Justin Herbert enters the 2026 fantasy football season with one of the most explosive upside profiles at the quarterback position. While he is often viewed primarily as a pocket passer, his rushing potential doesn’t get nearly enough attention in fantasy circles. In 2025, Herbert posted a league-high 7 games with at least 225 passing yards and 30 rushing yards, stat lines that don’t happen by accident.
Should You Draft Justin Herbert in Fantasy Football?
Herbert has played six full seasons as a starter at the NFL level and is still just 28 years old, still in his prime. We’re always asking, is this the year that he’s going to completely go off? Every single year we’re asking that because the potential is very much there. This year, that might just be the case.
Herbert has a current ADP of 89.8. He’s 78th on PFN’s board with a projected 18.3 points per game, and his ranking is QB8 on PFN’s board, so well inside the top 10. There’s a lot of bullish optimism for him entering 2026.
Last year, even though the numbers weren’t quite as good, there is still reason for optimism within that as well. In 2025, Herbert achieved a career high in rushing yards with 498, and a 2.4% TD rate on the ground suggests that there might be a positive regression on the way as he continues to grow as a creator. We know he has the size, the arm talent, and the athleticism. We know he’s willing to take shots down the field, but that development as a rushing threat last year potentially hints at more upside in 2026.
There’s also reason to believe he was climbing an uphill battle last year. He faced the highest pressure rate in the league at 29.8%, the highest in the NFL by 2 full percentage points, and he also faced the fifth-highest drop rate in the league, another number that might be experiencing a negative regression this coming year.
He’s now in a Mike McDaniel scheme that rewards volume passers. We saw what he did for Tua when Tua was in his prime, and Herbert is an infinitely more talented quarterback with inspiring depth at wide receiver and in all playmaking positions. Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are set to return on the offensive line.
The interior offensive line is still a big question mark, especially with the injury to Tyler Biadasz at the center position. But having the bookends back will help. A better-structured run scheme that can help shoulder the load in neutral and positive game scripts allows Herbert to potentially play more free this year than he ever has.
He’s an alien arm talent and athlete who improved his adaptability in 2025 after playing too robotically early in his career. He’s a guy who the advanced metrics haven’t caught up with quite yet because of contextual elements, but I do think the best is still yet to come for Herbert, and there’s a decent chance that 2026 is when we start to finally see that.
The entire story of Herbert’s career has been that he’s been consistently good both as a QB and as a fantasy asset, but there’s also clearly been meat left on the bone. I think Herbert in Mike McDaniel’s scheme with the weapons that he has might be able to capture that unrealized elite production as long as the blocking holds up.
That’s the biggest question mark, and, unfortunately, the interior offensive line still has that question. You’ve got a rookie at center filling in for Biadasz. You’ve got Cole Strange and Kayode Awosika, who are both replacement-level starters at best at the guard spots. So the interior pressure might still be a big issue this year. But having the bookends back, having better weapons, and a better scheme for Herbert might be enough to offset some of that. It’s a risk. It’s a roll of the dice, and it’s more of one for him because that offensive line is not fully set.
But personally, I like Herbert more than Hurts because of the volume-passing upside combined with his budding creativity as a runner. In my opinion, he’s a very, very good pick at QB8 in redraft leagues, as long as you feel good about his offensive line or his ability to counteract that through the scheme. He’s a potential roster linchpin in superflex leagues.
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Justin Herbert’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
The offensive line was a mess. Ladd McConkey underwhelmed after looking like a bona fide WR1 as a rookie. Quentin Johnston did the Quentin Johnston thing where he looked like a difference maker for stretches and was absent for others.
Herbert was one of two QBs in the league with 3,700 passing yards and 400 rushing.
Is that the floor?
This general profile looks a lot like Aaron Rodgers as he was reaching the peak of his powers, and we weren’t charged anywhere near that price this summer.
This is a great spot and, in my opinion, the start of a truly special season when you bake in the ADP. The Cardinals elected to spend up on Jeremiyah Love to work on this rebuild, a move that certainly came with plenty of critics.
Only time will tell if the bet on Love was wise, but we know for sure that it’s not going to impact the league’s 29th-ranked scoring defense. Mike McDaniel has access to the most talented QB of his career, and I suspect he makes a statement in this spot as a double-digit favorite.
The versatility of Herbert is enough for him to be in the conversation for signal callers who could steal the crown from Josh Allen in 2026.
Herbert is my QB2 for this week.
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Where Herbert Ranks Among 2026 Quarterbacks
- Lamar Jackson | BAL
- Jayden Daniels | WAS
- Joe Burrow | CIN
- Jalen Hurts | PHI
- Caleb Williams | CHI
- Justin Herbert | LAC
- Jaxson Dart | NYG
- Trevor Lawrence | JAX
- Dak Prescott | DAL
- Bo Nix | DEN
- Patrick Mahomes II | KC
Check the full position group on PFN’s 2026 PPR Quarterback Board.
