When facing a league with a roster or scoring you aren’t used to, you’ve got to reprogram your fantasy brain. The good thing is that your league mates are usually in the same boat or at least the majority of them are. Take our subject today, how many of your run of the mill leagues have 2 QBs? Not many. Yes, you could be getting into a league that has been playing with 2 QBs for the last 20 years, but that isn’t usually the case, but even if it is, don’t worry too much.
The only reason I like to wait on quarterbacks is because when you draft just 12 starters there just isn’t a huge difference between the #1 guy and say the #8 guy. If you can predict the #8 guy and grab him in the 7th round you get a running back/wide receiver who hold a lot more value for you since you need to find 2-4 of them. But in 2 QB leagues that flies out the window.
Let’s take a look at the top scorers from each position:
QB: 1. Aaron Rodgers 327, 12. Jay Cutler 216, 24. Mark Sanchez 119
RB: 1. Chris Johnson 329, 12. Jamaal Charles 177, 24. Willis McGahee 136, 36. Julius Jones 103
WR: 1. Andre Johnson 205, 12. Wes Welker 155, 24. Anquan Boldin 121, 36. Lee Evans 97
You can see that the drop off after the top 12 QBs is steeper than the drop off after the top 12 RBs, but the biggest reason I want 2 of the top 12 QBs in my 2 QB league is that the chance of a 24th ranked QB outplaying the 24th ranked RB isn’t likely. I much rather take 2-3 backup RBs with the chance one will finish in the top 12, than do the same with low end QBs.
You know what you are getting with the top QBs. Even with the erratic play of some, you know they have the ball in their hands all of the time and even if they are getting shellacked they can start heaving the ball downfield and have an average to good game fantasy wise. They are also protected as if they are wee baby children. Yes, they are exposed and can get hurt, but the league continues to make it harder to beat one down like they need and should be. Running backs don’t quite get that luxury.
I’ve tried playing this out with the, you zig and I zag approach, but I can’t make it work. I still want my top 4 RBs, but after that, I’m ready to throw down QB style. Most of your league mates will be in the same frame of mind so you could see Gore/Turner/SJax/AJ, etc… fall to where you just have to grab one, and that is fine. Take value. It’s not like QB TD’s are worth 100 points each, but if you do, you know where your next pick needs to come from. That fleshy, sweaty, ego driven, quarterback pool.
The main goal I have in 2 QB leagues is to have 2 upside, top 12 QBs. That doesn’t automatically mean you have to have Rodgers, Brees, Manning, but if you have the choice between say SJax and one of those three, I’m leaning toward the elite QB.
And as an aside, Ben Roethlisberger makes for an interesting pick as your second/third QB, which could give you a little more leeway in grabbing a later upside QB to pair with him. Usually Big Ben goes fairly quickly as a backup QB in 1 QB leagues, but people can’t risk grabbing him until after they have 2 QBs that will play the first 5 games. I could see grabbing him with a Matthew Stafford or even Alex Smith who both have pretty good early schedules.
In this kind of league you have to pay attention to the QB runs (I think it usually has something to do with Mark Schlereth’s Stinkin Good Chiles). I hate reaching for a position just because everyone else is, but with this set up I am much more likely to because I do not want to get stuck with Derek Anderson as a starting QB. It is easier to make up for missed RBs and WRs than QBs. Yes, there are upside QBs out there, but not many. Matthew Stafford comes to mind, Chad Henne and Vince Young as well, but you just don’t see Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles and Sidney Rice type sleepers in QB circles all that often.
So, don’t be afraid to strike the QB fire while it’s hot. I know it goes against muscle memory, but fight through it! You can do it!
