Brooks was the RB1 of a relatively weak RB class back in 2024. His model score of 75 would have put him fifth in the 2025 class and 29th overall dating back to 2017. However, he would have slotted in as the No. 2 option this year, just ahead of Jadarian Price (71).

Brooks missed most of his rookie season because of a late-season ACL tear in college, and then he re-tore the same ACL once he returned. He went on to miss the remainder of 2024 and all of 2025. He now qualifies as more than just a post-hype sleeper; he has just 12 total NFL touches to his name and none since Week 14 of 2024.

However, despite the brutal injuries and significant missed time, all signs are pointing to Brooks playing a significant role for the Panthers this season. He's been cleared by his doctor to take part in the offseason program, and he reportedly feels close to 100%. Our fantasy football projections are optimistic as well:

125 rushing attempts
552 rushing yards (4.4 YPC)
3.3 rushing TDs
23 receptions
166 receiving yards
4+ total TDs

His projected finish is currently RB41.

Chuba Hubbard will likely get the first crack at lead-back duties, but Brooks should have no problem factoring in right away as either an RB2 or a strong 1B. Besides Hubbard, the only competition Brooks will have for touches is AJ Dillon and Trevor Etienne.

Here at Fantasy Life, we are pretty confident in Brooks beating out both of them for playing time and opportunities.

In a piece earlier this offseason, Dwain McFarland reminded us of some key metrics that made Brooks an intriguing rookie prospect just a few short seasons ago:

He broke out with 1,139 rushing yards, 10 TDs and 6.1 yards per carry in his third season at Texas
His career 34% missed-tackles-forced rate sits in the 83rd percentile since 2017
His 4.1 yards after contact lands in the 60th percentile

Pass-catching upside is always something to look for in later-round RBs. While consistent rushing attempts might be more difficult to come by as the secondary option, a player who can be productive and efficient in the passing game can turn those higher-value touches into more fantasy points.

While there's certainly some intrigue for Brooks, I'm honestly a bit more excited about (and think he has more potential upside in) dynasty leagues. Adam Pfeifer recently noted that Brooks is moving up the board in early best ball drafts as managers are starting to take notice. Dynasty managers should be paying attention as well …

WHAT IS BROOKS WORTH IN DYNASTY LEAGUES?