The Lineup Show - Top 24 Quarterback Rankings For Week 1 | Fantasy Football 2026

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2:09Welcome into the live fancy football show. I'm Mitch Anderson. I'm Justin Mello. And Mello the NFL season is here. Week one's right around the corner. Let's help people win the most important week to start the season. If you have any questions about your lineup or any starts at decisions, let us know down below in the comments where you're going to be answering every single one because we are committed to helping you win your first game. But Mello, let's start off with our number one quarterback here in week one. It's Lamar Jackson at Indy feeling great about that spot. Last season the Colts had a bottom 10 defense according to pro football focus and allowed the second most passing yards in the NFL. Also Lamar was the quarterback one of all time. The last time we saw him play a full healthy season. And there imagine I think this is the one really people forget about. He was the quarterback one overall by a whole three points per game last year through week three before we got hurt. I know it's only three weeks. But he was the qb one by a whole three points per game through three weeks.

3:10Handily my quarterback one going into week one. You know, we talk a lot about the quarterback one overall in 2024. That is one that I don't know if I fully realize that's pretty incredible. Yeah. Let's talk about our qb two though. You just talked about a guy that we've been worried about with injury. Here's another one. Let's talk about Joe burrow who should be fully healthy here for their game against Tampa Bay. 52 and a half point total healthy Joe burrow healthy T Higgins healthy to mark chase. No questions asked here in one of the best offensive environments. If not the best offensive environment in week one. Yeah, you can't go wrong here. There's going to be so many points. Everyone's healthy, which has been kind of an issue in recent years. Hopefully they don't get off to a slow start like to have a nearest past. Right. Everything else is there. All right. Next we have Josh Allen. This one is taught because on one hand Houston has debatably the best defense in the league. And Josh Allen scored his second he was fantasy points on the season last year when he went against the Texans.

4:10But on the other hand, it's Josh Frickin Allen. He is a top two fantasy quarterback every single year. We shouldn't have to overthink this one very much. He's a must start every week. It feels crazy to have him here at number three, but I have to agree. It's kind of like when we put Christian McCaffrey at number one and it feels so wrong not to be putting the guy that was the first overall pick as the number one running back. But the matchups are the matchups here and Josh Allen is going up against an imposing defense. We have to drop him in entire two spots down to the quarterback three. But this is the right spot. But let's move on to number four. This is a guy in a spot I absolutely love. Jalen Hertz taking on the Washington commanders outside of that game in 2024 when Jalen Hertz went down early and Kenny Pickett came in. He's averaging 22.1 points for game against Washington in his career. We keep talking about the Eagles comeback tour and the first city on that band T shirt mellow for this comeback tour is in Washington. I think Jalen Hertz is going to explode against the commanders. I'm with you. The vibes are so negative on Jalen Hertz and to some extent the Eagles right now I don't

5:14think it's warranted. This is a great match up. This is a guy who has historically been a great fantasy quarterback, even when the real life production has not been there quite to the same extent. So I'm excited about Jalen Hertz in week one. Another quarterback. I am very excited about Justin Herbert going against the Arizona Cardinals. He finally has two healthy offensive tackles and a competent play collar. He dropped 27 fantasy points week one last year when his line was relatively healthy and I use that relatively word lightly. And on top of all of it, he gets to play Arizona, who allowed the third most points per attempt last season, the fifth most passing yards and the fourth most passing touchdowns. Yeah, he's another guy too. We talk about a lot as being like a pocket passer, but like obviously has like the wheels too. He was second in the entire NFL on quarterbacks in rushing yards and part of that was the offensive line issues and a career high and scramble rate. But Justin Herbert to me against Arizona, an absolutely unbelievable spot, really, really

6:18high upside. And I think we both agree like barring any huge injuries, which is obviously an issue in LA. We could see Justin Herbert having an absolutely massive year. But let's move on to number six. Let's talk about a guy that I keep seeing conversations about this guy being a potential QB one overall dark horse Caleb Williams taking on the Carolina Panthers. We just talked last episode about his receivers, but like you said, we've heard Ben Johnson say he wants this team to be the highest scoring offense in NFL history. And if that were to happen, it's got to start with Caleb Williams. And in his one game against the Panthers as a rookie, he passed for 304 yards and two touchdowns. I expect Caleb Williams to start hot here. Yeah, he's got just a ridiculous supporting cast. One of the best offensive minds in the league. You hear about the projections of this offense and the hype around this offense. How good they're going to be. I think it starts here in week one. Next we have Dak Prescott in a visual game at the Giants. Dak Prescott's last four weekly finishes when playing against the Giants quarterback five,

