While the 2024 regular season is still a few months away, it is never too early to prepare for the fantasy football season. Every year the fantasy football industry talks about the depth at the quarterback position. Yet, there are always a few elite quarterbacks everyone wants on their team. However, the number of elite fantasy quarterbacks could be as high as seven this year.
Those quarterbacks are Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Joe Burrow. They are also the top seven quarterbacks drafted according to the FantasyPros ADP. All have an ADP inside the top 60 picks. Meanwhile, there are 16 quarterbacks with an ADP inside the top 100.
Ideally, fantasy players can land one of those seven quarterbacks without paying a top-60 draft pick. However, there are plenty of productive fantasy quarterbacks between pick 60 and 100. Furthermore, fantasy players shouldn’t worry if they can’t land one of those top seven quarterbacks.
The quarterback by committee strategy can become your best friend if you miss out on those top eight players. Thankfully, FantasyPros has the ultimate tool to help you with this draft strategy.
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Quarterback By Committee Guide
The Quarterback By Committee (QBBC) Finder Tool
While everyone would love to have Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts or Patrick Mahomes on their roster, fantasy experts love the later-round quarterback approach. The reason why is the quarterback by committee (QBBC) finder tool.
This tool will help fantasy players find the best possible pairing of quarterbacks at almost any area in the draft. Select the range of the ADP you want to target, and it will show you the best pairings possible. The tool will account for bye weeks and the strength of schedule. It will also provide an estimated average number of points scored per week by the duo.
One reason fantasy experts love to wait on quarterbacks is the weekly variance at the position. Even the top quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes have weeks where they don’t finish in the top 12. Similarly, there are weeks where low-end starters and even injury-replacement players end the week as a QB1.
For example: The top 12 Week 1 quarterbacks this past year included Patrick Mahomes, Anthony Richardson and Justin Herbert. However, it also included Mac Jones (QB2), Deshaun Watson (QB6), Baker Mayfield (QB11) and Sam Howell (QB12).
Similarly, we had a mixed-bag result in Week 17 this past year. Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson were the only quarterbacks from the elite seven to end the week as a top 12 quarterback. They joined Jordan Love, Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy as top-12 finishers. However, Justin Fields (QB3), Joe Flacco (QB5), Jake Browning (QB7), Aidan O’Connell (QB9) and Tyrod Taylor (QB11) also finished the week in the QB1 range. Four of those quarterbacks were undrafted in nearly every superflex league this past year.
Therefore, fantasy players can find weekly starters off the waiver wire in Week 1 or Week 17. When you play in a superflex league, finding quarterbacks becomes more difficult. However, finding options in a 1QB league is easy.
Fantasy players want to leave their draft with two quarterbacks with this strategy. The good news is that you can load up everywhere else on your roster and wait until the final few rounds to address the quarterback position. For the sake of this article, I will only include quarterbacks outside the top 12 of FantasyPro’s ADP.
Ideally, you want a stable QB1 and someone to play the matchups when your stable quarterback has a tough opponent or his bye week. However, another way to use this strategy is by pairing an early-season quarterback with a favorable schedule with another player.
The early-season quarterback will get you off the ground early in the year while you see how your roster shapes out. Whether you need to stream the position starting midseason or have the depth to make a blockbuster deal for an elite quarterback, the early season stable QB1 will give your team options.
However, let’s assume you don’t have the depth needed to make a blockbuster deal for an elite quarterback. Fantasy players can use this QBBC strategy to pair an early-season quarterback with a mid or late-season option. The logic behind this move is to get ahead of the streaming teams and have two quarterbacks on your roster who can provide your team with a weekly QB1 finish.
Quarterback By Committee: My Ideal QB1 for Paring
Despite being the QB21 in the FantasyPros ADP, Baker Mayfield is an appealing late-round fantasy quarterback option. The veteran is coming off a breakout season. Furthermore, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers improved his offensive line and receiving core during the NFL. Mayfield was the QB10 in 2023, averaging 16.1 fantasy points per game.
The former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick is my ideal QB1 when using the QBBC strategy because of his early season schedule and ADP. Mayfield faces the Washington Commanders in Week 1, the Detroit Lions in Week 2 and the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4. All three had extremely fantasy-friendly defenses in 2023, especially for opposing quarterbacks.
Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Denver Broncos in Week 3. While the matchup isn’t ideal for Mayfield, the game is in Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the veteran faces the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5 and the New Orleans Saints in Week 6. Neither game is fantasy-friendly, but isn’t a must-avoid matchup.
With Mayfield as my stable QB1, which quarterback will I pair with him? The answer depends on the type of pairing I want to create.
Quarterback By Committee: Double Early Season Pairing
Fantasy players who want to get the best possible matchups early in the year should pair Baker Mayfield with Derek Carr. The veteran quarterback faces the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 in New Orleans, the same week Mayfield takes on the Broncos. Philadelphia was one of the most fantasy-friendly defenses to opposing quarterbacks last season.
Meanwhile, Carr has a Week 6 matchup at home against the Buccaneers. The veteran quarterback had a solid performance against the division rivals last year. He completed 75% of his pass attempts for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 17 matchup in New Orleans against the Buccaneers, scoring 15.6 fantasy points.
Quarterback By Committee: Early & Midseason Pairing
Let’s look at another scenario for fantasy players. If you aren’t worried about playing Baker Mayfield against the Broncos in Week 3, fantasy players don’t need to pair an early-season quarterback with him. However, the veteran has a rough schedule during the middle of the season, with a Week 7 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, a Week 9 matchup in Kansas City against the Chiefs, a Week 10 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers and a Week 11 bye.
Tua Tagovailoa is the perfect midseason quarterback to pair with Mayfield. The former Alabama star led the NFL in passing yards (4,624). Furthermore, he had a career-high 29 passing touchdowns in 2023. Tagovailoa has an appealing schedule during the four weeks fantasy players want to avoid starting Mayfield.
Unfortunately, he faces the Buffalo Bills on the road in Week 9. However, Tagovailoa has three other appealing matchups during those four weeks, including a Week 8 contest against the Arizona Cardinals in Miami.
Quarterback By Committee: Early & Late Season Pairing
Last but not least is the Yin and Yang or early and late pairing. Fantasy players who want to get their two quarterbacks for the year and play the matchup should pair Baker Mayfield with Aaron Rodgers. While the fantasy football playoffs are still several months away, it’s never too early to prepare.
The Future Hall of Famer has an appealing fantasy playoff schedule. He faces the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16. Both teams were some of the more fantasy-friendly defenses to opposing quarterbacks in 2023. However, Rodgers faces the Bills in Buffalo during the fantasy championship week. Unfortunately, Mayfield takes on the Carolina Panthers in Week 17. Thankfully, fantasy likely can snag Matthew Stafford off the waiver wire. He faces the Arizona Cardinals in the final game of the fantasy season.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.