The idea of a Superflex league is still relatively new in the fantasy community. As new and innovative dynasty fantasy football formats continue to emerge, managers need to be ready to learn and adapt in order to succeed. How can you go about finding the right QB draft strategy for dynasty Superflex leagues?
What Is a Superflex Position in Fantasy Football?
For those new to the format, the term Superflex may be one you’re not overly familiar with. Don’t let that deter you from giving it a shot. After all, every single one of the millions of people playing fantasy football, at one point, knew absolutely nothing about the game. Everyone has to start somewhere.
If you’ve played in any fantasy football league, then you’re likely familiar with the Flex position. It’s the position where you can start any running back, wide receiver, or tight end. The Superflex position in a fantasy football league is just like your usual Flex position, except you can also start a quarterback.
There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Yet, in single quarterback leagues, 20 of them won’t be started every week in 12-team fantasy formats. Allowing fantasy managers to start two quarterbacks is an effort to make the QB position more valuable and closer to how it’s viewed in real life.
The reason leagues should go with a Superflex spot — as opposed to a two-quarterback format — is because of the finite number of quarterbacks. It’s the only position (other than kicker) where there are literally a maximum of 32 options at any given point. During bye weeks, there can be as few as 26.
If your league is toying with the idea of allowing for a second quarterback to be started, you should never, and I truly mean never make it solely a QB spot. It should always be Superflex.
It’s unrealistic to mandate every team to start two QBs each week when there are a maximum of 32 at a given time. In a 12-team league, four teams will always be without a third QB. And that’s assuming no team rosters four, which tends to happen, especially as quarterbacks get injured or benched during the season.
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The Superflex position allows managers to start a quarterback while not forcing them into it, just in case there’s been an injury or a bye along the way.
While it’s highly suggested that you have a quarterback in your Superflex spot due to them not only having a higher floor but also a ceiling compared to running backs and wide receivers, you’re not forced into it if your team is in a bad spot.
How Does the Addition of a Superflex Position Impact Fantasy Football Drafts?
For the better part of the past decade, quarterbacks have been largely an afterthought in fantasy drafts. The prevailing strategy has been to wait until the later rounds because you can get comparable value playing matchups or streaming, and the opportunity cost of forgoing a higher-end WR or RB for a QB just isn’t worth it.
Over the past couple of years, the average draft positions of the top quarterbacks have increased, as their production has been more predictably elite year over year. But these macro strategies are flimsy. All it takes is one year of early-round quarterbacks failing, and we’re back to the late-round QB strategy.
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Superflex is designed to treat quarterbacks in fantasy with the reverence in which they are viewed in real life. Quarterback is the most important position in the NFL, and Superflex leagues make it the most important position in fantasy as well.
In Superflex, quarterbacks go early. Very early.
The most prominent mental adjustment fantasy managers transitioning into a Superflex league need to make is adjusting their values and accepting that taking middling QB2s over upside RB2s and WR1s is sometimes necessary.
Supply and Demand Increase the Value Of QBs
Just like in the grocery stores when toilet paper was nowhere to be found, supply and demand ruled the day. The fewer there are, the more they cost. That’s the reason Superflex was created, to begin with.
In a typical week, you’ll see at minimum 75 running backs and 100+ wide receivers have some level of involvement in their offense. There’s a reason these positions make up the vast majority of your starting fantasy roster.
For a quarterback, unless something drastically went wrong, that number maxes out at 32, sometimes being as low as 26 during bye weeks.
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The finite supply naturally increases the demand, especially for reliable quarterbacks. Ideally, in a Superflex league, you want two trustworthy starting QBs.
Personally, I have adopted the strategy where I like to have both of mine in the first three rounds, but there are multiple ways to go about this. Any strategy can be made to work. Some are more consistent in their outcomes than others.
Quarterbacks Score More Than Any Other Position
Quarterback is the highest-scoring position in fantasy football. Even the worst starting QBs in the NFL average around 13 fantasy points per game. That’s roughly the cutoff for WR3 production and why starting two quarterbacks is so valuable.
A typical starting lineup might look like this: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, Flex, Superflex
In 2023, 23 quarterbacks who started a minimum of eight games averaged at least 15 fantasy points per game. Those mid-to-high QB2s that often go undrafted in 1QB leagues are significantly better than the WR4 or RB3 you typically start in your Flex.