7:20three, eleven and one. The Giants events is still bad. Dak still has CDLAM and George Pickens. This is an absolute smash spot for Dak Prescott. Dak Prescott is just like the most boring quarterback to just be so unbelievably consistent when he's healthy. And like you said, this defense still stinks. This offense is still incredible. No reason to believe Dak isn't going to absolutely light it up against the Giants. But moving on to number eight, thank God we don't have met number five. I can't deal with another lawsuit. That's Jaden Daniels taking on the Philadelphia Eagles. The games he's actually started and completed last year. He averaged 19.1 fantasy points per game. There's obviously a clear ceiling with this guy. His last game against Philadelphia, he passed for five touchdowns. He's one of the best dual threats in the league. Fire him up in your quarterback one slot. Yeah, don't let last year's injuries and the negative vibes around the commanders dissuade you from having. Burn the tapes. Jaden Daniels. Burn the tape. He runs the ball so much.

8:21He's good as a passer. He has the best weapons he's has career at this point now that you have the fond digs to this offense. So I think I'll have a really good week one. Another quarterback. We like a lot. Trevor Lawrence taking on the Browns. I will say Cleveland's defense is sneaky. Still pretty good despite trading wave. I'll scare it, which is the only reason we don't have Lawrence higher. But he was the quarterback one overall from week 12 on last year. And he should hopefully carry that momentum forward in two year two with Liam Cohen. One thing to monitor will be the health of Jacoie Myers in these other weapons. It's a good thing that he has so many great weapons anyways. So I have confidence regardless. Yeah, we're so, so high on Trevor Lawrence this year. I sneaky sleep. Reb and liking his Parker Washington. But obviously we've just got to knock him down a little bit here against Cleveland. This is a really tough matchup. That being said, I'm so high on him in a season long outlook. On to number 10 though. Let's talk about Jackson Dart taking on the Dallas Cowboys. The vibes have been interesting to say the least in New York this off season.

9:24But this is the Cowboys defense that allowed by far by almost 50 points. The most fantasy points to quarterbacks last season. Obviously this Dallas defense has improved. So I don't think it will be quite as bad this year. But if there's ever a spot to start a breakout season for Jackson Dart, it's here against Dallas. Yeah. Yeah, some of the camp reports haven't been the greatest for Jackson Dart. But boy, he's got a great spot to just turn the narrative upside down on its head. Obviously we'll need to monitor Malik neighbors availability and his health. Yeah. And week one that'll change things pretty drastically. But otherwise I really like this spot for Jackson Dart. Another guy who's spot I really like in week one is Baker Mayfield at Cincinnati. Talk about bad defenses. Baker may feel gets one here. People want you to forget that he has finished as a quarterback one in three straight seasons. People want you to forget that. Big guard her back wants you to forget. Yeah, big quarterback. Don't let them brainwash you man.

10:25He gets like I said, one of the worst defenses in the NFL here. We love that. Heavenly matchup. Similar to what we mentioned with the Jags and Giants though, we'll need to monitor the health of the pass catchers like a Buka who has the toe injury. Could bump may feel down if a Buka is in 100% or if he isn't playing, but I still like Baker regardless. We've got a healthy Baker mayfield in the game with the highest point total on the slate, which hopefully he'll have a mecca of Buka out there, but it is very easy to forget. Not only that he was a quarterback one in three straight seasons that he was the MVP candidate or excuse me, the top MVP candidate in the NFL heading into week six before injuries piled up in the PCL and MCL sprains, but like a healthy Baker mayfield against Cincinnati if fire me up, absolutely locked in quarterback one. And why not for our final quarterback one of week one talk about Jared golf going up against the New Orleans Saints who's finished as a top 10 fantasy football quarterback in

