While the rave reviews continue to roll in for the Fantasy Alarm NFL Living Draft Guide, one thing that has been mentioned is the desire for more superflex/2-QB draft information. The game of fantasy football continues to evolve and the increased desire for draft strategy information on these leagues has me hammering at the keyboards for you with the hope of delivering some last-minute help to those in such leagues. On Saturday, August 25, a.k.a. National Fantasy Football Draft Day, I took part in the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio 2-QB Host League and would like to share my draft and pick-by pick thoughts and strategy. Hopefully this, plus Dan Malin’s How to Draft in Superflex Leagues in the Strategy Sessions section and the rest of our work in the Draft Guide will help you in your own upcoming drafts.

The Participants (in order of draft position)

Adam CaplanSiriusXM Fantasy Football
Lisa AnnLisa Ann Does Fantasy
Austin DillonNASCAR Radio -- Winner of 2018 Daytona 500
Mario PuigRotowire
Anthony PerriFantistics
Bob HarrisFootball Diehards
Howard BenderFantasy Alarm
Anthony AnianoRotoballer
Josh HayesRotoballer
Alex DunlapRosterwatch
Phil BackertSiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio -- Winner of 2017 Producer League
Jim BowdenFantasy Alarm

The Starting Rosters

2 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE) and 1 D/ST

Yeah, that’s right….no kickers

The Final Draft Board

My Strategy Going In:

The biggest cop-out of any fantasy pundit is when they say, let the draft come to you.” Well duh. Of course you’re going to let the draft come to you but if you don’t have a general game-plan heading in, you’re going to find yourself looking like a deer in the headlights while you try to figure out where the heck to take a quarterback in this format. They either fly off the board at a rapid rate or the majority of the room waits on them, trying to outsmart the ones who jump at Aaron Rodgers early. For me, your opening strategy in this format is based on your draft position.

Let’s use a 12-team league as the example since that’s what this was. If I am drafting anywhere from 1 through 5, I am sticking with my plan to grab a top-tier running back with my first pick. If quarterbacks start coming off the board after my pick and I can still get a top-tier guy with my second pick, I will. If not, I will probably grab another running back or wide receiver and then grab a quarterback with my third pick just to ensure a strong arm to lead the way.

One caveat to “if people aren’t grabbing quarterbacks,” is, if I am drafting out of the top three spots, I will double-tap the quarterback position in rounds 2 and 3 just to start the run. Depending on who you are drafting against, not only will you have a pair of great arms, but you’ll put people into a panic and they’ll start over-drafting the position, leaving you with some solid options at running back and wide receiver for the fourth and fifth rounds.

If I am drafting in the middle – say picks 6 through 9 – I will stick with the running back or wide receiver early regardless of who is drafted before me. If people panic and take Rodgers or Deshaun Watson early, they are leaving me a premium player and if they aren’t, I am staying the course just as you would any other normal draft. With my second pick I will take a quarterback no matter what. I’ll land a strong arm and if people haven’t been taking the position early, I will easily start a run.

If I am picking anywhere 10 through 12, I am taking a quarterback with one of my first two picks. If Rodgers is there in the first round, absolutely. Lock him down. If not, then see how many top-tier quarterbacks are there and determine whether you can hit the running backs or receivers first and then grab a high-level quarterback in the second.

Once you’ve got all of that established, then you can let the draft come to you and see what’s what. The first few rounds are crucial in this format, as you don’t want to be totally left out in the cold at the quarterback position but you also don’t want to overplay your hand. Through the first five rounds, I generally like to have two quarterbacks unless everyone seems to be waiting. If I only have one heading into Round 6, there better be a number of respectable options still on the board.

So how did it all play out for me? Here’s a look at my draft:

Round 1

Leonard Fournette , RB JAC – Everyone went running back early and I followed suit with one of my favorite bell-cows this year. Based on what everyone had done up to this point, I felt like the rest of the room would follow and I could still land a top-tier gunslinger in Round 2.

Round 2

Tom Brady , QB NE – The last of the top-tier quarterbacks was there for me and, even as a Jets fan, I was happy to land him. I was hoping it would start a run, but if it didn’t, I was still ready to attack the other positions. I didn’t feel the need to go after a quarterback in the second or third tiers unless absolutely necessary.

Round 3

Jordan Howard , RB CHI – YUM! I’ll take my RB2 here, especially just days after his coach announced him as an every-down back. Suck it, Tarik Cohen truthers!

Round 4

Jarvis Landry , WR CLE – With only five quarterbacks taken since I landed TB12, I’ll attack the receiver position here with an expected PPR monster in Landry. The foul-mouthed Brown should be leaned on heavily in the offense and provides me with a very solid option as my leading receiver.

