Happy Wednesday Fantasy Guru Fam! Hope everyone is having a great week so far. I pumped myself full of plenty of Cuban coffee this morning because I was up pretty late working on the offensive line rankings and breakdowns for the Draft Guide. Ted Schuster and I are working on this together and it should be live on the site by Friday. I definitely suggest you check it out when it’s live.
As I do each and every week, today I’ll be discussing a specific fantasy football format and how I would approach it. So far, I have covered the following formats: 14-team PPR, Standard, PPR, Half-PPR, and Super Flex. This week I will going over a two-quarterback league, a format that has become more and more popular in recent years.
Don’t forget, one of the most important things when joining a new league or changing the format of a league you have been doing for years is knowing the roster and scoring settings for your league. Going into a draft without this information could end up in a bad roster and season.
TWO-QUARTBACK SETUP
For those who are not aware of what a two-quarterback league is, well it’s self-explanatory really. This means that you must start two quarterbacks each and every week in your lineup. The roster will more than likely still consist of 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 1-Flex, but in this instance it will also have 2-QB. You see, unlike the super flex league where the second quarterback is optional, even though almost every team is using a signal caller in their super flex slot, in this format it is not optional and a second quarterback must be started.
The approach to this format is different from any other league because of how quickly the quarterback position is being drafted. Below is a chart displaying the difference in ADP, when comparing a two-quarterback league with your regular 12-team PPR format.
| TWO-QB LEAGUE | ONE-QB LEAGUE | |||||
| QB | Pick | Player | QB | Pick | Player | Difference |
| 1 | 1.04 | Pat Mahomes | 1 | 3.07 | Pat Mahomes | 2.0 |
| 2 | 1.12 | Andrew Luck | 2 | 4.12 | Andrew Luck | 3.0 |
| 3 | 2.03 | Deshaun Watson | 3 | 5.07 | Aaron Rodgers | 3.0 |
| 4 | 2.05 | Aaron Rodgers | 4 | 5.12 | Deshaun Watson | 3.1 |
| 5 | 2.09 | Baker Mayfield | 5 | 6.08 | Baker Mayfield | 4.0 |
| 6 | 3.02 | Matt Ryan | 6 | 7.03 | Matt Ryan | 4.0 |
| 7 | 3.05 | Russell Wilson | 7 | 7.04 | Drew Brees | 4.0 |
| 8 | 3.09 | Drew Brees | 8 | 8.01 | Carson Wentz | 4.9 |
| 9 | 3.12 | Carson Wentz | 9 | 8.03 | Kyler Murray | 4.9 |
| 10 | 4.07 | Cam Newton | 10 | 8.11 | Russell Wilson | 4.0 |
| 11 | 4.09 | Jared Goff | 11 | 9.06 | Cam Newton | 5.0 |
| 12 | 5.03 | Ben Roethlisberger | 12 | 9.1 | Jared Goff | 4.1 |
| 13 | 5.05 | Jameis Winston | 13 | 10.05 | Jameis Winston | 5.0 |
| 14 | 5.1 | Philip Rivers | 14 | 10.08 | Philip Rivers | 5.0 |
| 15 | 6.01 | Mitch Trubisky | 15 | 11.01 | Tom Brady | 5.0 |
| 16 | 6.01 | Kyler Murray | 16 | 11.07 | Ben Roethlisberger | 5.1 |
| 17 | 6.03 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 17 | 11.09 | Dak Prescott | 5.1 |
| 18 | 6.04 | Dak Prescott | 18 | 12.05 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 6.0 |
| 19 | 6.08 | Tom Brady | 19 | 12.08 | Josh Allen | 6.0 |
| 20 | 7.01 | Kirk Cousins | 20 | 13.01 | Lamar Jackson | 6.0 |
| 21 | 7.1 | Josh Allen | 21 | 13.06 | Kirk Cousins | 6.0 |
| 22 | 8.01 | Lamar Jackson | 22 | 13.07 | Mitch Trubisky | 5.1 |
| 23 | 8.1 | Derek Carr | 23 | 14.03 | Derek Carr | 5.9 |
| 24 | 9.02 | Matthew Stafford | 24 | 14.07 | Sam Darnold | 5.1 |
| 25 | 9.03 | Sam Darnold | 25 | 14.08 | Matthew Stafford | 5.1 |
As you can clearly see, quarterbacks come flying off of the board in this league setting. By the end of the third round, nine quarterbacks are typically off of the board in a two-QB setting, compared to just one in a regular 12-team PPR. This is huge when it comes to preparing for your drafts and your roster construction.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Now the question you might be asking yourself is whether or not you must jump on the bandwagon on draft day and take a quarterback extremely early? My answer is, not necessarily. You see, there are so many viable fantasy quarterbacks in the league that taking one super early is really not necessary. In other words, don’t automatically assume that the quarterback position is now so much more important. Granted, you are likely going to have to address the position earlier than you are used to, but instead of exhausting a first, second, third, or even fourth round pick on the position, waiting a little later is still fine. After all, based on the chart above there are still plenty of quality quarterbacks left on the board in rounds 4-7.
