2026 season · Quarterbacks, 71+ dropbacks through Week 6, 32 qualifiers

Quarterback EPA per Dropback Leaders

Through Week 6 · Sunday, Sunday night and Monday night pending

Quarterback EPA per Dropback — 2026 NFL leaders, updated Oct 16, 2026. Brock Purdy (SF) led the league in expected points added per dropback at 0.42, ahead of 31 other qualifying players. Based on verified 2026 play-by-play data (nflverse); Half-PPR scoring. Through Week 6 of the 2026 season, with Sunday, Sunday night and Monday night still to come.

Expected points added per dropback asks what each pass attempt was worth; success rate asks how often the attempt simply worked, with no credit for the size of the gain. Read them together. A quarterback high in the first and low in the second lives on explosive plays and disappears for stretches; high in both is the profile of an offense that stays on schedule. The dropback is the honest denominator because it charges a passer for the snaps that never became throws — a sack and a scramble are both quarterback outcomes, and a passer whose per-attempt line looks tidy because he takes the sack instead of testing the coverage is exactly who this separates.

Quarterback EPA per Dropback, 2026 NFL season
#PlayerΔ WKGDBEPA/DBSuccess%Total EPAScr%Read
1Brock PurdySFNo change51570.4257.3%65.57.6%Read
2Lamar JacksonBALNo change51110.3857.7%41.69.0%Read
3Josh AllenBUFNo change51670.3447.3%57.09.6%Read
4Michael Penix Jr.ATLUp 1 place, from 55840.3152.4%26.12.4%Read
5Jared GoffDETUp 1 place, from 6; did not play this week52070.2850.2%58.52.4%Read
6Trevor LawrenceJAXUp 1 place, from 751580.2749.4%42.43.2%Read
7Bryce YoungCARUp 1 place, from 841750.2346.3%39.42.3%Read
8Patrick MahomesKCUp 1 place, from 941430.2149.0%29.35.6%Read
9Dak PrescottDALUp 1 place, from 1052110.1950.2%40.95.2%Read
10Jayden DanielsWASUp 1 place, from 1151000.1945.0%18.916.0%Read
11Drake MayeNEUp 1 place, from 1251800.1852.8%32.79.4%Read
12Kirk CousinsLVUp 1 place, from 1351830.1648.6%28.71.6%Read
13Joe BurrowCINUp 1 place, from 14; did not play this week52040.1550.0%30.02.9%Read
14C.J. StroudHOUUp 1 place, from 1552020.1348.5%25.63.5%Read
15Matthew StaffordLARUp 1 place, from 1652250.1248.4%27.51.8%Read
16Jordan LoveGBUp 1 place, from 1751970.1143.1%21.80.5%Read
17Deshaun WatsonCLEUp 1 place, from 1851840.0644.0%10.58.7%Read
18Jalon DanielsTBUp 1 place, from 195710.0545.1%3.716.9%
19Geno SmithNYJUp 1 place, from 2051730.0445.7%6.45.2%Read
20Jacoby BrissettARIUp 1 place, from 215214-0.0047.2%-0.12.3%Read
21Jameis WinstonNYGUp 1 place, from 225149-0.0241.6%-2.63.4%
22Tyler ShoughNOUp 1 place, from 235224-0.0346.0%-7.52.7%Read
23Jalen HurtsPHIUp 1 place, from 245179-0.0538.0%-9.36.7%Read
24Kyler MurrayMINUp 3 places, from 27; did not play this week5122-0.0936.9%-10.410.7%Read
25Aaron RodgersPITUp 3 places, from 285201-0.0941.8%-17.81.5%Read
26Sam DarnoldSEAUp 3 places, from 296167-0.1042.5%-16.03.0%Read
27Bo NixDENDown 1 place, from 266204-0.1037.8%-20.62.5%Read
28Malik WillisMIAUp 2 places, from 30; did not play this week5161-0.1239.1%-19.510.6%Read
29Daniel JonesINDUp 2 places, from 315189-0.1640.7%-29.72.1%Read
30Cam WardTENUp 2 places, from 325177-0.1841.8%-31.66.2%Read
31Justin HerbertLACUp 2 places, from 335175-0.2137.7%-37.29.1%Read
32Baker MayfieldTBUp 2 places, from 345118-0.2638.1%-30.27.6%Read

New to this stat? What expected points added per dropback means.

