Trenton Corn’s 2023 fantasy football QB rankings

Trenton Corn breaks down his top 12 QB’s for the 2023 fantasy football season

You may be asking yourself, “How do I approach drafting the Quarterback position in my fantasy drafts?” In this article, I’m going to break down my top 12 fantasy Quarterbacks (only ranking my top 12 considering you don’t need to draft a backup QB in most standard home leagues) and give you guys my thoughts on how to approach drafting the position on draft day. Enjoy!

1. Jalen Hurts

Hurts led fantasy Quarterbacks in fantasy points per game (25.6) last season, something I called when doing my rankings last year. Here’s a blurb of me calling my shot on the Hurts breakout: “…so, as you can see, having those guys like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts is extremely valuable, especially if they can prove to be dual threats with their arm as well. We saw from Hurts in weeks 1-7 exactly that, as he had at-least 30 pass attempts in five of the first seven weeks. In that time span, he was QB2 overall in fantasy points scored. In the last eight games he played after that hot start however, Hurts attempted 30 passes just ONCE. With the addition of AJ Brown this offseason and a very high floor thanks to what he brings with his legs, Hurts offers fantasy managers QB1 overall potential.” I have Hurts ranked above Josh Allen due to the better weaponry he has surrounding him.

2. Josh Allen

Allen’s quest to three-peat as fantasy football’s QB1 fell just short, as he landed at QB2 on the season. Although, one has to wonder if he would’ve achieved that goal if he didn’t play through an injury on his throwing elbow for a majority of the season. In weeks one through eight (keep in mind he also had the bye week 7), he was QB1 overall until his injury occurred in week 9. Josh Allen should still be a coveted QB this year & has a legit shot at finishing at QB1 overall with what he can do with his legs.

3. Justin Fields

If you take out his first three games of the season last year where he attempted less than 20 pass attempts, Fields averaged the third most fantasy points per game (weeks 4-18 sample size), tied with Josh Allen. The same argument for my Jalen Hurts breakout last offseason, once Chicago let Fields be a true dual threat with his legs AND his arm, he became VERY scary in fantasy & has found an improved offensive line & added an offensive weapon in DJ Moore this offseason. In 2020, Buffalo traded for Stefon Diggs in the offseason & Josh Allen finished as QB1. Last year, Jalen Hurts scored the most fantasy points per game after Philly acquired AJ Brown in the offseason. Expect Justin Fields to be a darkhorse QB1 contender next season with the Bears going out and getting DJ Moore.

4. Patrick Mahomes

We’re splitting hairs, so I have Hurts, Allen & Fields above Mahomes because of what they do on the ground, but last years QB1 is one of the safest to have in fantasy, with four top four finishes in five seasons as a full time starter (one season finished as QB7).

5. Joe Burrow

Burrow finished as QB4 on the season last year, averaging the 4th most fantasy points per game as well (21.7). His insane talent (led the league in on-target percentage for the 2nd year in a row), weapons around him & sheer amount of volume he’ll see in his offense (had the 4th most pass attempts out of returning players least season) will all be pivotal factors in him being a top five lock at the position.

6. Lamar Jackson

Who finished 6th out of all QB’s in fantasy points per game at the position last year? You guessed it, Lamar Jackson. In addition, the arrival of both Odell Beckham Jr & Zay Flowers gives him the best allotment of weapons he’s ever had in his career. Those weapons with his ability running the football should allow room for him to flirt with QB1 overall next season. If you’ve noticed a pattern, guys like Hurts, Allen & Fields are all way up on my list thanks to the safety they offer you due to what they can do on the ground.

7. Justin Herbert

I projected Herbert to finish as QB1 overall last season, which ultimately was ten spots higher than where he finished (QB11). However, if you take out Tom Brady’s 733 pass attempts, Herbert leads all returning players in pass attempts last season. With Kellen Moore in town in what should be an improved offense, you should expect Herbert to finish as a top ten quarterback next season.

8. Trevor Lawrence

Lawrence took major strides forward last season, as we saw his touchdown pass numbers jump from 12 to 25 and he more than halved his interceptions, bringing the number down to 8 from 17 the year prior. He had more passing yards & rushing touchdowns than his rookie year, on less pass or rushing attempts. In year three, with the addition of Calvin Ridley giving him a true number one weapon, I’m expecting Lawrence to potentially become a top five fantasy quarterback next season.

