Fantasy Football: Drafting in Two Starting Quarterback League

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Most of the content fantasy football fans will see online in these next few weeks leading up to their draft are how to prepare in basic one starting quarterback leagues, but what about the leagues that allow you to start two quarterbacks?

Since I began playing fantasy football in 2011, I’ve found the standard “draft help” articles are usually of no help to me. I’ve almost always played in leagues that allow you to have two starting quarterbacks, and that makes one’s draft much different than standard leagues.

In standard leagues, it’s usually advised to not draft a quarterback with your first few picks. You’ll want to go running back or wide receiver most of the time.

Two quarterback leagues are different though. I learned that the hard way two seasons ago when I went running back and wide receiver with my first two picks. By the time I was on the clock for the third time, the best quarterback left on the board was Russell Wilson (back when he was not a good fantasy quarterback). I ended up with him and Colin Kaepernick as my two starters. Let it be known that I did not have a good season.

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I’m writing this piece as a way to guide those of you playing in a multiple starting quarterback league on how to draft a better team.

To start off, you’ll want to draft a quarterback with your first pick. The only way I’d advise against this would be if there’s a can’t miss running back or wide receiver available that early. Also, if you play in a league with less than ten people, you can probably avoid drafting a quarterback in the first round.

Leagues with eight people are quite manageable for two-starting quarterback leagues due to each team needing at least two quarterbacks. There are 32 starters and even if every team drafts three total (one as a sub for bye weeks), then that’s only 24 off the board. There would still be eight signal callers left should one of your quarterbacks go down or struggle.

In leagues with more than eight people, however, definitely go with a quarterback early and grab a good one. There won’t be a ton of quarterbacks left after the draft is over, so if you lose a starter, you’re pretty much screwed.

This year, Cam Newton is projected as the best quarterback out there with Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, and Drew Brees right after. Any of these guys should be a solid first round pick.

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Once you have your “elite” starter, you can go with a different position in the second round. Running backs are so risky to draft so early because of injuries or just not performing as well in years past, but they are critical to the success of your team.

You can go a few rounds before needing to draft your second starter, but make sure it’s still one of the top tier guys. You probably don’t want to rely on Tyrod Taylor to be your second starter, although Taylor would make a nice backup for your squad.

As for when to draft that “third string” quarterback, it’s not entirely necessary for you to do. Some people choose to just roll with their two starters and then go and grab a third quarterback should one of their starters get hurt. This isn’t a bad strategy and it does give you another spot on your team for an extra running back or wide receiver.

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Hopefully this helps those of you out who do play in multiple starting quarterback leagues. I know I wish I knew these things before heading into my first few drafts. They don’t have many mock drafts out there that allow you to draft for leagues like this, so just make sure you get your star quarterback with your first pick.