With not much happening in the world of football, or any sports for that matter, I decided to leave my laptop behind and venture out into the vast wilderness. I explored the outer reaches of nature, basking in the unkempt forestry, marveling at its vivid intricacies. I was one with the land. I felt alive, reborn.
Okay, none of that actually happened (Bill Walton wrote my intro for me). While the rest of the Northeast has been outside enjoying the 85-degree weather (or working—I really don’t know what people with 9-5s are up to anymore), I’ve been glued to my computer screen, gobbling up mock drafts like M&Ms. And today, I’m bringing you along for the ride.
You’ve no doubt kept up with Evan Silva’s recurring Top 150 lists and, assuming this isn’t your first foray into the kingdom of fantasy information known as Rotoworld.com, you’ve probably done more than your fair share of mocks already this summer. PPR, standard, 10-team, 12-team, best-ball (the MFL craze is real), the whole gamut. That’s why I’m using this forum to shed light on a relatively obscure fantasy format—the two-quarterback league.
This feels like an appropriate topic given that SFB7 drafts are starting up this week (I missed signups this year but I’m hoping to partake in 2018). Anyway, the 720-man league employs a super-flex, which allows you to start a quarterback, wide receiver, running back or tight end. As quarterbacks tend to be the highest scorers, the vast majority of Fish Bowl participants (Rotoworld’s Ray Summerlin is the reigning champ) will use the super-flex as a second quarterback spot.
I’m no stranger to the two-quarterback format. I’ve been in a league since college that utilizes the rarely seen “offensive player” spot, which is essentially the same thing as a super-flex. Despite my familiarity with two-quarterback leagues, I’ve never had an airtight draft strategy and that’s come back to haunt me on occasion.
While never to the extent of someone like J.J. Zachariason, a well-known torchbearer for the quarterback streaming movement (hence his Twitter handle), I agree that waiting at quarterback is usually the best course of action. This strategy has gained so much momentum that industry drafts have essentially become a game of chicken, waiting to see who will blink first at quarterback. That may be a product of the PPR boom—with PPR becoming the gold standard, fantasy owners have embraced high-volume wideouts and pass-catching running backs like never before.
Either way, this isn’t the best way to approach your two-quarterback league. I learned that the hard way in last year’s draft when I ended up with a trio of Andy Dalton, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Sam Bradford at quarterback. I snuck into the playoffs on the strength of my receiving corps (Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant and Michael Thomas were my starters), but the season didn’t end how I wanted it to and I blame myself for that.
This year I vowed to be more proactive in prepping for my two-quarterback draft. While the popularity of SFB7 may eventually push two-quarterback leagues into the mainstream, it’s still a fairly niche genre. As far as I can tell, ESPN and Yahoo don’t offer mock drafts for two-quarterback leagues, which led me to FantasyFootballCalculator.com.
FFC has an endless array of mocks in every format with new drafts popping up every 10 minutes or so. That’s all it took for me to get hooked. As a cheat sheet (I’m not one to wing it), I wasted about half the ink in my printer cartridge on an ADP list from TwoQBs.com, another excellent resource for owners looking for a leg up in two-QB and super-flex leagues.
The site took some getting used to. I got locked out of my first mock draft after refreshing the page and bailed on my second draft after struggling with FFC’s interface and letting the clock run out on my second-round pick (the computer thought I’d enjoy Todd Gurley for some reason). But the third time was a charm. I won’t provide too much commentary since most of the results speak for themselves, but I do have a few thoughts if you’ll indulge me for a minute.
The first quarterback to go in our PPR mock for the Rotoworld Draft Guide (available in stores July 25!) went 37th overall. By comparison, Aaron Rodgers was selected second overall in the two-quarterback draft you’ll see below. In fact, seven quarterbacks came off the board in the first three rounds including three in the first (Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees), three more in the second (Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan and Derek Carr) and one in the third (Cam Newton). It was a little startling to see Newton snatched up at 27th overall—that’s about 60 picks higher than his ADP in regular leagues—but with quarterbacks disappearing in rapid succession, the feeling of awe gave way pretty quickly as my survival instincts kicked in.