Using last season again as an example, there were only 14 running backs to average at least 15 fantasy ppg. That number was 18 at wide receiver. That’s it.
It’s very difficult to win a Superflex league without two good quarterbacks and even more difficult if you don’t even have one.
Don’t Stress Over the Opportunity Cost of Drafting a QB
Like most of you, I still primarily play in 1QB leagues. With over 20 years of drafting just one starting quarterback, it can be difficult to mentally break free of the notion that a middling QB2 is better than a high RB2 or WR2.
The notion of drafting Baker Mayfield or Matthew Stafford over Josh Jacobs or Chris Olave feels all kinds of wrong. But imagine a hypothetical scenario where you just have to choose one player to start, regardless of position. Are you starting one of Jacobs or Olave? Or one of Mayfield or Stafford?
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Even in this hypothetical 1QB league where this was a lineup choice, you would start the quarterback over these two high-end players at their respective positions. That’s because quarterbacks are inherently more valuable than every other position, even the perceived weaker ones.
Taking a QB you would normally take in the 10th round in Round 2 feels wrong. How could you pass on a locked-in WR1 or high RB2 for this mediocre starting QB?
That’s where opportunity cost comes in. The opportunity cost is actually not nearly as much as it seems. Although you may be passing on an elite WR or RB asset, so is everyone else.
In dynasty Superflex startup drafts, you can see anywhere from 12-16 quarterbacks go in the first two rounds.
That’s why it’s important to see the scoring difference between even a middling QB like the aforementioned Mayfield last year and see how he outscored Jacobs and all but nine wide receivers.
Even bad QBs are usually better than WR2s.
Those great wide receivers and running backs you passed on in Round 2 will be there in the third and even the fourth. The value of quarterbacks drafted inevitably pushes down the ADPs over other positions.
What Is the Optimal Strategy for Drafting QBs in Dynasty Superflex?
As noted above, if you don’t have quarterbacks, your team is likely drastically capped in its probability of bringing home a championship.
Every championship team is going to have good quarterbacks. There will invariably be some out there who were able to get those QBs later in drafts, but the fact remains those teams have good quarterbacks.
It’s even more pronounced in dynasty formats. If you think you’re going to be able to compete rolling out Geno Smith and Derek Carr, it’s just not going to happen.
There are only a handful of running backs and wide receivers who can compete in long-term value with the top quarterbacks. The list of QBs more valuable than pretty much every WR or RB is long.
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert, Anthony Richardson, Kyler Murray, and perhaps even Jordan Love and Brock Purdy are all considered elite dynasty assets. They’re the most valuable players in Superflex drafts.
It’s said all the time, and while I might be cliché, it’s always true. Quarterbacks are never cheaper than they are during the Superflex draft. The only time you see quarterbacks going for the equivalent value of ball carriers and pass catchers is during the draft.
Justin Jefferson may be drafted right next to Mahomes in a startup. But once that draft ends, you’re probably not going to be able to move Jefferson for Mahomes.
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A dynasty team can only go as far as quarterbacks will take them. For me, the optimal strategy in a Superflex dynasty draft is to grab two quarterbacks in the first three rounds while also being earlier than some to take my QB3.
I don’t want to miss out on quarterbacks. If you don’t have two, they’re very hard to acquire via trade, and there are only a few even worth taking in rookie drafts — some of which will inevitably bust.
I want at least one of the QBs I previously mentioned. Depending on where I am in the draft, if I know it might be a few extra picks until it comes back (slot 10-12, for example), I have no issue doubling up in my first two selections and pairing Jackson with someone like Dak Prescott, Murray, or even Jared Goff. They provide the upside and stability I need in my second QB spot for Superflex.
I’m also not afraid to target someone like Stafford or Kirk Cousins in a startup. Sure, they’re older, but I believe they have a good 3-4 years left. That’s enough time to figure things out.
Plus, if my team isn’t competing, I will have no trouble moving one to a contender for either a young QB or a draft pick to take on.
Ideally, I’m also walking away with a fourth quarterback in the later rounds. That fourth QB doesn’t need to be a starter, but it all depends on how the draft flows. They could be a high-upside QB behind a weak starter or a player getting his first real shot at a starting job.
There’s also nothing wrong with taking backups who have proven capable when thrust into starting roles, like Gardner Minshew.
The main point is that in Superflex leagues, you need to heavily prioritize QB. Even if you end up lagging behind at other positions, that can be fixed far easier than having nothing at quarterback.
