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VideoFrom Fantasy Football with Ian Hartitz

The Top-Five BEST Late-Round Fantasy Football QBs of 2026

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.

7 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 10, 2026
Published
Fri, July 10, 2026
24
Player insights
5
Players mentioned
Topics
Jared GoffBaker MayfieldKyler MurrayMalik WillisTyler Shough
Player analysis

Player insights

24

Baker Mayfield

PositiveValue0:04

Baker Mayfield is part of the 'Boomer Sooner method' late-round quarterback strategy, pairing him with Kyler Murray in the final rounds of fantasy drafts.

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PositiveProjection0:17

Led the NFL in passing touchdowns during 2023 and 2024 seasons and was getting unironic MVP consideration at home.

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NegativeInjury0:34

Suffered one injury after another down the stretch of last season, affecting his 2025 performance.

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PositiveProjection0:45

In 2024, averaged north of 21 fantasy points per game, good for QB4 status on the season, providing a strong baseline for 2026 expectations.

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PositiveValue0:54

Vegas is reasonably excited about the Buccaneers group with the Buccaneers projecting to be the 15th best scoring offense, and Baker comes at a very affordable QB2 price tag in fantasy.

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Jared Goff

PositiveValue0:04

Jared Goff is the author's favorite late-round fantasy football quarterback for 2026, available at a very cheap price that will help you make it to the championship.

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PositiveValue0:05

Jared Goff is available at a five-and-a-half-round discount compared to pocket passers like Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford, despite being outside the top 120 overall picks on Sleeper and top 150 on ESPN.

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PositiveProjection0:05

Jared Goff has eight separate top-five weekly fantasy finishes over the past two seasons, more than any quarterback not named Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, or Jalen Hurts.

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PositiveProjection0:05

Jared Goff has cleared 4,500 yards in three straight seasons, while the rest of the NFL combined for just six such seasons during that same span.

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PositiveRole0:05

The insertion of Jared Goff as offensive coordinator is a potential red flag, though ESPN's Field Yates and Yahoo's Nate Tice are encouraging and optimistic about the pairing, as is Vegas with the Lions ranked as the number one offense.

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NegativeMatchup0:06

Jared Goff has an unfavorable Week 17 championship weekend matchup in Chicago, where you would not want to play him outdoors.

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Kyler Murray

PositiveValue0:04

Kyler Murray is available at a very affordable late-round cost despite having the same number of top-five weekly fantasy finishes as Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Herbert over the past two seasons, thanks to his rushing upside.

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PositiveProjection0:04

With KOC as offensive coordinator, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and a much improved offensive environment, there is reason to be optimistic about Kyler Murray's fantasy upside in 2026.

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NegativeRole0:04

There is a potential short-leash factor with J.J. McCarthy that could limit Kyler Murray's playing time.

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PositiveDepth Chart0:42

New Vikings probable QB1, still technically in competition with J.J. McCarthy, but should be Kyler Murray's job to lose at the NFL level.

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PositiveProjection0:53

Simply hasn't been a bad fantasy quarterback for the majority of his career, and even with a five-game limited 2025 season, has the same number of top-five weekly fantasy finishes as Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Herbert.

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Malik Willis

PositiveProjection0:24

Over the past two years in Green Bay, worked as the most efficient passing quarterback in the league with better EPA per dropback and CPOE than anyone.

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PositiveRole0:55

The real reason for interest is his rushing upside, fully expecting him to clear triple digit rushing yards with sub 4.4 speed, top four quarterback in yards per scramble over past two years, and QB1 in yards per rush on read option.

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PositiveProjection1:15

Over the past decade, 28 quarterbacks with at least 100 rush attempts in a season had a 93% hit rate posting top 12 numbers on a per game basis, suggesting Willis could perform well if he gets rushing volume.

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PositiveValue1:30

Could do his best 2022 Justin Fields impression as a late-round option, virtually free at the end of drafts.

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Tyler Shough

PositiveProjection0:08

Upon taking over for Spencer Rattler in week nine, posted QB12 numbers on a per game basis the rest of the way, demonstrating strong performance in 2025.

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PositiveValue0:09

Author likes Tyler Shough but doesn't quite love him as this year's late round quarterback option.

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PositiveRole0:21

Big, strong-armed talent capable of putting touch on the football and can run pretty well, with the longest rushing touchdown by an NFC South quarterback since Cam Newton last year.

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NegativeProjection0:38

Advanced numbers are below average to average in EPA per dropback and completion percentage over expected, with Vegas early preseason implied scoring ranks having the Saints at just 23rd.