I picked first overall, assuring I wouldn’t be on the clock again until pick 24. Under normal draft circumstances I could probably go to the bathroom, microwave some leftovers, check my email and still have ample time to plot my next move. But because I was drafting on a Tuesday afternoon when most of the world is supposed to be at work, only two of the 12 teams were drafted by actual humans. To accelerate the process (apparently the bots at FantasyFootball Calculator had better things to do), the computer simulated picks at a blistering pace, giving me little time to think on my feet.
Knowing I couldn’t pass on David Johnson at No. 1, I assumed I’d be going the quarterback route in one of the next two rounds. As you can see, I bailed on that plan pretty quickly when I saw Jay Ajayi was still available at the end of the second round. Ajayi’s position as the unquestioned workhorse in Miami’s run-first scheme has made him a borderline first-rounder in 12-team leagues, but apparently that news hasn’t made it to FantasyFootballCalculator, where his pre-set ranking is still in the 20s.
Every site’s pre-sets are different but FFC definitely had some wacky ones. I didn’t see Joe Mixon’s name anywhere (he went undrafted somehow) and I had to do some serious digging to find Jack Doyle in the database. The computer also selected three players who are currently without a team including CBS announcer Tony Romo and running-back-turned-pro-wrestler DeAngelo Williams. I didn’t know how or why Ajayi was still out there, but I couldn’t let him slip through my fingertips.
Because I was still without a wide receiver and wouldn’t be on the clock again for another 23 picks, I pivoted to T.Y. Hilton around the turn at the beginning of Round 3. In a 12-team league you can’t go top-shelf at every position and I realized that by passing on a quarterback in the first three rounds, I’d likely have to settle for someone in the mid-tier like Kirk Cousins.
Of course, that would have happened anyway. Even if I had been in a position to snag a stud like Brady or Brees, I’d still have one more quarterback slot to fill. With the upper-echelon guys already taken, I knew I had to act quickly to avoid a repeat of my dismal Dalton/Fitzpatrick pairing (Dalton is actually a fine option when A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert are healthy, which wasn’t the case last year). So I made lemonade out of lemons by landing Cousins and Philip Rivers.
I was torn between Marcus Mariota and Cousins at the time, but I think I made the right call. Mariota’s receiving corps improved with the additions of Corey Davis and Eric Decker this offseason but the Titans are still a run-first team while the Redskins are expected to lean heavily on their pass-catchers. Rivers led the NFL in interceptions last year but he has an excellent supporting cast in Los Angeles (imagine a healthy Keenan Allen working in tandem with first-round rookie Mike Williams) and could end up being a steal at his current draft position. Rather than pairing a top-tier option like Rodgers with a scrub (Jared Goff, for instance) I split the difference by grabbing a pair of borderline QB1s. Not perfect, but still an improvement over last year’s debacle.
I know when to improvise but I’m a pretty by the book guy when it comes to drafts and roster construction has always been important to me. Going in, I knew I’d have at least four running backs and wide receivers, two tight ends along with one kicker and a defense. In regular leagues I always stash a backup quarterback (ideally one with a different bye week than my starter) but backups are a little harder to come by in 12-team, two-quarterback formats. I ended up with Sam Bradford, who I could probably survive with as a bye-week fill-in. Brian Hoyer had a different bye than both Cousins and Rivers but I wanted no part of him and the 49ers’ stagnant offense. Bradford may be conservative, but at least he has a pair of capable pass-catchers in Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen.
You may not see it on first glance, but if you look closely, you’ll notice that many of the top receivers and running backs are going later in two-quarterback leagues than they would in normal formats. Somehow Jamison Crowder was still floating around late in the eighth round (his ADP is in the late sixth round in PPR leagues) while Marshawn Lynch (third-round ADP) fell to me at the end of the 10th round. That probably had more to do with FantasyFootballCalculator’s unconventional pre-set rankings than anything, but it’s still fascinating to see how other positions are impacted by quarterbacks in two-QB leagues.
