The Usurpers: 5 Backup QBs Poised to Steal Starting Jobs in 2026

By Quan

NFL starting quarterback job security is a lot like a Tinder profile—heavily filtered, mostly temporary, and one bad weekend away from being deleted entirely. As we push through late May 2026, the league is littered with precarious quarterback rooms. We have aging bridge veterans collecting guaranteed bags, injury-prone placeholders fighting for their NFL lives, and expensive stopgaps operating on borrowed time.

For fantasy football managers, these ambiguous depth charts are where championships are bought at a discount. You don't win your league by paying retail for an established starter in August. You win by identifying the backup who is positioned to steal the job, stashing them on your roster, and letting the chaos unfold.

Whether you are navigating a dynasty rebuild or looking for late-round upside in a Superflex redraft league, the runway for a few changing-of-the-guard scenarios is unusually visible. Here are the five backup quarterbacks poised to push for starting jobs in 2026, and exactly how you should be valuing them right now.

The High-Pedigree Inevitabilities

There are backup quarterbacks, and then there are franchise cornerstones currently wearing a baseball cap. These two first-round talents aren't necessarily waiting for the starter to implode; they are waiting for the calendar, the medical staff, or the front office to stop pretending this is complicated.

Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders

Let's call this exactly what it is: Kirk Cousins is a $20 million crash-test dummy with a playbook. Yes, the Raiders signed Cousins to a five-year, $172 million deal, but the fine print reveals it's effectively a one-year, $20 million fully guaranteed contract. He gives Las Vegas a veteran bridge while the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft gets his sea legs.

Fernando Mendoza is the ultimate dynasty stash. He enters the league fresh off a 2025 Heisman Trophy and a 16-0 undefeated season at Indiana, boasting a pristine 68.6% career completion rate, 8,247 passing yards, and 71 passing touchdowns. Right now, the vibes in Vegas are immaculate. It's a wholesome, Step Brothers-esque dynamic where Cousins is texting Mendoza on draft night and Mendoza is talking about absorbing veteran knowledge via "osmosis."

But make no mistake, new head coach Klint Kubiak didn't draft Mendoza to hold a clipboard until 2027. Mendoza is locked in as the QB1 in Superflex dynasty rookie drafts for a reason, but doesn't leap frog Jeremiyah Love. In redraft formats, he is a priority late-round Superflex dart throw. His value will only spike the moment Cousins inevitably checks down on 3rd-and-9 one too many times.

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

If you want to find a massive dynasty buy-window, look no further than Atlanta. Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 overall pick in 2024, is currently splitting first-team OTA reps with Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa is operating on a one-year free-agent deal, which is the NFL front office equivalent of a flashing neon sign that this becomes Penix's quarterback room the exact moment he is fully cleared from his ACL tear.

Before suffering that partially torn ACL in Week 11 last year, Penix was quietly efficient. He completed 60.1% of his passes (166-of-276) for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns, and just three interceptions, good for an 88.5 passer rating. Now, new head coach Kevin Stefanski is installing a play-action-heavy West Coast system that could suit Penix's downfield accuracy and passing profile. Stefanski has already praised Penix's progress while making it clear he still is not fully cleared for the real stuff. Tua is playing the good soldier and mentoring him, but the writing is on the wall. Penix is an ideal Superflex stash for rebuilding dynasty teams before he takes the reins full-time.

Q: If I'm drafting a Superflex redraft team today, who is the better late-round stash: Mendoza or Penix?

Mendoza, without question. Cousins is a pure bridge quarterback nearing the end of his career, and Mendoza is fully healthy. Tagovailoa is fighting for his next NFL contract and Penix is still working his way back to 100% from a November ACL tear. Mendoza has the cleaner, faster path to mid-season starts, while Penix's timeline is dictated by his medical clearance and how long Atlanta wants to let Tua keep the seat warm.