The read — Week 5

Brock Purdy is still first at +0.42 expected points added (EPA) per dropback, down from +0.57, after -3.6 on 35 dropbacks in Seattle. Drake Maye had the week's biggest total: +29.6 on 38 dropbacks in a 45-17 win over the Raiders took him from 22nd to 12th. Josh Allen went from sixth to third on +20.1 in 29 dropbacks at the Rams, and Matthew Stafford from 19th to 16th on +18.5 in 56 dropbacks in that 37-34 loss to the Bills. Jameis Winston went from 32nd to 22nd on +14.7 in 60 dropbacks against the Commanders. Cam Ward had the week's worst, -17.5 on 41 dropbacks in a 26-3 loss to the Texans, and went from 27th to 32nd; Justin Herbert's -15.8 against the Broncos left him 33rd. Michael Penix Jr. appears at fifth on 84 dropbacks, and Lamar Jackson and Caleb Williams are second and fourth without a dropback this week. Drew Lock, second a week ago, no longer qualifies. The floor is 59 dropbacks: 34 quarterbacks clear it and 20 are above zero, two fewer than after Week 4. Nine of last week's top ten are still in it, and with Purdy's lead down to 0.04 at 157 dropbacks, the top of the order is open again.

Updated Oct 13, 2026

Earlier weeks on this board — 2026(3 weeks)

Week 4

Brock Purdy is still first at +0.57 expected points added (EPA) per dropback, down from +0.66, after +9.9 on 33 dropbacks against the Broncos. Bryce Young had the week's biggest total: +21.0 on 45 dropbacks against the Lions took him from 14th to ninth. Drake Maye went from 29th to 22nd on +15.9 in 43 dropbacks at Buffalo, and C.J. Stroud from 23rd to 18th on +15.9 in 33 against the Cowboys. Lamar Jackson went from fourth to third after +12.0 on 23 dropbacks against the Titans, and Jared Goff from 10th to eighth on +12.3 against the Panthers. Jacoby Brissett had the week's worst, -18.0 on 39 dropbacks against the Giants, and went from 16th to 25th; Daniel Jones's -13.4 against the Commanders left him 33rd. Jaxson Dart, second a week ago, no longer qualifies: Jameis Winston took the Giants' dropbacks and the floor is now 48. 34 quarterbacks clear it and 22 are above zero. Nine of last week's top ten are still in it, though Drew Lock and Caleb Williams are second and fourth without a dropback this week. The top means something at 122 dropbacks for Purdy; the middle, where 0.15 separates 11th from 20th, does not yet.

Week 3

Brock Purdy is still first at plus 0.66 expected points added per dropback, up from plus 0.56, after plus 25.2 against the Cardinals on 28 dropbacks: his second straight game above plus 25. Lamar Jackson went from ninth to fourth on plus 12.6 in 22 dropbacks against the Cowboys, Joe Burrow went from 23rd to 15th on plus 15.1 against the Steelers, and Patrick Mahomes enters the top ten at ninth after plus 12.3 against the Dolphins. Josh Allen went from third to fifth, plus 0.53 to plus 0.34, after minus 3.5 against the Chargers. Monday night against the Bears took Jalen Hurts from 14th to 24th: minus 14.1 on 30 dropbacks, plus 0.18 to minus 0.01. The floor is 36 dropbacks, 36 quarterbacks clear it, and 22 are above zero. Nine of last week's top ten are still in it; Bryce Young went from seventh to 14th after minus 5.8 against the Browns. Jaxson Dart is second on 38 dropbacks, two games in; Purdy has 89. The top means something; the middle, where 0.13 separates 11th from 20th, does not yet.

Week 2

Brock Purdy went from 11th to first at plus 0.56 expected points added per dropback, with the largest single game any quarterback on this board has had through two weeks: plus 26.4 expected points on 25 dropbacks, 1.06 apiece. Josh Allen is third at plus 0.53 with the highest total on the board through two weeks, plus 37.7. Jaxson Dart is still second at plus 0.55 per dropback; only five of his 38 dropbacks came Monday night before he left the Rams game, and Jameis Winston took the other 29 and enters at 32nd of 33 with minus 16.5 expected points. Trevor Lawrence led this board after Week 1 at plus 0.79; a Week 2 worth minus 4.1 on 31 dropbacks has him eighth at plus 0.27. The floor is 24 dropbacks, 33 quarterbacks clear it, and 21 are above zero. Eight of last week's top ten are still in the top ten, because sixty dropbacks is a sample in a way twenty carries is not. This board settles faster than the rushing ones, but two games is still two.

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