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Full transcript

Episode Transcript

211
0:00Today is a great day to break down the
0:02top five late round fantasy football
0:04quarterbacks that you, a scholar, should
0:06be targeting in your 2026 drafts. Number
0:08five, Saints quarterback Tyler Shough,
0:10who, guys, already put in a pretty good
0:12performance for himself in 2025. Upon
0:15taking over for Spencer Rattler in week
0:16nine, he messed around and posted QB12
0:19numbers on a per game basis the rest of
0:21the way. Look, this is a big,
0:23strong-armed talent also capable of
0:25putting touch on the football, and he
0:27can run pretty well. Longest rushing
0:29touchdown by an NFC South quarterback
0:31since Cam Newton last year, also saw
0:33that fast of his game show up in his
0:34ability to do some really good things
0:36off script. All that to say, film was
0:38nice, some of the advanced numbers not
0:40so nice, below average to average in
0:42more things than that, like EPA per
0:44dropback and completion percentage over
0:45expected, more nerdy stats like that.
0:47And we also have to consider the Drake
0:49Maye-esque schedule, two games against
0:51the Panthers, two games against the
0:53Falcons, also had the Dolphins,
0:54Buccaneers, Jets, and Titans thrown in
0:56there during the second half of the
0:57season. I'd and Jordan Tyson the offense
1:00is nice. It is legal for quarterbacks to
1:01get better in their year two in the
1:03system and everything, but Vegas early
1:05preseason implied scoring ranks have the
1:07Saints coming in at just 23rd. So, I
1:09like Tyler Shough, I don't quite love
1:11him though as this year's late round
1:12quarterback. My number four late round
1:13quarterback to target in 2026 fantasy
1:16football drafts, staying in the NFC
1:17South with Baker Mayfield, who, lest we
1:20forget, guys, led the NFL in passing
1:22touchdowns during the 2023 and 2024
1:24seasons, and was getting MVP chance,
1:26unironic MVP chance at home. Maybe some
1:30work for Tez Johnson uh through the
1:32first six weeks of last season. So, what
1:34went wrong? One injury after another. I
1:36want to keep this video short, so I'm
1:38not going to list all of them, but
1:39believe me, guys, head, shoulders,
1:40knees, and toes, everything was going
1:42wrong for Baker down the stretch of last
1:44season. So, if we do want to give him a
1:45pass for the 2025 year, we can go back
1:48to 2024 and see this dude averaging
1:50north of 21 fantasy points per game,
1:52good for QB4 status on the season. So,
1:54Vegas is reasonably excited about this
1:56group, even with the departure of Mike
1:58Evans. Buccaneers are projecting to be
1:59the 15th best scoring offense ahead of
2:02this season. So, bringing Zach Robinson
2:04is nice due to his history with Sean
2:05McVay. Wouldn't quite put it on the same
2:07level as someone like Mike McDaniel, but
2:09there is reason for optimism with Baker
2:11Mayfield at a very affordable QB2 price
2:14tag [music] in fantasy land. So, Baker
2:16comes in as my number four ranked late
2:17round quarterback ahead of 2026 drafts.
2:19My number three favorite late round
2:21quarterback ahead of 2026, new Dolphins
2:24starting quarterback Malik Willis, which
2:26might sound kind of crazy cuz he only
2:27has six career starts and 155 pass
2:30attempts to his name at the professional
2:31level, but you know, these last two
2:33years in Green Bay kind of worked as the
2:36most efficient passing quarterback in
2:38the league. I know, I know, small
2:40sample, but EPA per dropback, CPOE,
2:42literally better than anyone. So, yes,
2:44I'm not expecting that to exactly
2:46persist with the Dolphins dog water
2:48group of wide receivers and tight ends,
2:49but it's at least reason to believe we
2:51could be looking at an above average
2:53passer of the football, but let's face
2:55it, guys, the real reason we're here
2:56talking about Malik is that sweet, sweet
2:59rushing upside. Fully expecting him to
3:01be clearing that triple digit rushing
3:02market, man, has he made the most of
3:04those opportunities. Reported sub 4-4
3:07speed coming out of Liberty, top four
3:09quarterback in terms of yards per
3:10scramble over the past two years, and
3:12the QB1 in yards per rush on read
3:14option. So, if we are getting that
3:16rushing volume, we just don't really see
3:18this archetype bust. Over the past
3:20decade, 28 quarterbacks have had at
3:22least 100 rush attempts in a season. 26
3:25of them, a 93% hit rate, posted top 12
