Jacoby Brissett enters 2026 as the starting quarterback for an Arizona Cardinals team that doesn’t carry much in the way of expectations. Last season, Brissett was a pure volume vulture for fantasy purposes, throwing 31+ passes in every start and logging 40+ attempts in 7 of those 12 games. Can raw attempt count elevate him in our game this season the way it did last year?
Should You Draft Jacoby Brissett in Fantasy Football?
No. I don’t think you should draft Brissett.
If you’re looking back at 2025 and you’re saying, “Oh yeah, I wish I had him,” or “You know what, the guy that picked him up in the middle of the season rode him to the fantasy playoffs,” I get all of that.
But Arizona is not going to look to throw the ball a zillion times like they did last season. They were No. 1 in pass rate over expected. They wanted to air the ball out, and that’s what they did. You don’t draft Jeremiyah Love in the first five picks of the NFL Draft with the intent for that to continue to be the case.
His connection with Michael Wilson was great. Trey McBride elevates the floor. Marvin Harrison Jr. could break out, and we know the pedigree is there. But I don’t think the volume’s going to be there. Realistically, I don’t think the wins are going to be there either. That’s not necessarily a fantasy stat, but it kind of is. This team’s going to be terrible again.
They drafted Carson Beck this past season. What motivation is there? If they’re 2-11 and we’re coming down the stretch, why would you stick with Brissett? I don’t care what kind of numbers he’s putting up. He had all those top-12 finishes in a row last season, and they were still losing games. They still earned the third overall pick in April.
If that’s the case, now that they have a rookie quarterback they can bank on, and Brissett’s just on a one-year deal, there’s no level of commitment there. They go to Carson Beck, and then A, you lose on Brissett, and B, you lose if you invested in the idea of Brissett and were excited about Michael Wilson, Harrison, or even Trey McBride at some level.
I’m kind of out on all Cardinals attached to this passing game. I think Jeremiyah Love is going to be fine. I think he’s a star top-10 running back as it is from the jump. But as far as the passing game goes, and that includes Trey McBride, I’m not paying sticker price for any of them.
When you come down to Brissett, no thanks. I get that he’s not expensive, but I’m not drafting him. I’d rather go Cam Ward, somebody who could grow into a role that the organization wants to see thrive. If Brissett’s playing down the stretch, Arizona’s just trying to get to Cancun for the holidays. I’ll pass on Brissett in all formats in 2026.
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Jacoby Brissett’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
We all know what happened last season with Brissett coming in and saving fantasy seasons, even if it meant very few wins for the Cardinals.
He had multiple TD passes 8 times in a 9-game stretch and played with the freedom that we embrace.
That was then, and this is now. Arizona brought in competition in the form of Carson Beck, and while the rookie doesn’t pose much of a short-term threat, the 33-year-old Brissett isn’t exactly the guy heading this rebuild.
That’s a November problem. The Week 1 problem is a lack of ways to score fantasy points. In 2025, 93.5% of his fantasy production came through the air, and that’s not going to change. Last season, Dak Prescott was the only QB without a real mobile component to his game who scored even 14 fantasy points against the Bolts, and I think it’s safe to say that he’s leading an offense we prefer to the hand Brissett is holding.
The Cards have a brutal start to the season (the Seahawks next week with a dangerous Giants defense, the Rams, and Broncos all also on the books before we get to November), and that’s likely to make the good times we shared with their current starting quarterback feel like a distant memory.
There’s no reason to hold him in standard leagues, and if you’re clinging to hope in a Superflex setting, good luck.
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Where Brissett Ranks Among 2026 Quarterbacks
- Daniel Jones | IND
- C.J. Stroud | HOU
- Sam Darnold | SEA
- Cam Ward | TEN
- Bryce Young | CAR
- Jacoby Brissett | ARI
- Aaron Rodgers | PIT
- Geno Smith | NYJ
- Tua Tagovailoa | ATL
- Kirk Cousins | LV
- Fernando Mendoza | LV
Analysts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe rank every quarterback on PFN’s 2026 PPR Consensus Board.