Round 5

Royce Freeman , RB DEN – With only 17 receivers and 15 quarterbacks off the board at this point, I had to grab Freeman as my RB3. I can throw him into the flex spot if I like, but, most-importantly, I have three very strong running backs who, barring injury, can help carry my team this year. I could not have been any happier with my first five picks unless the rest of the league left me the top 5 players overall.

Round 6

Eli Manning , QB NYG – After my Freeman pick, another three quarterbacks came off the board and there were three teams picking behind me who still only had one. I locked down Eli here to solidify the position and protect myself from being forced into some bottom-of-the-barrel guy as my QB2. For those who want to criticize Eli, I pose this question: If Saquon Barkley is first-round beast, Odell Beckham is an elite receiver people are grabbing in the late-first/early-second round, Evan Engram is a top-five tight end and Sterling Shepard is a strong mid-round option, who’s getting them the ball? Yeah, baby! That would be Eli.

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Round 7

Marquise Goodwin , WR SF – With three running backs and two quarterbacks on the roster, it was time to hit the receiver position. This actually worked out perfectly for me because everyone was so hell-bent on securing their quarterbacks, only 22 receivers had been taken up to this point. That middle tier of wideouts is super-sexy, especially in a PPR format. Goodwin is Jimmy Grapes’ favorite target and is going to serve me very well as my WR2.

Round 8

Emmanuel Sanders , WR DEN – We had a bit of a receiver run as everyone started to realize the level of talent at the position still on the board.  I felt good about locking down Sanders who seems to be enjoying the Broncos addition of a legit starting quarterback and am over the moon with my starting lineup thus far.

Round 9

Joe Flacco , QB BAL – You have to get that third quarterback for the bye weeks. It's a must. Three teams picking in front of me had three quarterbacks and no one behind me had more than two. If I was going to take care of myself at the position for the bye weeks, I had to make a move here. I certainly wasn’t in love with the remaining options, but Flacco has decent job security and he did not have the same bye week as either Brady or Manning. I think I would have preferred taking the shot on Sam Darnold or even Sam Bradford , but their bye weeks didn’t line up for me.

Round 10

Kyle Rudolph , TE MIN – The tight end position really fell to the wayside in this draft. That’s usually what happens when everyone is focusing on the quarterbacks, so this was easy to take advantage of with my draft position. I was tracking both Trey Burton and Delanie Walker , but they both came off the board right before me. Obviously, I’m very happy with Rudolph who sits in the same tier as the two of them, but if I want to throw one criticism as to why I liked the other two a little more, it’s the fear that Rudolph may need to do more blocking given the injuries on the Minnesota offensive line. Again, I’m splitting hairs here and let’s face it…it’s the 10th freakin’ round. Rudolph gets an OH BABY!!

Round 11

Devin Funchess , WR CAR – Still so many strong receivers out there, it was time to start building up that depth. How do you not take Funchess here as Cam Newton ’s No. 1 receiver and a guy who fits Norv Turner’s offensive scheme like a glove? The value of this pick should be outstanding.

Round 12

Mike Williams , WR LAC – Another great depth play here as Williams looks like he’s going to see a ton of volume inside the red zone. With no Hunter Henry or Antonio Gates , Philip Rivers needs a big body and at 6-foot-4 and 220 lbs., Williams fits the bill as we’ve seen this preseason.

Round 13

Theo Riddick , RB DET – I needed to ensure a bit more depth at the running back position, so while I firmly believe Kerryon Johnson will eventually lead this backfield, the Lions are not going to exclude the original human joystick here. Riddick is nothing more than bye-week filler for now as I know there will be running backs to grab on the waiver wire. There are, every single year. This just gives me a little fallback option if I really need one.

Round 14

Mike Gesicki , TE MIA – He is expected to be an integral part of the passing attack and makes for an outstanding back-up for Rudolph’s bye week. I usually don’t even grab a second tight end, but there he was….just staring me in the face. Happy to own him.

Round 15

Denver Broncos D/ST – Needed a defense and with Bradley Chubb joining Von Miller , I am going to love on this pass-rush all year long. Should see a strong sack total as well as going points for forced turnovers and potential defensive touchdowns.

Round 16

Geronimo Allison , WR GB – Really? I get one more pick because of no kickers? Absolutely! Happy to grab the guy who appears to be in line for the WR2 job in Green Bay. He’s got some development still ahead of him but Rodgers and he are familiar enough with each other that he could have a leg up on the job all year.

So there you go, people. With a few minor, personal adjustments to the Ultimate Cheat Sheet for the 2-QB format, I am extremely happy with the way this draft went. I love my starters and I love my depth. I’ll be syncing this league up here on Fantasy Alarm soon enough and we’ll see what kind of a grade I get. Personally, I think this is somewhere near a Chocolate Habanero on the Scoville scale and that’s pretty darn spicy!

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