2018 NFL Draft Guide: Superflex Draft Strategy

How To Draft In Superflex Leagues

As fantasy football continues its trend of changing year-to-year, the Superflex format has become more prominent. For the longest time it was a format mostly played amongst shallower leagues to get more use out of quarterbacks that weren’t started in traditional one-quarterback leagues. Now, in 2018, Superflex or two-quarterback leagues are growing in popularity because of the depth at the quarterback position where there are still great options outside the top 12. If you ever look at the end-of-season point totals you’ll find that the quarterback position occupies a majority of the top ten, and even the top 20 scorers on an annual basis for standard scoring leagues. Most superflex leagues should incorporate some PPR aspect to create a more level playing field amongst all positions. In 2015, 12 quarterbacks finished in the top 20 for all players in PPR scoring. That number dipped a little to nine in 2016, but quarterbacks occupied 17 of the top 30 spots in PPR that season. And again last season quarterbacks represented nine of the top 20 overall scorers in PPR.

This is why in a traditional league where you’ll start one quarterback you can wait a little longer and load up at running back, wide receiver, and tight end. In a superflex league you still have the lone slot for a quarterback, but when you have the option of starting a second quarterback in the flex spot you should definitely do so.

How The Numbers Stack Up

Let’s look closely at last season by examining the typical QB2 options that would rank 13th-24th. This tier of quarterbacks averaged 13.29 fantasy points in four-point per passing touchdown leagues. By comparison, assuming you start two running  backs and two wide receivers we’ll examine the RB3 and WR3 options by looking at the averages from the players that ranked 25th through 36th at those positions. These RB3 options averaged 9.13 points per game in PPR formats and WR3 players fared a little better by averaging 10.52 points per game in the same format. You wouldn’t dare stick a second tight end from the TE2 wave because that level of talent averaged less than seven points per game in PPR formats. So to sum it up here’s how they compare:

1. QB2 = 13.29 PPR points per game

2. WR3 = 10.52 PPR points per game

3. RB3 = 9.13 PPR points per game

4. TE2 – 6.99 PPR points per game

In a standard non-PPR league the disparity between the QB2 group and the other positions is even more drastic. And it is worth acknowledging that not every team is built on the following formula. Some teams will have multiple receivers in the top 12, but this may cost them at running back where they may not have anybody in the top 12 at that position. The point of the above exercise is just to highlight how valuable the second wave of quarterback is compared to your typical flex options. Joe Flacco sat at the very bottom of the second wave last season as QB24 and he averaged 11.6 points per game in four-point per passing touchdown leagues. Now Flacco was the 24th-ranked quarterback and in PPR formats there were a total of 43 positional players that averaged more points than Flacco. So in some superflex leagues, if you sought consistency, Flacco was a viable option at the flex position unless you opted to play upside.

Take a closer look at how close the second hand quarterbacks actually performed. Andy Dalton was the 17th-ranked quarterback last year and he averaged 13.2 points per game last season. That’s a 1.6-point different between Dalton, as the 17th-best quarterback, and Flacco who was 24th. Similar spreads can be found in the top 12 quarterbacks where Kirk Cousins averaged 17.4 points per game as the sixth-best quarterback in 2017. Jared Goff was the 12th-best quarterback and again averaged 1.6 points fewer than Cousins on a weekly basis. You hear all the time about waiting on a quarterback because there’s value to be had later on. Sure you’re missing out on Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers who are capable of averaging 20+ points each week, but this is where value can be found if you miss out on the elite options.

Draft Strategy

In most standard drafts, Aaron Rodgers is the consensus top pick amongst quarterbacks. He’s usually being drafted anywhere from the third round to early in the fifth round. Throw traditional ADP out the window in a Superflex draft because quarterbacks will go a lot quicker. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibilities to see five quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers , Russell Wilson , Tom Brady , and Deshaun Watson or Cam Newton ) drafted in the first two rounds. You can comfortably take one of these studs that early or you can wait. However, it’s not wise to wait beyond the third round for your first quarterback. Remember you want to grab a top 12 quarterback, preferably a top eight quarterback if possible. And even when selecting a quarterback for your flex spot, you don’t want to settle for Joe Flacco either. You’ll want to aim higher than him.

Focusing on current ADP projections for the top 20 quarterbacks taken in one-quarterback leagues and Superflex leagues you’ll notice the big difference that we’ve hit on so far.

*Please note that ADP reports are constantly changing and being updated. The results listed above reflect the most recent ADP results provided by Fantasy Football Calculator.

Don’t Just Draft Backup’s, Draft Depth

Most two-quarterback/Superflex leagues put a limit of three quarterbacks per team due to the fact there are only 32 starting quarterbacks at the most on a given basis, while only 25 or so may be deemed worthy of starting on your Superflex team. Take advantage of taking a third quarterback because it protects you in the event one of your other two quarterbacks goes down with injury. This also will put a few other teams in a bind if they aren’t drafting a team properly built for this format. The more quarterbacks that are unavailable, the more uncomfortable you’re making the competition. On the off chance you can draft four quarterbacks you can go that route as well, but only if your league has deeper bench spots. In a 12-team Superflex league, 24 quarterbacks could be started on a weekly basis. So ideally each team would own two of those top 24 quarterbacks. If you can roster three quarterbacks why not take a flyer on a rookie quarterback that may ride the bench to start the year? Baker Mayfield comes to mind, as does Josh Rosen , Sam Darnold , and Josh Allen . Lamar Jackson can be considered as a deep sleeper as well. Remember to upgrade the ADP of all quarterbacks in this format and don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. You don’t want to miss the run on quarterbacks in a Superflex league.