If your league is making the switch to a SuperFlex (able to play a QB in one additional FLEX spot) or pure 2QB format, get excited! This style is becoming more and more popular every year. I’m lucky that my very first fantasy football league, which I joined in 2006, was a pure 2QB 12-team league. I’ve loved playing the SuperFlex Scott Fish Bowl league over the years and I’m excited that the new family league that my 13-year old nephew started this year is a SuperFlex format.
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It’s the best way to value the most important position in football, especially if passing touchdowns are worth six fantasy points. Unfortunately, many fantasy players are so accustomed to traditional 1QB leagues with their “Late Round QB” and QB streaming mantras that they get some serious sticker shock at where QBs are taken in snake drafts in 2QB formats. The idea of using a first- or second-round pick on a QB is unfathomable. The reality is that there will be no streaming of the QB position in these leagues. All starting QBs and some backups will be rostered. When one does become available on waivers, people in need will do whatever it takes to pick up a new starting QB for their squad. Most teams in a 12-team fantasy league will roster three QBs. That’s the first idea to get used to.
Second, the order in which QBs are drafted in a 2QB league isn’t much different than in a single QB league, everything is just shifted earlier in the draft. Never is the reality of positional scarcity felt more acutely than in a mid-second-round run on QBs when you have the 12th pick of the draft. Be ready to draft your QB much earlier than you’re used to (see below).
Finally, before we get to talking about some players, consider that the No. 1 fantasy QB hasn’t been the same person in back-to-back years in over a decade. Of course, Aaron Rodgers has been it multiple times, and guys like Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Dak Prescott, Tom Brady, Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz have been frequent Top 10 finishers, but there is no precedent for you to assume Lamar Jackson will be the top fantasy QB this season. It would surprise no one if he was, but it’s definitely a title up for grabs, and heavily dependent on the number of games played.
So, I’ll be considering the QB strategy for SuperFlex and 2QB leagues in terms of QB tiers. Players in the same tier are largely interchangeable, so while we all probably have our own order of preference within a tier, all is not lost if we don’t end up with our favorite player. Some of us will favor an easy schedule and strong arm over multiple good receiving options and vice versa, but overall the pluses and minuses of players within a tier should balance. What happens as we go down from tier to tier is that overall production is projected lower and/or week-to-week variability is projected to be higher.
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One of the most important mindsets you can have as you embark on a 2QB draft (especially if you are new to the format) is that the players that would have been drafted in place of these QBs in the early rounds will still be there later later. LeVeon Bell, David Johnson and Melvin Gordon will be available in fourth round instead of the third in a SuperFlex league. No big deal.
It probably goes without saying, but as with any fantasy draft, you need to strive for balance, but if you quickly fall out of balance (like you have none and David Montgomery is the best RB on the board), stocking up on as many QBs as your league allows will position you as a strong trade partner for leaguemates that went the other, more traditional route in the draft.
Tier 1 (draft in the first half of Round 1)
Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes
A sweet tier of two. There are two factors that consistently correlate with QB success: rushing production and total offense (historical points per game, weekly Vegas team total). Jackson is a miracle on legs, while the Chiefs are positioned to be one of the highest scoring teams for a fourth straight year (sixth, first, and fifth, respectively, the past three seasons). Baltimore, unsurprisingly, was the top scoring team in the league in 2019. No shocks here as these two are going in the first or second rounds of traditional leagues too, just not quite as early.
Tier 2 (Draft in Round 1-2)
Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray
Many folks have Murray as the fourth QB to be taken in drafts, and that is certainly a possible finish for him. but I think a lot of things have to go right for that to happen given what we’ve seen so far, so I’m drafting him at the bottom of this tier if possible. Wilson is one of the surer things in fantasy football and he’s returning two stud wide receivers in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Prescott’s Cowboys also put up plenty of points — just behind the Chiefs last year — and boast not only one of the most balanced offenses in the league, but also a great schedule. Watson is a capable rusher and passer. The addition of David Johnson to the offense is good for him, as is the return of his (hopefully improving) offensive line. My only concern is that Brandin Cooks isn’t DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller has never played 16 games in a season. Both of Watson’s back-to-back QB4 finishes have featured a Top 10 WR (Hopkins was fourth last year, half PPR).
Tier 3 (Draft in Round 3-4)
Josh Allen, Drew Brees, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady
Ideally, one of these guys is your QB2 and, if so, you are set at the position, but for half the league, this tier will comprise their first QB pick. I’m higher on Wentz than some people for a couple reasons. He has two fantastic tight ends with FantasyPro’s best-rated schedule in addition to everyone’s favorite rookie receiver, Jalen Raegor, plus Miles Sanders. This offense could be the best in the league this year if everyone stays on the field.