11:25four straight seasons. If this guy didn't look like a limping giraffe when he ran, I don't know how high we would be drafting him every year in fantasy, but nobody has a higher passing yards line here in week one than Jared golf. He may be boring, but he should be a certified quarterback one for the first week. Lumping giraffe like he's Mike Lennon or something honestly, that is Mike Lennon. I love Jared golf here in week one, too. Good match up. Great offense, dome game. We love all of that going into the quarterback to territory. We have Drake May at Seattle. He's obviously a guy we love season long should be one of the first quarterbacks off the board in drafts week one, we're a little bit less confident. The reason being that the Seahawks really embarrassed him last year in the Super Bowl, obviously the last time these two teams met. Yeah. The good news is that he's sneakily still scored 17 and a half fantasy points in that game, which is pretty respectable. All things considered, AJ Brown is now his teammate, Rick Wollin is no longer on the opposing side.

12:26So even though we have him as the quarterback 13, it's hard to imagine not starting him. Yeah, you don't, you don't draft Drake May and you don't start him. This ranking is more to tell you that I think you need to temper your expectations on what you're going to see here in week one. Obviously, May has a tremendous upside. He's one of these dual threat guys we talk about who can throw the deep ball and he can run, but I completely agree with you with the match up. He is a little bit like the receivers and how I view AJ Brown being like 12b to T Higgins is kind of Drake May being 12b to Jared golf. Football is finally back in prize picks is bringing out their best offer yet. New users who sign up will get $150 in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. That's right. If you win your first $5 lineup, you get $150 in lineups. And now prize picks is available nationwide. Lock it in for kickoff because everyone and everything is on prize picks. And you know, I'm always going more on Chris Godwin's receptions and receiving yards.

13:26It's my guy and for week ones opener, Sam Donald is everyone's guy because he needs just one yard against a wingland to cash his pick. It doesn't get any easier than that. And the best part about prize picks is the injury reboot. If a player in your lineup gets injured in the first half and doesn't return, your lineup can still cash. Plus with their social feature, you can find popular picks that users love and copy them with one click. So download the app today and use code player to get $150 instantly in lineups. If you win your first $5 lineup, I'll say it again. If you download the app today, use code player and you get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. Run your game. You know those pieces in your closet you find yourself wearing on repeat? Those are the pieces that make getting dressed easy and that's what Quince does best. Because you know I love T-shirts and then I went to Quince and I found truly sturdy, comfortable T-shirts that look great.

14:28Quince focuses on high quality wardrobe staples made with premium materials like 100% Mongolian cashmere and marino wool. The styles are timeless, versatile and designed to become the dependable pieces you reach for a day after day. Everything at Quince is priced at 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories to cut out the middlemen so you pay for high quality, not brand markup. So find your next fall favorite at Quince. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash player. Get free shipping on your order in 365 day returns now available in Canada and the UK too. That's q-u-i-n-c-e.com slash player. Now go to quince.com slash player. On to number 14. Mellow this feels wrong for me to talk about Kyler Murray taking on green ve and not you. I'm going to admit something. Here is no telling what we see here, but I'm taking the side of the Vikings get off to a good start. Kevin O'Connell is going to put Kyler Murray in a position to succeed.

15:30He's going to have the best weapons of his entire career and he's going to do just that. He's going to succeed in his debut as a Viking. I can't tell you everything that's going to happen this year, but I truly think they're going to set him up for success and you're going to see this comeback story start for Kyler Murray. Yeah, I talked about it the receiver episode with Justin Jefferson. I think week one is going to be the start of something beautiful this season for this Vikings offense. Kyler's going to cook. JJ's going to cook. It's going to be glorious. I'm looking forward to watching it. Next we have Matthew Stafford playing in Australia against the 49ers. The MVP and quarterback three overall last year comes in at 15. Stafford finished as the quarterback two and quarterback eight in the two weeks. He played the Niners last year, which is promising. However, the San Fran defense was mighty beat up last year. It should hopefully be healthy this time around. Electric substation willing. And I'm also not sure how flying into Australia within 24 hours of kickoff will play off for the Rams, but I guess we'll find out.