Because it’s impossible for me to draft a team without having at least one embarrassing mishap (I’m moving this week, which may explain why I’m so scatterbrained), I left the draft early because I thought there were only 15 rounds. So if you wanted to know why I would waste a pick on Travis Benjamin, mystery solved.
There’s only so much you can gain from drafting against the computer (and that one guy) on a random Tuesday afternoon, but hopefully these results can at least provide a jumping off point for those of you who need a refresher on two-quarterback leagues. You can comb through the entire 16-round draft below or click on this link to see the draft board. Happy mock season!
1.1 - Jesse - David Johnson, RB, ARI
1.2 - Team 2 - Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB
1.3 - Team 3 - Le’Veon Bell, RB, PIT
1.4 - Team 4 - Odell Beckham, WR, NYG
1.5 - Team 5 - Antonio Brown, WR, PIT
1.6 - Team 6 - Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL
1.7 - Team 7 - Julio Jones, WR, ATL
1.8 - Team 8 - Tom Brady, QB, NE
1.9 - Team 9 - Drew Brees, QB, NO
1.10 - Team 10 - LeSean McCoy, RB, BUF
1.11 - Team 11 - Mike Evans, WR, TB
1.12 - Team 12 - Melvin Gordon, RB, LAC
2.1 - Team 12 - Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL
2.2 - Team 11 - Andrew Luck, QB, IND
2.3 - Team 10 - Jordan Howard, RB, CHI
2.4 - Team 9 - A.J. Green, WR, CIN
2.5 - Team 8 - Matt Ryan, QB, ATL
2.6 - Team 7 - DeMarco Murray, RB, TEN
2.7 - Team 6 - Jordy Nelson, WR, GB
2.8 - Team 5 - Todd Gurley, RB, LAR
2.9 - Team 4 - Michael Thomas, WR, NO
2.10 - Team 3 - Dez Bryant, WR, DAL
2.11 - Team 2 - Derek Carr, QB, OAK
2.12 - Jesse - Jay Ajayi, RB, MIA
3.1 - Jesse - T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND
3.2 - Team 2 - Lamar Miller, RB, HOU
3.3 - Team 3 - Cam Newton, QB, CAR
3.4 - Team 4 - Mark Ingram, RB, NO
3.5 - Team 5 - Carlos Hyde, RB, SF
3.6 - Team 6 - Brandin Cooks, WR, NE
3.7 - Team 7 - Amari Cooper, WR, OAK
3.8 - Team 8 - Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE
3.9 - Team 9 - C.J. Anderson, RB, DEN
3.10 - Team 10 - DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
3.11 - Team 11 - Allen Robinson, WR, JAC
3.12 - Team 12 - Doug Baldwin, WR, SEA
4.1 - Team 12 - Sammy Watkins, WR, BUF
4.2 - Team 11 - Dak Prescott, QB, DAL
4.3 - Team 10 - Davante Adams, WR, GB
4.4 - Team 9 - Keenan Allen, WR, LAC
4.5 - Team 8 - Alshon Jeffery, WR, PHI
4.6 - Team 7 - Spencer Ware, RB, KC
4.7 - Team 6 - Leonard Fournette, RB, JAC
4.8 - Team 5 – Russell Wilson, QB, SEA
4.9 - Team 4 - Christian McCaffrey, RB, CAR
4.10 - Team 3 - Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN
4.11 - Team 2 - Latavius Murray, RB, MIN
4.12 - Jesse - Kirk Cousins, QB, WAS
5.1 - Jesse - Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA
5.2 - Team 2 - Tyreek Hill, WR, KC
