Oh Ye of Little Faith: 2026 Underrated Quarterbacks

Sorting out the chaos with a big-picture look at fantasy-specific news, notes, and analysis from around the NFL.

Bob Harris's Oh Ye of Little Faith: 2026 Underrated Quarterbacks Bob Harris Published 07/13/2026

With two teams kicking off training camp this coming weekend -- rookies report in Seattle on Friday and San Francisco on Saturday -- the NFL's annual late-June/early-July break is almost over.

DON'T MISS OUT: Pre-Order the 2026 Footballguys Draft Guide before they are all gone.

But for fantasy managers who take their preparation seriously, there is no downtime. That's why the Fantasy Notebook has been using this time to roll out a position-by-position series on underrated players. 

Three weeks ago, it was Underrated Running Backs. Two weeks ago, we covered Underrated Wide Receivers. Last week, we plumbed the depths of Underrated Tight Ends

Now, we'll close out the series with Underrated Quarterbacks just in time to get back to our regular coverage as training camps open. Almost like we had a plan, eh? 

Let's get the ball rolling with a look at . . .

Discounts Despite Big 2025 Finishes

Fantasy managers don't just project regression after career seasons -- they often overprice it. That's how proven elite quarterbacks become draft bargains. Here are two top-five performers at quarterback last season who aren't being drafted that way. 

The Payoff We'd Been Waiting For

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Underrated Quarterbacks

It took a minute. And there were times it didn't look like it would happen.

When the Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence first overall in 2021, they saddled him with Urban Meyer as a head coach. Meyer didn't even last one season before Darrell Bevell replaced him for the rest of that year. 

Lawrence then spent three years being coached by Doug Pederson, who was better than Meyer but never helped Lawrence reach the level of play he was expected to.

Last year, it clicked.

Liam Coen became the Jaguars' head coach, and it was the most promising season of Lawrence's career.

How Good Was It?

Lawrence finished the 2025 season having completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 4,007 yards and a career-high 29 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions.

He also recorded career highs in carries (82), rushing yards (359), and rushing touchdowns (nine).  

His 38 total touchdowns were third-best in the NFL.

The More Promising Part 

The Jaguars won eight consecutive games to close out the regular season and win the AFC South title before a wild-card playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills ended their year. That eight-game stretch saw Lawrence score 24 total touchdowns, 19 of them through the air with just five interceptions, and Jacksonville averaged an NFL-best 33.6 points per game. 

He reeled off seven consecutive top-10 fantasy outings to finish the season.  

As a result, Lawrence, who finished the season as QB4 with 342.2 fantasy points, was QB1 overall from Weeks 10 through 17.  

In other words, elite production.

The Questions

For the season, Lawrence averaged 20.1 fantasy points per game en route to that QB4 finish.

But some worry about his ability to duplicate last year's rushing totals -- specifically the touchdowns. 

Lawrence's nine rushing scores more than doubled his combined output the previous two seasons. 

As SI.com's Michael Fabiano pointed out last week, when you look at the list of quarterbacks who have rushed for at least nine touchdowns in a season since 2000, of which there are only eight (Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Cam Newton, Kyler Murray, Mike Vick, Daunte Culpepper), Lawrence looks like an outlier. 

Footballguy Jason Wood agrees.

"While he possesses legitimate mobility and Coen intentionally leveraged his legs in the red zone, NFL historical trends scream regression here," Wood wrote last week. "Any realistic projection for Lawrence should cut that rushing touchdown output in half as a baseline." 

That's Fair, But the Price is Fairer

Even with regression, Lawrence is all but certain to remain a high-volume passer and rusher after finishing in the top 10 among QBs in pass and rush attempts in each of his four full seasons. 

Going into his second season with Coen lends further confidence, as does a deep group of talented pass catchers who have already demonstrated chemistry with the quarterback. 

Does it guarantee another top-five finish?

Of course not.

Fortunately, at his current QB11 Average Draft Position (ADP) and seventh-round price, fantasy investors don't need Lawrence to repeat as QB4 to return value -- even if I still like his chances of hitting it.

Lawrence goes into the season as QB5 on my own Footballguys rankings

As Wood noted, "Coen's system is notoriously complex; last year was entirely about pouring the concrete foundation, meaning 2026 is where they get to add the decorative trim."

Given the circumstances, I'll bet on the trajectory and take this discount without hesitation.

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