While the 2026 NFL 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 discusses the depth of the quarterback position. Yet, there are always a few elite quarterbacks everyone wants on their team. There are five elite quarterbacks this year.
Those five quarterbacks are Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels. The order is debatable, especially depending on the scoring system. They are also the top five quarterbacks drafted according to the FantasyPros ADP. All five have an ADP inside the top 65 picks. Meanwhile, there are 14 quarterbacks with an ADP inside the top 100.
Ideally, fantasy players can land one of those five quarterbacks without using one of their first four draft picks. Thankfully, Allen is the only one with an ADP inside the top 50 picks. However, there are plenty of productive fantasy quarterbacks outside the top five, including after the top 100 selections. Therefore, while landing one of those top five quarterbacks would be ideal, fantasy players shouldn’t worry if they miss out on the elite guys. That’s where a quarterback-by-committee system comes in.
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Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Quarterback-By-Committee
The quarterback-by-committee strategy can become your best friend if you miss out on those top five players. Thankfully, FantasyPros has the ultimate tool to help you with this draft strategy.
What is a Quarterback-by-Committee Strategy?
A quarterback-by-committee (QBBC) strategy is when you draft two quarterbacks in the later rounds that, when paired together, have a very favorable schedule across the course of the year. You will choose which to start based on their matchup for the week. In this way, you can create a much better overall quarterback by pairing together ideal matchups from two players.
The QBBC Finder Tool
While everyone would love to have Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Joe Burrow on their roster, fantasy experts love the later-round quarterback approach. The reason is the Quarterback-By-Committee (QBBC) finder tool.
This tool will help fantasy players find the best possible pairing of quarterbacks at almost any point in their 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, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow have weeks where they don’t finish inside the top 12. Similarly, there are weeks when low-end starters and even injury-replacement quarterbacks end the week as the overall QB1.
For example, the top 12 Week 1 quarterbacks last year included Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. However, it also included Justin Fields (QB2), Daniel Jones (QB3), Justin Herbert (QB5), Patrick Mahomes (QB6), Aaron Rodgers (QB7), Jalen Hurts (QB8), Caleb Williams (QB9), Michael Penix (QB10), J.J. McCarthy (QB11), and Baker Mayfield (QB12).
Similarly, we had a mixed bag of results in the final week of the fantasy season. Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels didn’t play because of injuries. However, Josh Allen (QB6), Joe Burrow (QB11), and Drake Maye (QB2) all finished the week as top-12 quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Brock Purdy (QB1), Malik Willis (QB3), Jaxson Dart (QB4), Trevor Lawrence (QB5), Caleb Williams (QB7), Dak Prescott (QB8), Tyler Shough (QB9), Bo Nix (QB10), and Baker Mayfield (QB12) also finished the final week of the fantasy season as a top-12 guy.
Therefore, fantasy players can find weekly starters off the waiver wire at the start and end of the fantasy season, even in superflex leagues. While finding quarterbacks off the waiver wire is harder in superflex leagues, three of the top 10 quarterbacks in Week 17 last year were more than likely not drafted.
Fantasy players who want to leave their 1QB drafts with two quarterbacks should use the quarterback-by-committee strategy. This strategy allows fantasy players to load up everywhere else on their 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.
My Ideal QB1 for Pairing
Matthew Stafford is my ideal QB1 for pairing when using the QBBC strategy. The reigning MVP finished last season as the QB3, averaging 2.7 passing touchdowns and 21.1 fantasy points per game. The Los Angeles Rams returned the same receiving corps that Stafford had last season. More importantly, the future Hall of Famer has a fantasy-friendly schedule with only three matchups against top-eight defenses in 2026.
Furthermore, Stafford has an excellent fantasy playoff schedule. He faces the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15, the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 17. While the Seahawks have an elite unit, Stafford’s other two opponents were two of the most fantasy-friendly defenses in the NFL last year. The Cowboys and Buccaneers ranked in the top four in fantasy points per game and top five in pass touchdowns given up to quarterbacks last season.
Unfortunately, Stafford has a semi-rocky schedule to start the year. He faces the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Buffalo Bills over the first five weeks. The Giants are the only team that was fantasy-friendly to opposing quarterbacks last season. However, fantasy players can pair Stafford with my favorite early-season streaming quarterback.
Early-Season Pairing
While Stroud hasn’t been a fantasy star since his rookie season, he has been a solid streaming option for fantasy players with the right matchup. Last year, the former Ohio State star finished as the QB21, averaging 14.9 fantasy points per game. However, Stroud took advantage of fantasy-friendly matchups, especially in the second half of the season, averaging 2.5 passing touchdowns and 23.1 fantasy points per game in those contests. More importantly, the Houston Texans vastly improved their offensive line this offseason.
Houston added three new starters to their offensive line, including veterans Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith in free agency. Furthermore, they also improved the unit’s depth by spending two meaningful draft picks, including their top selection. More importantly, Stroud has an appealing early-season schedule. After facing the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, he takes on the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, and Tennessee Titans over the next four weeks. Fantasy players who want to avoid playing Stafford against the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills can pivot to Stroud.
Early & Midseason Pairing
Let’s look at another scenario for fantasy players. Let’s say they aren’t worried about Stafford’s early-season schedule. Instead, they want to plan for the second half of the year. Stafford has his bye in Week 11. Furthermore, he faces the Green Bay Packers in Week 12 when Micah Parsons should be 100% healthy. What quarterback could fantasy players pair with the future Hall of Famer to avoid playing him those two weeks?
Jared Goff had a disappointing 2025 season with Ben Johnson in Chicago. However, he should rebound under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Goff has the third-easiest schedule among quarterbacks this year. More importantly, the veteran has two excellent matchups in Week 11 and Week 12, facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears, with both games in Detroit. Goff was outstanding at home against the Bears, totaling five passing touchdowns and 34 fantasy points.
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 matchups should pair Stafford with Goff. The fantasy football playoffs are still several months away, but it’s never too early to prepare. While Stafford has an appealing fantasy playoff schedule with matchups against the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he also faces the Seattle Seahawks on the road in Week 16.
Furthermore, the future Hall of Famer takes on the San Francisco 49ers on the road in Week 14. Last year, Stafford played well in the two matchups against the division rivals. However, the 49ers’ defense wasn’t even close to healthy in either matchup. Thankfully, fantasy players can avoid that matchup if they also draft Goff. He faces the Tennessee Titans in Week 14 at home.
More importantly, Goff has an outstanding matchup in Week 16 against the New York Giants in Detroit. Fantasy players thinking about the playoffs should pair Stafford with Goff, guaranteeing them three fantasy-friendly matchups during the playoffs that likely will have high projected point totals.
The Perfect Pairing
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I love the idea of pairing Matthew Stafford with Jared Goff. Both quarterbacks have an ADP outside the top 90 picks and top-12 quarterbacks. Yet, fantasy players can almost guarantee a QB1 finish nearly every week with this duo because of their schedules. The only time both quarterbacks have an unfavorable matchup is in Week 8, as Stafford faces the Los Angeles Chargers, while Goff takes on the Minnesota Vikings.
The silver lining is that both quarterbacks are at home, where they tend to play better. However, the duo either both have a solid matchup, or one has a fantasy-friendly matchup in every other week during the fantasy season. According to the Quarterback-By-Committee tool, Stafford and Goff would average roughly 19.4 fantasy points per game, one of the higher averages among quarterbacks with an ADP outside the top 12, making them the perfect pairing for fantasy players without spending prime draft capital on the position.
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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.
