Cole Payton

A fifth-round rookie who has not appeared in a game through week 5 of 2026, and whose club lists him fourth at quarterback, is not a roster decision right now. Jalen Hurts starts, Andy Dalton backs him up, and Tanner McKee sits ahead of Payton too. He has not played a single snap in any of the five games Philadelphia has played this season, and there is no reason to expect that to change in week 6 of 2026 or at any point after it.

Our preseason projection of 43 points assumed he would play about 4 games, injuries and all, and it ranked him QB46 and 503rd overall on our board. Even that modest case assumed he would see the field at some point, and he has not, so his realistic range now sits closer to the bottom of the middle band we gave him, 16 to 69 points. There are only 3 players left in his tier before a 3.5-point drop, which tells you how thin the separation is among this group.

The one angle worth a glance is dynasty. He is 23.9, new play caller Sean Mannion is installing an offense in Philadelphia this year, and Hurts will not be there forever. If you have a taxi squad or a deep bench spot doing nothing, parking him there costs you almost nothing. In a standard redraft league, though, release him. A quarterback with no path to snaps and zero appearances through five weeks is dead weight, and someone on your waiver wire can help you in week 6 of 2026. Revisit him only if the players in front of him collapse.