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Allen makes this tier for his legs. He may pale in comparison to Jackson, but Allen has led all QBs in rushing touchdowns the past two seasons (eight in 2018 and nine in 2019). His rushing yardage has been second or third among QBs. The addition of Stefon Diggs gives him a receiver a tier above any he’s had to this point.
Ryan is as vanilla as it gets at QB, but he has multiple Top 5 fantasy finishes in the past decade, Julio Jones lives, and Calvin Ridley still has his best in front of him.
Brees, Rodgers and Brady are Brees, Rodgers and Brady. As I noted in an earlier article, if we’re going to love Chris Godwin and Mike Evans as much as we collectively do, we have to believe in Brady. With Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara, Brees is going to be as good as he was last year, at least.
Jones appears higher in my list than he does in current ADP. I’m not necessarily saying reach for him or take him a round earlier than you have to, but I do think he’s potentially a Top 5 QB this season. He flashed in his rookie season, and with Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Golden Tate and Evan Engram all healthy, not to mention Saquon Barkley, the Giants (and Eagles) could make the NFC East way more fun to watch — and roster in fantasy — this year.
Tier 4 (Draft in Rounds 5-6)
Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield
With Goff, it’s the weapons, the coaching, and the volume. He’s averaged 593 passing attempts the past two years. Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee are all lofty draft targets this season, going well ahead of their consistent QB (who finished QB7, QB12, and QB13, respectively, the past three seasons).
Mayfield gets a strength of schedule nod, as well as a vote for possible comeback player of the year. I, like many, were burned by this speech last year, but part of the game is moving on from bad outcomes. He still has one of the best wide receiver duos and running back tandems in the league, plus the Browns added Austin Hooper to the arsenal.
Tier 5 (Draft in Rounds 7-12)
Derek Carr, Ben Roethlisberger, Teddy Bridgewater, Gardner Minshew, Ryan Tannehill, Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, Dwayne Haskins, Sam Darnold, Mathew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo
Some quick hits: Haskins and Bridgewater have great schedules, plus at least a great WR1 (Terry McLaurin and D.J. Moore, respectively). The person throwing the ball to Christian McCaffrey can’t be all bad, can he? Bridgewater was encouraging in his brief run for the Saints last season, averaging about 18 fantasy points per game started and a decent 9:2 TD:INT ratio.
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Carr is going to have some good games and some bad games, but there’s no denying he has a solid cast of offensive talent around him now, and the camp news has been great.
Roethlisberger’s bionic arm works better than it ever did before. Still a lot of questions about ball-catchers in Pittsburgh, however.
Burrow has a wide range of outcomes, as a rookie and as a member of the Bengals. It might take more than Burrow to turn this team into a useful fantasy commodity… but he could be fantastic too.
Minshew had a couple dud games last season, and missed three weeks, but he was generally very usable in 2QB leagues last year, averaging more than 16 fantasy points per game (including the duds vs. New Orleans and Houston).
Newton admits he’s got a way to go, and the weapons he’s working with are unproven or aging. Still, it’s a Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels offense, so I’m not writing him off.
Last chance, Sam Darnold. There have been excuses, it’s true, so either live up to your potential or get out of my keyboard forever.
I’ve never been a big Stafford fan, but if he plays as well as he did when he played in 2019, he’d be like the No. 2 QB. I don’t see it happening, but at this point in the draft, he’s a decent floor with some upside at least.
Rivers and Cousins should each be a warm body on the field each week. Cousins usually has a couple big games and I do still believe in Adam Thielen. Rivers might be invigorated by a new team, but “fine” is as high as I’m willing to go on him.
The 49ers are not going to morph into a pass-friendly offense but Garoppolo could be a decent bye-week filler as your third QB. The offense is poised to control games and score points once again with one of the best defenses in the league.
Tier 6 (Let them be on someone else’s team)
QBs for Miami, LA Chargers, Chicago
They’ll be drafted, but hopefully not by you. In this range of the draft, while people are slotting in Nick Foles, Ryan Fitzpatrick, or Tyrod Taylor (and eventually, Tua Tagovailoa, Mitch Trubisky, and Justin Herbert) you could be stockpiling Dallas Goedert or Jared Cook, getting WR depth with Jalen Raegor, Robby Anderson, or Justin Jefferson. You could speculate at RB with A.J. Dillon, Zack Moss or Ke’Shawn Vaughn. Any of these are preferable to one of the QB battles here.
(Top photo: Yong Kim-Pool/Getty Images)
Renee is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Rochester. She has been an avid fantasy sports player and analyst for many years, writing for numerous platforms. Her book, Cognitive Bias in Fantasy Sports: Is your brain sabotaging your team?, helped her recognize the intersection between her two passions--sports and the brain--which shapes her fantasy writing today. Follow Renee on Twitter @reneemiller01
