Jeff Ratcliffe’s 2024 fantasy football quarterback tier

Fantasy football draft season is here. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to start preparing for your draft. One of the most useful weapons in your draft day arsenal is the fantasy football tier. With a tier-based approach, you can see how each player stacks up in their respective positions. The tiers are a little different from fantasy football rankings because it’s not just a straight list of players. These groups allow a more flexible approach to drafting that you can eventually create in your draft board.

Over the next few days, I’ll go situation-by-situation and give you my grades for the 2024 fantasy football draft. We’ll start today with the quarterback fantasy football tier. Of course, don’t forget that you can check out all of our fantasy football rankings and fantasy football projections.

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Tier 1 – Elite

josh allen
jalen hurts
lamar jackson
patrick mahomes

Here you have the cream of the crop. Allen, Hurts and Jackson are all elite runners who are capable of putting up numbers with their arms. Mahomes is no slouch in the run game, but he offers huge potential as a passer

All four players are capable of performing brilliantly once again this year, but there is a problem. They are going so early in the draft that their price has essentially been priced out of most draft boards. Do not get me wrong. They’re all extremely valuable, but you’ll be able to build a more balanced roster by waiting at the position. I discuss this concept further in the Roadmap Fantasy Draft Strategy article in my Game Plan Draft Guide.

Tier 2 – Borderline Elite

CJ Stroud
Anthony Richardson
joe burro

It wouldn’t be shocking at all if any of these three players ended up as the No. 1 option in 2023. Stroud was a big surprise last year and the Texans only got better in the offseason with the additions of Stefon Diggs and Joe. Mixon. It’s aggressive to have Richardson here, but he averaged 26 fantasy points per game in his two healthy starts last season. Similarly, Burrow is returning from injury but has already shown the ability to put up borderline elite numbers.

Tier 3A – High-ceiling QB1s

kyler murray
jordan love
tua tagovailoa

This third group really needs to be divided into two subtiers, as the next five quarterbacks are not all cut from the same cloth. This trio comes with a higher ceiling but also has more volatility. Murray performed brilliantly after returning from injury last season. They also get Marvin Harrison Jr. in the mix. Love played near-perfect football the final two months of the season last year. And Tagovailoa is at the helm of one of the league’s most explosive offenses.

Tier 3B – High-Floor QB1s

dak prescott
brock purdy

This group is not as sexy as the first subset of Tier 3, but both come with high fantasy floors. Prescott is coming off a league-leading 36 touchdowns last season. Meanwhile, Purdy showed no side effects from an elbow injury and set a 49ers franchise record for passing yards.

Tier 4A – Safe option sooner rather than later

Jared Goff
Matthew Stafford
cancer cousin
aaron rodgers

If you want to implement a “safe and upside” late-round approach in your draft, where you take a safe option and an upside option, this is your safe level. Not all of these guys may be available at the end of your draft, but it’s highly likely that at least one will be available. These four signal callers may not have the highest ceilings, but their floors make them attractive options.

Tier 4B – Late-round upside options

jayden daniels
Justin Herbert
Caleb Williams
trevor lawrence

This is your safe option to join the group. These four players don’t come with high floors, but each of them has the potential to give you huge returns on investment if they hit this year. If you are going to use the safe and upside strategy in your 1QB league, you will want to draft one player from the safe level and one from the upper level. Doing this will give you a chance to swing back for the fence, while not landing a full strike if you miss. The safe option won’t win you your league, but it will hold you over as you work the waiver wire.

Tier 5A – Superflex Target

deshaun watson
Will Lewis
JJ McCarthy
drake may
Russell Wilson
bo nix

These guys are unlikely to be drafted into 1QB leagues, but they are all under consideration in 2QB and superflex formats. It’s a high ceiling group of players, yes, but it’s too aggressive to consider them as late-round picks in a 1QB league with 12 or fewer teams.

Tier 5B – Superflex Avoid

Baker Mayfield
geno smith
derek carr
Daniel Jones
bryce young
Gardner Minshew

This group offers a much lower range than 5A players or comes with significantly more questions. As such, it’s a good idea to avoid him as your third quarterback option in superflex or 2QB formations.

Tier 6 – Watch List

Justin Fields
aidan o’connell
Michael Penix Jr.
Jacoby Brissett
Sam Darnold
Sam Howell
jake browning
jarrett stidham
drew lock

These guys won’t be included in regular sized leagues, but you should keep an eye on them.