9. Deshaun Watson

The six game sample size we saw from Watson last year was pretty bad. However, the last time we saw him play a full season on a football field, he was a top 5 fantasy finisher at the position. He very well could be the steal of your draft in year two of the Browns system, as he will be drafted lower than his previous seasons might suggest.

10. Daniel Jones

Jones finished as QB9 last year, due in large part to the fact that only Jalen Hurts, Justin Fields & Josh Allen had more rush attempts than Danny Dimes last year, as he finished the season with 120 rush attempts, 708 yards and 7 rushing touchdowns. Those numbers were good enough for him to be 5th amongst  QB’s in rushing yards & third in rushing touchdowns. That rushing baseline alone will keep Jones in the top ten this year. He might not win you weeks, but Jones would be a solid late round QB that will never lose you any fantasy matchups if you decide to go the zero QB approach.

11. Tua Tagovailoa

Although Tua was hurt for portions of last season, he did average the 10th most fantasy points per game amongst full time starters at the position. With Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, I find it hard to believe he won’t post QB1 numbers this upcoming season and give you some week winning performances throughout the season. The only downside however, is the injury risk attached to him.

12. Geno Smith

I can speak for the whole fantasy community when I say that NOBODY expected a QB5 finish from Geno Smith last season. I believe I can speak for the masses again and mention that we don’t expect a repeat…but should we? Seattle did nothing but give me a vote of confidence this offseason with Geno Smith (which is good for my dynasty team in a bad QB situation), from giving him a new contract, to drafting the drafts best wideout instead of his replacement in the first round of the draft in Jaxson Smith-Njigba. With Now DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Njigba and an even more formidable ground game with the addition of rookie Zach Charbonnet, one could argue that Smith‘s production could only go up from here. He’s another late round QB with immense upside in my opinion.

QB draft strategies:

Now that we have my rankings, let’s go over different draft strategies at the QB position and how I tend to approach them in drafts.

If you want a tried and true, set it and forget it advantage at the most important position in football, going with a QB in your first two rounds is a smart way to go. A fun example of that would be drafting Stefon Diggs in the first round and Josh Allen in the second round to complete a really nice stack if your Draft position is near the end of draft order. Normally with the depth at the position, I tend to stay away from drafting QB’s within the first two rounds. However, with how the RB position is being valued in ADP’s (average draft positions) across different platforms, your odds of getting a solid starting RB later in the draft allows you to take advantage of this strategy early.

The next and probably most popular way to target the position is the “zero QB” approach. Like I said above, the difference between QB5 and QB15 isn’t as drastic as RB5 and RB15. That reason alone is why you’ll see a lot of players wait at the QB position until the end of drafts and play the matchup game on a weekly basis. I mean, think about it. In standard 12 team leagues, there’s only 12 starting QB’s to start, so there’s plenty of matchup options available on your waiver wire. This way of thinking gets you to the playoffs, but there’s NOTHING worse than heading into your fantasy football playoffs having to rely on a lower level QB to help you win a championship. After being burned by this strategy more often than not, I have adopted this way of thinking below.

Round five rule:

The round five rule. This way of thinking allows me to draft two starting RB’s and WR’s within the first four rounds, creating good depth to then allow me to draft a QB in round five that won’t cost me real value early in my draft, or cost me in my fantasy playoffs. This strategy last year would’ve netted you JALEN HURTS last season.

This year that strategy could potentially land you my 3rd ranked QB, Justin Fields, Justin Herbert (QB7), Trevor Lawrence (QB8) or Deshaun Watson (QB9). Fields is a guy I can see finishing at QB1 this season, Herbert is a guy I projected to finish there last year, so it wouldn’t surprise me, Lawrence I think will take the next step up to potentially being a top 5 QB and Watson was a top 5 fantasy QB the last time he played a full season. Needless to say, I don’t see the round five gamble drastically hurting you value wise and there will be plenty of options at this time as well.

Psalm 23:4

“⁴ Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.”