5.3 - Team 3 - Eddie Lacy, RB, SEA
5.4 - Team 4 - Travis Kelce, TE, KC
5.5 - Team 5 - Brandon Marshall, WR, NYG
5.6 - Team 6 - Greg Olsen, TE, CAR
5.7 - Team 7 - Jordan Reed, TE, WAS
5.8 - Team 8 - Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
5.9 - Team 9 - Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT
5.10 - Team 10 - Isaiah Crowell, RB, CLE
5.11 - Team 11 - Adrian Peterson, RB, NO
5.12 - Team 12 - Jameis Winston, QB, TB
6.1 - Team 12 - Marcus Mariota, QB, TEN
6.2 - Team 11 - LeGarrette Blount, RB, PHI
6.3 - Team 10 - Martavis Bryant, WR, PIT
6.4 - Team 9 - Doug Martin, RB, TB
6.5 - Team 8 - Michael Crabtree, WR, OAK
6.6 - Team 7 - Tevin Coleman, RB, ATL
6.7 - Team 6 - Eli Manning, QB, NYG
6.8 - Team 5 - Tyler Eifert, TE, CIN
6.9 - Team 4 - Terrelle Pryor, WR, WAS
6.10 - Team 3 - Kelvin Benjamin, WR, CAR
6.11 - Team 2 - Julian Edelman, WR, NE
6.12 - Jesse - Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN
7.1 - Jesse – Philip Rivers, QB, LAC
7.2 - Team 2 – Derrick Henry, RB, TEN
7.3 - Team 3 - Matthew Stafford, QB, DET
7.4 - Team 4 - Frank Gore, RB, IND
7.5 - Team 5 - Matt Forte, RB, NYJ
7.6 - Team 6 - Corey Davis, WR, TEN
7.7 - Team 7 - Donte Moncrief, WR, IND
7.8 - Team 8 - Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR
7.9 - Team 9 - Jimmy Graham, TE, SEA
7.10 - Team 10 - Delanie Walker, TE, TEN
7.11 - Team 11 - Ty Montgomery, RB, GB
7.12 - Team 12 - Bilal Powell, RB, NYJ
8.1 - Team 12 - Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI
8.2 - Team 11 - Golden Tate, WR, DET
8.3 - Team 10 - Tyrod Taylor, QB, BUF
8.4 - Team 9 - Dalvin Cook, RB, MIN
8.5 - Team 8 - Rishard Matthews, WR, TEN
8.6 - Team 7 - Rob Kelley, RB, WAS
8.7 - Team 6 - Kenneth Dixon, RB, BAL
8.8 - Team 5 - Carson Wentz, QB, PHI
8.9 - Team 4 - Andy Dalton, QB, CIN
8.10 - Team 3 - Hunter Henry, TE, LAC
8.11 - Team 2 - Kyle Rudolph, TE, MIN
8.12 - Jesse - Jamison Crowder, WR, WAS
9.1 – Jesse - Ameer Abdullah, RB, DET
9.2 - Team 2 - Stefon Diggs, WR, MIN
9.3 - Team 3 - Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN
9.4 - Team 4 - Blake Bortles, QB, JAC
9.5 - Team 5 - Randall Cobb, WR, GB
9.6 - Team 6 - Dion Lewis, RB, NE
9.7 - Team 7 - Carson Palmer, QB, ARI
9.8 - Team 8 - Paul Perkins, RB, NYG
9.9 - Team 9 - Eric Decker, WR, TEN
9.10 - Team 10 - Thomas Rawls, RB, SEA
9.11 - Team 11 - Cameron Brate, TE, TB
9.12 - Team 12 - DeSean Jackson, WR, TB
10.1 - Team 12 - Mike Gillislee, RB, NE
10.2 - Team 11 - Jamaal Charles, RB, DEN
10.3 - Team 10 - Chiefs Defense
10.4 - Team 9 - Danny Woodhead, RB, BAL
10.5 - Team 8 - Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, TB
10.6 - Team 7 - Ryan Tannehill, QB, MIA
10.7 - Team 6 - Joe Flacco, QB, BAL
10.8 - Team 5 - Theo Riddick, RB, DET
10.9 - Team 4 - DeVante Parker, WR, MIA
10.10 - Team 3 - Ryan Mathews, RB, PHI
10.11 - Team 2 - Corey Coleman, WR, CLE
