Last year was Jacoby Brissett’s tenth in the NFL. Nothing about the first nine suggested he would become a weekly must-start QB1 in fantasy football. Now the locked-in Week 1 starter for the Arizona Cardinals, should fantasy managers expect more of the same in 2026?
Should You Draft Jacoby Brissett in Fantasy Football?
Over the first nine years of his career, Brissett averaged about 5.9 starts per season. 2025 was just the fourth time he made the majority of starts for his team. He was playing on his sixth different team in as many seasons. There was absolutely no evidence he would suddenly morph from this journeyman backup into not only a viable QB2, but a weekly QB1.
From 2016-2025, the best single-season finish of Brissett’s career was 14.5 PPG in 2019. That was the season he was unexpectedly thrust into the starting role when Andrew Luck retired suddenly in August. Despite an overall quality season where he threw 18 touchdowns against only six interceptions, the Colts signed Philip Rivers ahead of the 2020 season, relegating Brissett to a backup role.
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Brissett then bounced around from team to team every season, occasionally making starts. Even though he’s always been moderately competent when called upon, no team ever committed to him as their starter.
Then, last season, Kyler Murray went down in Week 5. Brissett started the rest of the way and threw for 280.5 yards per game along with 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He averaged 18.9 PPG, good for an overall QB7 finish.
From Weeks 6-15, Brissett was the only QB in the league to post at least 18.7 fantasy points in every game. He may not have been blowing anyone away with 25+ point outings, but fantasy managers knew they were getting QB1 numbers every single week. Of course, the circumstances behind Brissett’s weekly explosions were incredibly unique.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to NFL head coaches on the wrong side of blowouts. You can either give up and run the ball, just trying to go home. Or, you can do what the Cardinals did, and throw, throw, and throw some more. It was the latter decision that led to Brissett’s fantasy explosion.
A staggering 49% of Brissett’s fantasy points came while the team was trailing by 10+ points. 38% of them occurred while trailing by 10+ points in the second half. 24% of them came while trailing by 10+ points in the fourth quarter. Brissett scored 74 fantasy points while his team was trailing by at least three scores. He was 26 ahead of second place on that list.
Brissett did play reasonably well, but there’s no denying he was a garbage time merchant.
The Cardinals don’t project to be much better in 2026. Rather than try and build from the ground up, they took a running back No. 3 overall. The offense was not the problem last season. The question is, if the defense is just as bad, will the new coaching staff have the same philosophy on throwing while down multiple scores in the second half?
Brissett’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
There’s definitely something strange going on with Brissett’s fantasy value. Yes, he was a midseason pickup that fantasy managers took some time to finally buy into. But we’re talking 12 games of sustained high-level fantasy performance. Yet, he’s being drafted as the QB30.
The obvious concern with Brissett is his inability to win games. In his defense, there’s not much he can do when his team is giving up 28.7 points per game. But there’s no real way to paint a 1-11 record as a starter in a particularly positive light.
The simple truth is this: if the Cardinals lose games at a similar rate to last season, Brissett is not making it through the season as the starter. Even if it’s not Brissett’s fault, the Cardinals know he’s not their long-term answer at quarterback. Barring something unexpected, Brissett probably won’t be on the team in 2027.
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We have Brissett ranked as QB25. Obviously, he will perform better than that for as long as he is starting. Even with a ranking so low he shouldn’t even be a consideration in 1QB leagues, it would be a surprise if Brissett didn’t pop up on the streaming radar rather quickly.
As effective as Brissett was last season, you want to at least try and find your season-long starter in your fantasy draft. Given how unlikely it is Brissett is still starting in December, he’s best left as a waiver wire pickup for a QB-needy team during the season.
Brissett’s Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
It’s really difficult to hammer down Brissett’s value in dynasty. In Superflex, any starting quarterback has value and we can reasonably project Brissett to start at least half the season, probably closer to two-thirds. He’s a great QB3 for a contending dynasty roster.
If your team is rebuilding, though, trade him.
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Carson Beck does not look like an NFL starter, but that doesn’t matter. The Cardinals have no reason not to give him a shot this year once they are out of playoff contention. There’s a small chance he could be their answer at quarterback. There’s no chance 33-year-old Brissett is.
It’s more likely than not that he’s a backup somewhere in 2027 than he does enough to prove he deserves another shot to start. This is probably the highest Brissett’s dynasty value will ever be again.
