5 Must-Have Quarterbacks & Tight Ends (Fantasy Football)

Finding security and strong options at the onesie positions — quarterback and tight end — can have wondrous impacts on your fantasy football team. Hitting on players there allows us to fill up our benches with depth at running back and wide receiver, positions we rely on so much more as we start more of them. Below are five quarterbacks and tight ends to treat as priorities in 2025 fantasy football drafts.

Finding security and strong options at the onesie positions — quarterback and tight end — can have wondrous impacts on your fantasy football team. Hitting on players there allows us to fill up our benches with depth at running back and wide receiver, positions we rely on so much more as we start more of them. Below are five quarterbacks and tight ends to treat as priorities in 2025 fantasy football drafts.

Must-Have Fantasy Football QBs & TEs

We’ll start with an obvious one, because it’s occasionally worth reiterating why someone is an obvious pick. Lamar Jackson was the QB1 last year, and we get him at QB2 prices in 2025. Perhaps Jackson does see some level of regression after last year’s incredible numbers, but this is a quarterback who has rushed 130+ attempts in all but one season of his career and led the league with 8.8 yards per attempt last year, scoring three more fantasy points per game than Josh Allen.

Coming off career highs in passing yards and touchdowns, Jackson has the best skill group around him he’s ever had, with Rashod Bateman having his best year last year, too, and Zay Flowers becoming the Ravens’ first-ever Pro Bowl wide receiver. There aren’t many true difference-makers in this league, but Jackson, though, is absolutely one.

I literally just finished watching Lamar Jackson's 2024 season highlights..they robbed my boy of the MVP last year. — Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) August 17, 2025

There are two paths to top-end fantasy football results at the quarterback position:

Average around 240 passing yards and over two passing touchdowns per game.

Average over 35 rushing yards per game.

Drake Maye averaged 35.1 rushing yards per game in 2025, and it’s fair to say he’s also seen some upgrades to his situation. The offensive line might not be entirely fixed yet, but Will Campbell has a chance to be more useful than the revolving doors at left tackle in 2024, and Morgan Moses is the kind of savvy veteran the Patriots need to help the younger players.

Mike Vrabel is a substantial upgrade on Jerod Mayo, and for all his faults as a head coach, Josh McDaniels is a good offensive coordinator who made Mac Jones look like an NFL quarterback for a brief period of time. Maye not only brings a threat with his legs, but he’s also an accomplished downfield passer, and the combination of Stefon Diggs and Kyle Williams is a big upgrade over Kendrick Bourne and Kayshon Boutte.

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Is Brock Purdy the least talked-about quarterback in the NFL this offseason? It seems crazy how little people want to talk about a quarterback who signed a $265 million extension not that long ago. In 2024, San Francisco had only 57 snaps with Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Purdy all on the field at the same time.

Despite this, Purdy ranked third in yards per attempt (8.5) and had the eighth-most passing yards (3,864). The 49ers’ secondary projects to be one of the worst in the league this year, leaving them likely to be a very pass-heavy offense, and one that we know can be productive. Purdy could be shaping up for an All-Pro year.

The breakout was delicious for Tucker Kraft truthers in 2024, with him further distancing himself from Luke Musgrave, having outplayed him in their rookie year in 2022, but then being drafted 60 picks behind him in 2023 average draft position (ADP).

Kraft led the team with seven touchdowns, which was only one fewer than George Kittle (eight) and three fewer than Mark Andrews (10). Kraft was a yards-after-the-catch (YAC) monster, leading all tight ends with 50+ targets at a whopping 9.38 YAC. No other tight end had more than seven.

If the Packers can be a more well-rounded and slightly more pass-heavy offense with the addition of Matthew Golden, there’s no reason it couldn’t help Kraft elevate to the next level, and his current ADP puts him at a discount of TE11, compared to the TE8 he just accomplished.

Nothing is stopping Tucker Kraft from being a top 5 TE in the 2025 NFL season.. ????????

pic.twitter.com/hAHsvkgmkA — PackerMuse (@PackerMuse) August 20, 2025

Colston Loveland, the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, has the potential to be a difference maker from day one, working well in both the passing game and holding his own as a run-blocker. This is always a key factor for tight ends, as it allows them to play on play-action as well, which is generally a very positive situation, also helping Loveland see the field early and often.

Ben Johnson was the man behind Sam LaPorta‘s breakout rookie season and clearly believed in Loveland enough to want him as a priority with the 10th overall pick. With the Bears, Loveland will have opportunity galore, as there are far from any established alphas on this roster, and few who consistently score touchdowns. If Loveland can find his way to becoming a touchdown scorer, like LaPorta was under Johnson two years ago, it’s hard to imagine he doesn’t outplay his ADP.

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