Generally, the difference between QB6 and QB24 is less than five fantasy points per game. So if you are not landing a top five quarterback, which would force you to use one of your first two rounds and that is a lot of your draft capital, there really is no rush to get your quarterback. The opportunity cost you are giving up by drafting a signal caller in those first couple of rounds is just too much, considering how valuable both the running back and wide receiver positions are. Let’s not lose site of the fact that we are still starting at least two backs and three wide outs.
To give you a better idea of the difference in scoring among quarterbacks, please take a look at the chart below. It displays fantasy points per game by signal callers since 2010 and the average within that time span.
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | ||
| Rank | FPPG | FPPG | FPPG | FPPG | FPPG | FPPG | FPPG | FPPG | FPPG | Average |
| QB1 | 26.94 | 22.56 | 24.44 | 25.44 | 23.68 | 27.00 | 22.91 | 25.20 | 26.69 | 24.98 |
| QB2 | 22.53 | 19.72 | 22.21 | 22.13 | 22.57 | 23.36 | 22.36 | 26.87 | 20.97 | 22.52 |
| QB3 | 22.06 | 19.12 | 22.16 | 21.94 | 20.84 | 19.63 | 21.77 | 23.86 | 19.06 | 21.16 |
| QB4 | 21.66 | 20.15 | 21.78 | 21.41 | 20.48 | 19.51 | 21.59 | 23.85 | 19.04 | 21.05 |
| QB5 | 21.22 | 18.79 | 19.88 | 20.26 | 20.26 | 18.96 | 22.60 | 22.46 | 18.71 | 20.35 |
| QB6 | 20.39 | 18.35 | 18.68 | 21.28 | 20.01 | 18.86 | 20.25 | 19.03 | 18.41 | 19.47 |
| QB7 | 19.66 | 22.05 | 18.24 | 19.34 | 18.77 | 18.60 | 20.18 | 18.26 | 16.78 | 19.10 |
| QB8 | 20.59 | 17.65 | 18.12 | 19.33 | 18.46 | 18.08 | 19.03 | 18.22 | 16.60 | 18.45 |
| QB9 | 19.28 | 17.48 | 17.88 | 19.21 | 18.29 | 17.77 | 18.75 | 17.66 | 16.46 | 18.09 |
| QB10 | 18.87 | 18.18 | 17.46 | 19.14 | 18.22 | 17.44 | 18.24 | 16.90 | 16.28 | 17.86 |
| QB11 | 18.71 | 16.91 | 18.55 | 18.96 | 17.97 | 17.06 | 18.19 | 19.72 | 15.74 | 17.98 |
| QB12 | 18.42 | 17.89 | 18.44 | 18.59 | 18.75 | 18.10 | 17.18 | 15.44 | 15.53 | 17.59 |
| QB13 | 20.83 | 16.42 | 17.16 | 18.22 | 18.51 | 17.77 | 16.72 | 16.01 | 17.38 | 17.67 |
| QB14 | 18.06 | 15.38 | 17.11 | 18.02 | 17.16 | 16.53 | 15.68 | 15.47 | 15.87 | 16.59 |
| QB15 | 19.50 | 16.33 | 18.03 | 19.71 | 16.88 | 16.47 | 15.62 | 14.16 | 15.79 | 16.94 |
| QB16 | 18.29 | 14.42 | 17.89 | 17.13 | 19.21 | 20.13 | 16.29 | 13.98 | 17.46 | 17.20 |
| QB17 | 15.81 | 15.33 | 18.81 | 17.03 | 16.70 | 15.33 | 15.07 | 13.59 | 18.33 | 16.22 |
| QB18 | 14.92 | 15.17 | 17.53 | 16.12 | 14.71 | 14.35 | 14.83 | 15.11 | 16.84 | 15.51 |
| QB19 | 14.62 | 17.28 | 21.55 | 19.62 | 15.52 | 17.62 | 14.81 | 12.88 | 13.44 | 16.37 |
| QB20 | 14.45 | 17.11 | 15.93 | 16.37 | 13.25 | 13.91 | 14.71 | 12.22 | 13.12 | 14.56 |
| QB21 | 18.51 | 14.76 | 15.51 | 19.03 | 14.75 | 12.58 | 18.09 | 13.56 | 14.58 | 15.71 |
| QB22 | 19.62 | 13.68 | 15.70 | 18.02 | 15.83 | 16.54 | 13.42 | 13.51 | 11.82 | 15.35 |
| QB23 | 19.03 | 14.02 | 15.69 | 15.35 | 15.81 | 16.33 | 13.77 | 13.30 | 12.49 | 15.09 |
| QB24 | 14.78 | 13.98 | 14.25 | 13.31 | 13.22 | 19.49 | 12.49 | 16.61 | 15.55 | 14.85 |
| QB25 | 14.42 | 12.25 | 17.37 | 16.15 | 12.22 | 11.68 | 14.40 | 15.48 | 12.82 | 14.09 |
MY THOUGHTS
