Quarterback Drafting Advice
This season, there is a wealth of good QBs available. So you shouldn't feel obligated to spend a 1st round pick on one. Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees are #1 and #2 in the rankings and both should go in the early to mid 2nd round. You should definitely drafted a QB by the 5th round if you do not want to get stuck with a lesser scoring QB in your FFL.
If you are looking for a good backup QB, you will always do well to take Tony Romo, Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger, especially if you have a questionable starter. These quarterbacks should still be available in the 8th through 10th round.
This is not the year to draft Michael Vick. If you want a running quarterback, draft Cam Newton, RGIII, or Russell Wilson. Vick has no help this year after Jeremy Maclin went down for the season. He is also prone to injury.
Undervalued QBs
- Robert Griffin III - Washington Redskins
- Tony Romo - Dallas Cowboys
- Carson Palmer - Arizona Cardinals
- Josh Freeman - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Alex Smith - Kansas City Chiefs
Overvalued QBs
- Tom Brady - New England Patriots
- Colin Kaepernick - San Francisco 49ers
- Matthew Stafford - Detroit Lions
- Andrew Luck - Indianapolis Colts
- Joe Flacco - Baltimore Ravens
The first thing that must be noted is whether or not your fantasy football league scores passing TDs as 4 points or 6 points. This will determine how important the QB position will be for your entire fantasy team.
Players like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees can single handedly win you one or two games with a 5+ TD performance. All three are on Pass-First teams. If you score the passing TD as 6 points, you will want to pick up one of these guys in the early 1st or 2nd round.
The one exception is if you select early in the first round. There are still a few running backs in the league that are more valuable than the QBs. However, after the few remaining teams with feature backs you can make the case to pick an elite QB or WR.
If you miss out on these players, try to get a second tier QB (Stafford, Newton, Eli Manning, Vick) in the 4th or 5th round. If you miss these players as well, try to get one of the third tier QBs in the 7th or 8th round.
You will want to take advantage of stockpiling other positions if you choose not to pick an elite quarterback.
Previous Years Advice
Although the quarterback position is an important one as far as your fantasy football team is concerned, unless you draft Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, you will be better served waiting to draft your starting quarterback until the middle rounds of your fantasy football draft.
With many of the NFL positions in fantasy football, there is a large drop-off in production after the top tier players. That is often not the case with quarterbacks in fantasy football leagues. While you might not get a 300-yard and 3 touchdowns quarterback every game, the top tier running backs and wide receivers that you draft in your fantasy football league can compensate for the lost production from week to week.
You will need a good quarterback to compete for your fantasy football league’s title, but you won’t necessarily need a great QB. Good quarterbacks will still likely be available in the 6th - 9th round of your fantasy football draft. You can markedly improve your team by drafting the top tier running backs and wide receivers in the first five rounds before you draft your quarterback.
Also, don’t wait too long before getting your backup quarterback. If you wait past the 14th round to draft your backup fantasy quarterback, you might be left with a backup quarterback from one of the NFL's worst passing teams. While in most situations you will only need your backup quarterback to start one game per fantasy football season for you, remember the quarterback position is another one of the skilled positions where at least a couple of starters are likely to get hurt during the course of regular season.
Should your starting quarterback goes down for an extended period of time, it would behoove you to have an adequate backup. There should be several middle tier quarterbacks left in your fantasy football draft in the early stages of the late rounds (rounds 10 - 12).