Fantasy Football Quarterback Sleepers: Malik Willis Brings Huge Upside, While A Year Two QB Is On The Rise

The key to having a great fantasy football draft is identifying sleepers and maximizing value. This is key when it comes to drafting quarterbacks if you don't select one of the top elite options. Every season there are a ton of surprise fantasy options at the position who you can get later in drafts. These are our top quarterback sleepers in fantasy football this season.

Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings

Murray has seen his ADP dip a bit because of this strange narrative going around that JJ McCarthy has a real shot to win this starting job. Spoiler alert: he doesn't. McCarthy wasn't bad last season; he was an unmitigated disaster. The Vikings desperately needed a starting quarterback, and that's why they brought in Murray.

While he certainly has his questions, at worst, Murray is a serviceable quarterback in a great system with rushing upside. Now give him a WR corps that features Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings, and we are in on him this season. As the QB17 off the boards, he's an absolute steal in fantasy drafts.

Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins

Willis is loaded with upside, although he admittedly comes with plenty of risk as well. We have a very small sample size of him being a competent NFL passer, and he has one of the worst WR corps in the league to throw to. With that said, we are in on him at his current price. He's being drafted as the QB21.

Our comp for Willis is Justin Fields, but with much more passing upside. There is a chance that Willis is a very good passer, that was never the case with Fields. His upside is just too much to overlook for as late as he's going in drafts. He has league-winning upside and really no downside because you can just cut him if he doesn't pan out like you hope.

Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

Shough had an impressive rookie season. His name was even brought up in some Offensive Rookie of the Year conversations. Heading into 2026, he has a year of experience, will get a full offseason with starter reps, and the Saints drafted stud wide receiver prospect Jordyn Tyson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

We expect him to build off his impressive rookie campaign and only get better. He could very well give you low-end QB1 production at a QB20 price this season. If you are looking for a reliable backup or Superflex QB2, he's a great option.

Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

Ward got off to a brutal start to his rookie season, but showed an abundance of growth as the season went on. In his first 12 games of the season, he threw seven touchdowns and six interceptions; however, in his final four games, he threw eight touchdowns and one interception. It wasn't a matchup advantage either because he played the Browns, Chiefs, Saints, and 49ers in those four games.

We saw Ward improve in every year of college and he's now on track to do the same in the NFL. The team went out and drafted Carnell Tate and signed Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency to get him some weapons to work with. Ward is going to make a huge leap this season. Nevertheless, we still think that team is still a few years away from allowing him to come close to reaching his ceiling.

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