10.12 – Jesse - Marshawn Lynch, RB, OAK
11.1 – Jesse - Zach Ertz, TE, PHI
11.2 - Team 2 - Broncos Defense
11.3 - Team 3 - Willie Snead, WR, NO
11.4 - Team 4 - Vikings Defense
11.5 - Team 5 - Seahawks Defense
11.6 - Team 6 - Texans Defense
11.7 - Team 7 - Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI
11.8 - Team 8 - Kevin White, WR, CHI
11.9 - Team 9 - Patriots Defense
11.10 - Team 10 - Alex Smith, QB, KC
11.11 - Team 11 - Jeremy Maclin, WR, BAL
11.12 - Team 12 - Pierre Garcon, WR, SF
12.1 - Team 12 - Martellus Bennett, TE, GB
12.2 - Team 11 - C.J. Prosise, RB, SEA
12.3 - Team 10 - Mike Williams, WR, LAC
12.4 - Team 9 - John Brown, WR, ARI
12.5 - Team 8 - Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG
12.6 - Team 7 - Cardinals Defense
12.7 - Team 6 - Josh Gordon, WR, CLE
12.8 - Team 5 - Cameron Meredith, WR, CHI
12.9 - Team 4 - Rex Burkhead, RB, NE
12.10 - Team 3 - Giants Defense
12.11 - Team 2 - DeAngelo Williams, RB, FA
12.12 – Jesse - Jack Doyle, TE, IND
13.1 – Jesse - Sam Bradford, QB, MIN
13.2 - Team 2 - Marvin Jones, WR, DET
13.3 - Team 3 - Devontae Booker, RB, DEN
13.4 - Team 4 - Kenny Britt, WR, CLE
13.5 - Team 5 - Mike Wallace, WR, BAL
13.6 - Team 6 - Charles Sims, RB, TB
13.7 - Team 7 - Tyler Lockett, WR, SEA
13.8 - Team 8 - Rams Defense
13.9 - Team 9 - Chris Ivory, RB, JAC
13.10 - Team 10 - Cole Beasley, WR, DAL
13.11 - Team 11 - Ravens Defense
13.12 - Team 12 - Justin Tucker, K, BAL
14.1 - Team 12 - Panthers Defense
14.2 - Team 11 - Stephen Gostkowski, K, NE
14.3 - Team 10 - Matt Bryant, K, ATL
14.4 - Team 9 - Mason Crosby, K, GB
14.5 - Team 8 - Dan Bailey, K, DAL
14.6 - Team 7 - Matt Prater, K, DET
14.7 - Team 6 - Sebastian Janikowski, K, OAK
14.8 - Team 5 - Adam Vinatieri, K, IND
14.9 - Team 4 - Brandon McManus, DEN, K
14.10 - Team 3 - Stephen Hauschka, K, BUF
14.11 - Team 2 - Cairo Santos, K, KC
14.12 – Jesse - Falcons Defense
15.1 – Jesse - Chris Boswell, K, PIT
15.2 - Team 2 - T.J. Yeldon, RB, JAC
15.3 - Team 3 - Adam Thielen, WR, MIN
15.4 - Team 4 - Tim Hightower, RB, SF
15.5 - Team 5 - Jerick McKinnon, RB, MIN
15.6 - Team 6 - Zay Jones, WR, BUF
15.7 - Team 7 - DeShone Kizer, QB, CLE
15.8 - Team 8 - Ladarius Green, TE, FA
15.9 - Team 9 - Josh Doctson, WR, WAS
15.10 - Team 10 - Terrance West, RB, BAL
15.11 - Team 11 - Kenny Stills, WR, MIA
15.12 - Team 12 - Darren Sproles, RB, PHI
16.1 - Team 12 - Ted Ginn, WR, NO
16.2 - Team 11 - Tony Romo, QB, FA
16.3 - Team 10 - Will Fuller, WR, HOU
16.4 - Team 9 - Chris Hogan, WR, NE
16.5 - Team 8 - James White, RB, NE
16.6 - Team 7 - DeAndre Washington, RB, OAK
16.7 - Team 6 - Mohamed Sanu, WR, ATL
16.8 - Team 5 - Patrick Mahomes, QB, KC
16.9 - Team 4 - Eric Ebron, TE, DET
16.10 - Team 3 - John Ross, WR, CIN
16.11 - Team 2 - Jared Cook, TE, OAK
16.12 – Jesse - Travis Benjamin, WR, LAC