Even though this format calls for an adjustment in the way I approach my drafts, I am still not over valuing the quarterback position. While waiting for the later round to take my first quarterback is not an option here, I am still not exhausting any pick in the first three or four rounds on a signal caller. With that said, I am also not waiting too late to take my first quarterback. Since they are flying off the board, waiting too long could put you in a tough position during the draft where you feel forced into drafting a quarterback for the sake of getting one. This is a big no-no in my book. Never feel overwhelmed at any position and feel the need to have to take one.
Remember the quarterback position is one of the more predictable ones in the league, if not the most predictable one. Aside from maybe a handful of signal callers, you are likely going to get solid production from all other players at this position. While it may not be consistent elite production like you get in quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Luck (when healthy), and Aaron Rodgers, to name a few, you are still going to have a decent floor with a lower tiered quarterback. The same cannot be said about the other positions and those are harder to predict since they do not have the ball in their hands for almost every offensive play like quarterbacks do.
Since I am still waiting on a quarterback, even though I am not waiting as long as I do in a one-quarterback league, what I like to do in this format is secure three to four reliable arms. By doing so, I am able to play matchups each week and also have depth at the positions, which is important during bye weeks and/or in case of an injury. Taking this approach, still allows me to load up on the top tier of the running back and wide receiver positions, especially in this format that other fantasy owners are exhausting early round capital on the quarterback position. This will cause some of the top end backs and wide outs to fall lower than they should in your draft.
To put it into better perspective, let’s take a look at some of the quarterbacks you are able to get in the fifth to seventh round of a two-quarterback league this season. The average draft position for Ben Roethlisberger in this format is 5.03 and he finished the season as QB3 in 2018. Dak Prescott is coming off of the board in the sixth round in this type of league setting and he finished as QB10 in 2018. Kirk Cousins is coming off of the board in round seven in this type of league and he finished as QB11 in 2018. By now I hope you get it. Drafting a quarterback is really not necessary in the first couple of rounds because you can still get a quality signal caller, top 10 even, later on.
Loading up on the receiver and running back positions early on is still the way I would go about drafting in this type of format. However, I will address the quarterback position sooner than I would in a one-quarterback league and I would also draft no less than three in this format. You can even start your first five rounds with receivers and backs, then jump on the quarterback position in the next two rounds and still be ok. Remember the name of the game is finding balance within your rosters. I cannot emphasize how important this is in fantasy football.
As always, feel free to reach out on the Twitter machine @Armando_Marsal and/or in our chat room with any questions.
