When Should You Draft A Quarterback In Fantasy Football?

One-QB fantasy football leagues are my favorite type of format. There is a strategy I have used for many years that has led to consistent and successful seasons. While so many managers are focused on getting an elite QB because QBs put up the highest scores, I prefer to load up on RBs and WRs in the first six rounds and set myself up to have the best position-player group in the league.

Depending on how many flex spots you have available in your league and how many WR spots you have, you’ll want to have four WRs and two RBs or three of each through your first six rounds. This will work for any draft spot, and of course, means you will be drafting your quarterback(s) later in the draft. In the article, I will provide you examples of which QBs you can target and give an example of a recent draft I have done, explaining in more detail why and how this strategy works.

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When To Draft QBs in Fantasy Football

Whether it’s a 10-team, 12-team, or 14-team league, you are going to want to end up with two QBs on your roster. Now, with only one QB starting, once the other teams in your league have drafted their QB1, they will focus on the other positions. This will allow you to draft two QBs between Rounds 8-10 and still end up with 2 top 15 QBs in a 10-team or 12-team league. In some cases, you can end up with two top-12 QBs.

With this strategy, you are still getting QBs who are good enough to finish in the top five in scoring on any given week, and you are setting yourself up to be able to play the matchups with your QBs. Although the elite scoring QBs at the end of the season will have more points than the ones you draft, the week-to-week difference will be marginal. If you’re reading this and wondering what combination of QBs you can get with this strategy, let me provide you with examples of who you can draft.

Mid-Round Fantasy Football Quarterback Targets

• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
• Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
• Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
• Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
• Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

Per our ADP Tool, all of these quarterbacks are going outside the top 80 picks, and I can guarantee you that you can get two of those QBs in Rounds 8-10. If you want to wait longer to get your QB2 though, here are some other options you can get past Round 10 who I think will have some excellent weeks this season. All these players are going outside the top 120 picks and have the potential to be top-12 QBs by the end of the season:

Late-Round Fantasy Football Quarterback Targets

• Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
• Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
• Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
• Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos

Using this strategy in the past week, I drafted a team in a 12-team league that looked like this in the first 10 rounds:

Quarterbacks

• Dak Prescott (Round 8)
• Derek Carr (Round 10)

Running Backs

• Nick Chubb (Round1)
• Joe Mixon (Round 3)
• JK Dobbins (Round 6)
• Zach Charbonnet (Round 7)

Wide Receivers

• Stefon Diggs (Round 2)
• DK Metcalf (Round 4)
• Amari Cooper (Round 5)

Tight Ends

• Dalton Schultz (Round 9)

Bottom Line

If you follow this strategy in your draft, you are going to have one of, if not the best, position player group in your league. You are also going to have two very capable QBs who can put up top 10 QB points any given week. Please tweet to me how your drafts go with this strategy and show me screenshots of those awesome rosters!!