3:28numbers on a per game basis. So, not
3:30saying Malik Willis is going to rip off
3:31a top five season or anything like that,
3:33but I do think he could do his best 2022
3:36Justin Fields impression. Not too bad
3:38for someone virtually free at
3:39the end of drafts. My second favorite
3:41late round fantasy football quarterback
3:42ahead of 2026, Kyler Murray, the new
3:45Vikings probable QB1, still technically
3:47in a competition with J.J. McCarthy, but
3:50let's face it, in terms of what we see
3:51in the NFL level, should be Kyler
3:53Murray's job to lose. And if that's the
3:55case, guys, we simply haven't seen Kyler
3:57work as a bad fantasy quarterback for
4:00pretty much the majority of his career.
4:02I get it, 2025 was not pretty as a
4:04passer. There's a reason why we had that
4:06soft benching, whatever you want to call
4:07it, with a Kobe taking over. But even
4:10with a five-game limited 2025 season,
4:12guys, Kyler Murray has the same number
4:15of top-five weekly fantasy finishes as
4:16guys like Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence,
4:19and Justin Herbert over the course of
4:20the past two seasons. That's what that
4:22sweet, sweet rushing upside can do for a
4:23man in fantasy land. So, not
4:25guaranteeing Kyler's going to get back
4:27to partying like 2021, but you throw in
4:29KOC, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, a
4:31much improved offensive environment, and
4:33I do think there's reason to be buying
4:35Kyler Murray at his very affordable
4:37late-round cost. Do need to be careful
4:39with the J.J. McCarthy and the potential
4:41short-leash factor going on, but that is
4:43a reason why one of my favorite
4:44late-round quarterback strategies is the
4:46Boomer Sooner method. Let's reunite
4:49Kyler Murray with Baker Mayfield in the
4:51final rounds of our fantasy football
4:53drafts and see what happens. And now for
4:55the grand finale, my favorite late-round
4:57fantasy football quarterback ahead of
4:582026, Lions QB Jared Goff. And honestly,
5:02guys, I was kind of surprised he
5:03qualified for this study in the first
5:05place, but sure enough, outside the top
5:06120 overall picks on Sleeper and outside
5:09the top 150 on ESPN. That's a five and a
5:12half-round discount over fellow pocket
5:14passers like Dak Prescott and Matthew
5:15Stafford. And sure, these guys don't
5:17run, but that hasn't stopped Goff from
5:19offering a lot of fantasy football
5:21upside. He has eight separate top-five
5:23weekly fantasy finishes over these past
5:25two seasons. That's more [music] than
5:27any quarterback not named Lamar Jackson,
5:29Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, or Jalen Hurts.
5:31So, hey, in a world where we are seeing
5:33quarterbacks struggle to even throw for
5:354,000 yards these days, Goff has cleared
5:374,500 yards in three straight seasons.
5:40The rest of the NFL had just six such
5:42seasons combined during that same span.
5:44So, the one potential reddish flag here
5:46would be the insertion of Jared Goff at
5:48OC, but I do try to lean on some, you
5:51know, more real-life ball knowers out
5:53there when we do have coaching [music]
5:54changes like this, and ESPN's Field
5:56Yates as well as Yahoo's Nate Tice as
5:57well as Yahoo's Nate Tice very, very
5:59encouraging and optimistic about the
6:00pairing. As is Vegas, who has the Lions
6:02as their number one ranked offense in
6:05their preseason scoring ranks. So,
6:07again, feeling great about the Lions
6:08offense, feeling great about Jared Goff,
6:10keeping on keeping on, and we can do so
6:12at a very, very cheap price in fantasy
6:14land. So, make sure you keep an eye out
6:15later in the season cuz we've got an
6:17unfortunate Week 17 championship weekend
6:19match up in Chicago, and I know we don't
6:21want to play Goff outdoors in that game,
6:24but you know what? We got to make it to
6:25the championship first, and I do believe
6:27using a late-round pick on Jared Goff
6:29this year will help you do just that.
6:30Anyways, guys, that's going to do it for
6:32me. Let me know in the comments if you
6:33think I missed someone, if you disagree
6:35with some of the ranks, or maybe, God
6:36forbid, you have something nice to say
6:38as well. All comments are welcome, and
6:40if you like the video, please like the
6:41video, and that subscribe button always
6:43helps as well. But, in the meantime,
6:45best of luck in all your fantasy drafts,
6:46and just go out there and have a great
6:48day.

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