The Distressed Assets & Post-Hype Flyers

Not every usurper is a shiny new toy. Some are former highly drafted assets who have plummeted in value due to injuries, mechanical flaws, or maturity issues. Their paths to a starting job rely heavily on the sheer fragility of the veterans ahead of them.

J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

If the Raiders' quarterback room is a buddy comedy, the Vikings' quarterback room is an episode of Succession. The tension is palpable. Minnesota brought in Kyler Murray on a one-year, $1.3 million veteran minimum deal, and the 2024 No. 10 overall pick suddenly has another former top pick standing between him and the job.

J.J. McCarthy has played just 10 games over the past two seasons, plagued by mechanical struggles and injuries. Murray is playing the veteran diplomat, but this is a "true competition" for the QB1 role. McCarthy is a distressed asset in dynasty leagues, but Murray's microscopic contract means the Vikings have zero financial loyalty to the veteran. If McCarthy can finally fix his mechanics, the job is his for the taking.

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

We have officially reached the "falling knife" stage of Anthony Richardson's career. The former No. 4 overall pick in 2023 has seen his dynasty trade value hit rock bottom. After benching himself in 2024 to "catch his breath," the Colts declined his fifth-year option, and Richardson requested a trade. After losing the 2025 camp battle to Daniel Jones, Richardson barely got a chance to rebuild his case before a fractured orbital bone in Week 6 sent him to IR for the rest of the season.

Head coach Shane Steichen named Jones the starter back in August 2025, and now Richardson is splitting 50/50 backup reps with Riley Leonard just to stay on the roster. So why is he on this list? Because Jones is recovering from a Week 14 torn Achilles. Yes, the Colts gave Jones a two-year, $88 million extension in March, but an Achilles tear for a mobile quarterback is devastating. Richardson remains a high-variance usurper by default.

Q: Is Anthony Richardson a dynasty buy-low, or just a falling knife?

He is a falling knife, but one you might want to try catching if the price drops to a future third-round rookie pick. His grip on an NFL roster spot is slipping, and Leonard is very much part of the backup equation. But Jones' Achilles recovery keeps Richardson's fantasy pulse from flatlining entirely. If Jones' rehab stalls or Indianapolis is forced to pivot, Richardson could stumble backward into relevance by sheer attrition.

The Day 3 Chaos Theory

You don't draft Day 3 quarterbacks expecting them to become franchise saviors. You draft them because the guy in front of them is one bad month away from turning the depth chart into a group project.

Cade Klubnik, New York Jets

Do not conflate Cade Klubnik's situation with Mendoza's. Klubnik is a fourth-round pick, 110th overall, developmental arm who needs absolute chaos to see the field. Fortunately for him, he plays for the New York Jets.

The Jets acquired Geno Smith via a March 2026 trade, swapping sixth and seventh-round picks, to be their unquestioned starter. But let's look at the reality of Smith in 2025: he took a league-high 55 sacks and threw 17 interceptions to just 19 touchdowns with the Raiders. He is a volatile asset. Meanwhile, the Jets' offensive staff reportedly liked Klubnik enough during the pre-draft process to make this more than a throwaway Day 3 pick. Head coach Aaron Glenn has confirmed an open competition for the primary backup role, and the offensive staff is actively challenging the rookie in practice.

Klubnik should go completely undrafted in standard 1QB redraft leagues, but he is the exact type of player you stash on a dynasty taxi squad. If Smith's sack rate continues to hover in the stratosphere, Klubnik will get a long runway to prove he belongs in the NFL.

The fantasy football market is ruthlessly efficient at pricing in established starters, but it consistently misprices the fragility of the men holding those jobs. You can either be the manager who spends 30% of your FAAB budget reacting to a breaking news alert about a benched veteran in October, or you can be the manager who already has the usurper tucked away on your bench in May. Read the contracts, monitor the injury reports, and make the pivot before your league-mates even realize the depth chart is shifting.