16:33Yeah, that is definitely a very interesting strategy, but yeah, Stafford should be in a really, really good spot here. Like you said, like I did not realize it was that good against San Francisco. Obviously, I dug a little bit into what Devonte Adams did last year. I'm a Pukinacua did last year. There's no reason to believe Matthew Stafford shouldn't come out slinging it. And this is a team he's familiar with. I absolutely love him at 15. And there's another guy I love here at number 16, not as much week one, but season long. He is my guy. That's Brock party. I don't think week one is going to be Brock's highest ceiling environment. As we've seen him tend to be just fine versus the Rams in his career, but nothing special. Continue to monitor the health of his past catchers as well. But there's probably better options if you're in a 1 QB league for week one, then Brock party. Superflex though, you should feel extremely confident firing him up as your quarterback to. Yeah. And don't sleep on his ability to scamper. That boy scampers. Big scampers. Big scampering guy. Big scampering guy. I love a chance in this game if they're thrown the ball late, have some scramble.

17:34So not the worst of quarterback twos. Next we have the leak willis playing at Vegas. Now let me say that. Big scamper. He strides Mitch. He's a strider. I will admit, the dolphin should be relegated to the SEC. The camp reports around this team have been more depressing than those animal cruelty, like PSA commercials that play in the arms of the angel. You know, shout out Sarah McLaughlin. Yes. Thank you. I'm glad you know exactly what I'm talking about. But with that said, he still could be a decent start here as a mobile quarterback, a strider, as we called him, playing against a Swiss cheese Las Vegas defense. I kind of like him in two quarterback leagues, even though I'm scared in one quarterback. Yeah, this is probably not the week I would start Maliquilis. I would probably bench him and look at what it looks like, look at how much he's running the ball. It's definitely not a bad matchup. So this is one that you should be excited about with Maliquilis. I just, there has to be a better option. If there, if you don't have anyone available out of the 16 guys we've named, yes, start

18:37him. But to me, I completely agree he's more of a super flex start here than we want. On to number 18. We've talked about this game a lot in all three of our rankings episodes. Let's talk about the New Orleans Detroit game. Let's talk about Tyler Schuck. Mellow as a real certified Schuckhead. I am so excited to see him kick off the sophomore tour with an unbelievable game environment. From week 10 on last season, this guy was the quarterback 12. Now he has another full off season under his belt. I think we could absolutely see him take the next step starting with this incredible situation in Detroit. Yeah, I think I just kind of want quarterbacks going against the Lions this year just because they're going to be playing from behind and the last second area isn't good. Like it's just a great environment for quarterbacks. No Jordan Tyson stinks, but I still think Schuck is a solid super flex start. Load up 50 targets for Chris Alave. Honestly possible. Next up we got Bo Nick's playing at Kansas City. Nick's was decent, but not great in his two contests against the chiefs last year.

19:39I'm very excited to see him play with Jalen lot. I think that's going to be great. I'm not as excited about the matchup or the play collar change at the start of the season with Sean Payton giving up those duties. I think Nick's is probably just going to end up as a quarterback seven on the season. Again, just like he has every year of his careerless bar, but I'm probably keeping him on my bench in week one outside of superflex. I have nothing to add to that. I completely agree. He's going to be the quarterback seven again, but like this isn't the matchup I want Bo Nick's in. It's a very similar story to some of these other guys where, you know, I feel very comfortable and superflex, but not as comfortable in one QB and the difference I'd say between like him and Malik Willis is like, I could see Malik Willis randomly rushing for a hundred yards and he does have quarterback one upside. Bo Nick's I just I have a hard time seeing it in the spot against Kansas City. Same. Let's take a look at the other side of that game and let's look at Patrick Mahomes taking on Denver Broncos. This one's tough. We love Patrick Mahomes. He was the quarterback two last year before he got hurt, but we know Denver is not an

20:40inviting matchup specifically for quarterbacks, specifically for a guy who will be in his first real game action since tearing his ACL and somehow getting back on the field this quickly. He's average just under 18 fantasy points for game against Denver in his career. I would be cautious here. Same advice we've been giving. This is more of a quarterback to. This is the line where I would say like there has to be a better option for you to start in week one in one quarterback, League than Patrick Mahomes. Yeah, I am hesitant to ever bet against Patrick Mahomes, but I will in week one at least from a fantasy perspective. Yeah, I will in a week one regular season game. Right. From a fantasy perspective too, like the chiefs can go out when that game in a home still could be the quarterback 19 on the week. Just coming off the ACL matchup, it's I don't really want to start in a fantasy week one. Next up we have Jordan love at Minnesota. Jordan love is great, but maybe not quite as great for fantasy. The Packers just don't throw the ball enough to make it worthwhile to start. Jordan love unless the matchup is extra juicy. This one's not Brian Flores and the Vikings have a solid squad.

