The originators of fantasy football got nearly every detail perfect when the national pastime was invented in the pre-Super Bowl era, but the one aspect that never quite worked was QB scoring — it never worked from the get-go.
The quarterback is obviously the most important position in the NFL, yet historically it has taken a backseat in our game. Traditional fantasy scoring rewards quantity over efficiency, and rushing ability above all else. In reality, there is a shocking shortage of quarterback talent. In fantasy, at least in one QB leagues, the position is easily filled and highly fungible.
The SuperFlex format doesn’t actually solve the quarterback scoring variety problem, but it certainly addresses the player shortage issue. In SuperFlex, one of the starting roster slots can be filled by any of the following: RB, WR, TE, or QB. So it’s like a regular flex spot, but um, super.
Because quarterbacks have a scoring advantage over other positions, a superflex essentially requires two starting QBs. If you play in a 12+ team league, every projected NFL starting QB will be drafted, along with a few notable reserves. If you fail at this position, you’re doomed. There is no realistic chance of being bailed out on the waiver wire. If you fail at this position twice, you have a very high chance of being drafted. You’ll spend 24 hours in a fast food restaurant next spring.
Recently, the Yahoo Fantasy crew got together to run a 10-team, 15-round SuperFlex mock draft using a typical half-PPR setup, and the draft order looked like this:
Dan Titus
Andy Behrens
Kate Magziuk
Matt Harmon
Colin Brennan
Jason Cravacha
Mo Castillo
Dalton Del Don
Terra Roberts
Scott Pianowski
Let’s take a look at the draft board round by round.
Unfortunately, I am not going to criticize anyone’s draft decisions in this mock review because too many reputations have been ruined by my harsh but fair evaluations in the past. Producer Collin was completely devastated by my half-PPR mock review published in May, leaving him personally and professionally useless. We cannot afford to lose him now that opening week is approaching.
Instead, let’s focus on the dramatic changes to standard draft boards that are common in Superflex and the different strategic approaches to the quarterback position. Below are some key QB-related details from our mocks:
Five of the top seven picks in the draft were quarterbacks.
Six quarterbacks were drafted in the first round, followed by six more in the second round.
Nineteen quarterbacks were selected by the end of the sixth round, followed by two more at the top of the seventh round (Aaron Rodgers and Geno Smith).
Bo Nix and Justin Fields were both drafted in the 10th round, but in a typical 10-team league, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams would all be selected in the 10th round.
Nine of the 10 teams drafted their third quarterback.
Well, SuperFlex is a different game, reshaping the board to better reflect the way players and positions are valued within the NFL itself.
Of course, with six of the top 10 overall picks being quarterbacks, you’re going to find some crazy names in the first round and beyond. Tyreek Hill, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson all fell to the second round in our mocks, which would be surprising. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley fell to the third round. Travis Kelce fell all the way to the sixth round, the first time a player has fallen to the sixth round since the Alex Smith days at KC.
Typically, superflex managers will employ one of four different methods for dealing with QBs in the draft, with three of those approaches illustrated in our mocks: Here’s an overview of those strategies:
QB Double Tap
Many managers, when the rules allow for two starting quarterbacks, will go out of their way to fill the QB slot in the first round and the Q/W/R/T slots in the second round. Three teams in our mock went that route, resulting in the following pairings: Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow (Cravacha), Jalen Hurts and Jordan Love (Harmon), and Anthony Richardson and Jayden Daniels (surprisingly, it wasn’t Dalton, it was actually Mo).
Each of these managers paid at least a small price in terms of the quality of their running backs and receivers. But in a relatively shallow format like a 10-team league, anyone can tell a compelling story about each player in their lineup. Two of the three who double-tapped ended up combining their QB and primary receiver options. Harmon took Hurts in the first round and A.J. Brown in the third, while Cravacha built an extreme Chiefs stack that included Mahomes, Kelce, Ruchy Rice and Isaiah Pacheco.
Two of the first four
Personally, my preferred way to go about attacking QBs in Superflex is to have both spots locked up by the end of the fourth round (or the fifth at the latest). To do anything else, you have to almost fanatically believe that a particular QB is likely to fall outside the top 20. I selected Josh Allen in my first mock, then Justin Jefferson in the second and Caleb Williams in the third. Two other managers (Kate and Scott) followed a similar path of selecting two out of the top four, and another (Terra) drafted his second QB in the fifth.
In general, I want the flexibility to grab value wherever and whenever it drops in the draft, but I don’t want to feel like I’m abandoning a set plan. If Love or Burrow had dropped a few spots, I would have taken either of them in the second round on the double-tap route.
Hero QB
Similar to the Hero RB, the basic idea here is to fill one of your top draft QB slots with a high potential player with game-breaking potential, attack the other positions, and then select a second QB from what’s left over from everyone else. If your second QB ends up playing a full season without issue, this approach gives you a chance to win the QB battle every week while still having a clear advantage at receiver or running back.
This strategy isn’t for everyone, as you’ll look at opening week rosters and see some pretty nasty names lined up at the superflex position, but if you’re bold and can hook up with your starting QB, this plan is bound to be a win.
Producer Collin was the only manager to go down this path in our mocks, landing on the duo of Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield. Between those two selections, Collin made his usual string of devastating mistakes and a couple of coincidentally good decisions, but he did his best to have fun. Great job, big guy.
Zero QB
Unfortunately, no one in our mocks chose to take this difficult path. Dell Don briefly looked like he might try such a roster construction when he drafted three non-QBs at the top of the draft. But he cowed and selected Tua in the fourth round and Kirk Cousins in the sixth. A true zero-QB approach would mean waiting until the sixth or seventh round to fill the position.
For this strategy to work, you need to find an unexpected success story on the level of Jordan Love in 2023 or Geno Smith in 2022. I’ve tried this route at times (with mixed results) when picking at or near the turn of a deep draft in superflex leagues. At some point, you just can’t bring yourself to spend a 1st or 2nd round pick on a QB10 overall, and you start scooping up value on RBs and WRs, stubbornly refusing to draft the most important position in your league.
Again, Zero QB could be successful if they unearth an absolute gem in the draft or grab a Hail Mary during the season, but it won’t be easy. This is an unlikely approach born out of desperation, contrarianism, or stubbornness.
For those of you who enjoy scrolling through other people’s mock fantasy exercises, the full draft results by team are posted below: If you spot a dominant favorite to win, feel free to praise the team in the comments.