21:43Love is bailed to crack the top 20 quarterbacks in each of their last two matchups. So I'm not really going out of my way to start. Jordan love. I've said it before, but Jordan love just does not spark joy when I see him in my fantasy football lineup and I try to avoid it at all costs. This is this next guy is one that honestly also feels kind of icky when you put him in your starting lineup, but I actually think it could have like a pretty decent performance this year relative to his ADP. That Sam Darnell back in this game against New England. He's a really tough one of rank here. I think this matchup certainly does not help both of these defenses pretty stingy against the past. I think he's a fine guy to roll out into quarterbacks, super flex leagues. He just has like almost no ceiling to me in this matchup. Yeah, it's a tough matchup and I agree. I think Darnell's getting a little slept on maybe season long when you let that go. That's right. Yeah, I agree. The last couple of years, he's been good, but yeah, this is not the spot I'm starting him. Like maybe as a low end quarterback to it, super flex, but I just don't really love the matchup. Yeah. Next up, we have Daniel Jones taking on the Ravens.

22:46Is Daniel Jones truly healthy? Is Alec Pierce truly healthy? Is ancient Keenan Allen going to lead this team in targets in week one? I have no idea. The upside is that Jones is just as good as he was his start last year, but there is too much uncertainty for me to really feel confident about it, which is why we have him this low. Although he's an ancient Keenan Allen sound like ancient Mesopotamia, the the traversers went across the Keenan Allen. I don't have to worry about this. I don't plan on drafting Daniel Jones on any rosters, but if you do have him, yeah, this one you can lock him in as your second quarterback. I just I would actually rather this next guy probably just for the sake of like having a little more upside. Like I think Daniel Jones is just really a floor play. But onto our next one, we talked about this matchup a little bit last episode and I said this might be my favorite over of the week. Cam Moore taking on the New York Jets. What better way to kick off a breakout second season than a date with the New York Jets? They allowed the second most points to fantasy quarterbacks last year and according to my

23:49notes, are still the New York Jets. And so I'm excited to see what Cam can do here. He's got two new weapons. He's got car and L.T. He's got Wandael Robinson. You bring in Brian Debal. I expect him to elevate this offense. I think I like Cam Ward throughout the whole season seeing how he develops. But I actually think this is a spot that you could just see the breakout start. This defense is bad enough. Wait, Mitch, I'm actually fact checking you here. Oh no, you're right. They are still the New York Jets. They're still the New York Jets. Yeah. Yeah, they're still the New York Jets. This is a fair matchup. I think my one thing with Ward is I just kind of want to wait and see it first. I don't really have a lot of confidence in them yet. Yeah, so that's why I would probably keep him on the bench unless you're really desperate in like a super flex league. But the matchup's a little intriguing. Those were our top 24 quarterbacks for week one of the NFL season. As we said at the beginning, if you have any line up questions at all, that's why you come to the line of fans. You football. Leave them down below in the comments and we will answer as many as we possibly can. Because we are committed to helping you win the most important week to start the season.

24:49Week one. But Mellow, before we get out of here, did we miss anything? I think we got it all. All right. We'll catch you guys next episode. Football is finally back and prize picks is bringing out their best offer yet. New users who sign up will get $150 in line ups if you win your first $5 lineup. That's right. If you win your first $5 lineup, you get $150 in line ups. And now prize picks is available nationwide. Back at Infra kickoff because everyone and everything is on prize picks. And you know I'm always going more on Chris Godwin's receptions and receiving yards. That's my guy. And for week one's opener, Sam Darnold is everyone's guy because he needs just one yard against the wingland to cash his pick. It doesn't get any easier than that. And the best part about prize picks is the injury reboot. If a player in your lineup gets injured in the first half and doesn't return, your lineup can still cash. Plus with their social feature, you can find popular picks that users love and copy them with one click. Below the app today and use code player, you get $150 instantly in line ups. If you win your first $5 lineup, I'll say it again. You download the app today, use code player and you get $150 instantly in line ups if you

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