There is a myth that has been perpetuated for YEARS now to the detriment of millions of fantasy gamers. Gamers who consistently finish second or third in their leagues but have no idea why. It ruins their fantasy football rankings. It makes their cheat sheets useless. It puts the fantasy football sleepers out of reach. And that’s the myth that you should only ever draft one quarterback or one tight end in your fantasy leagues.

Quarterbacks can straight up win you your fantasy football league. When Peyton Manning threw 55 touchdown passes, you won. When Cam Newton threw 35 TDs and ran for ten more, you won. Now take a second to think back. How did folks get fantasy football sleepers like Patrick Mahomes in 2018? Or Lamar Jackson/Jameis Winston in 2019? How did you get Geno Smith or Justin Fields last year? You weren’t likely starting them in Week 1. Too risky. The same goes for breakout tight ends like Mark Andrews, Darren Waller, or Logan Thomas. It honestly goes for all positions - no one was starting Alvin Kamara or David Johnson in Week 1. There were only two ways to get these players. You either drafted them as bench stashes or you got lucky on the waiver wire.

And that is what we are here to do. We want to help you break the mold. Beat the wire. No longer will you cruise through your season with a mediocre quarterback and a bench full of running backs and wide receivers that you never even use, only to get crushed by the guy who took a risk on a young Josh Allen. The “only one quarterback” line of thinking is over with. Linear rankings are making you worse at fantasy football. It’s time to escape that. And we’re going to help you break free of that constraint.

 

The thought process is simple. If you draft an elite quarterback, like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, you are pretty much set. You only need to worry about your bye week. If you wait at quarterback and only take one, you are likely either committing yourself to mediocrity or risking losing multiple games early on with a high-upside guy who flops. At the end of the day, you are leaving your fate to the waiver wire. So, even if it upsets folks (like the following tweet did), our plan is to draft two quarterbacks and create a balance of upside and floor.

It’s a simple concept really. Do you want access to the rushing upside of Anthony Richardson but don't want to risk losing games if he starts off slow like most rookies? Wait in your draft and take someone “safe” like Kirk Cousins at QB12 then grab Richardson too at QB14. Start Kirk early on and, if Richardson pops off, make the pivot! It can work the other way too. Let's say you love the upside of Justin Fields but the lack of passing in that offense plus and the injury risk of mobile QBs has you worried? Grab Jared Goff at QB17 too! The over/under for Packers @ Bears is 44.5 Week One while the O/U for the Lions @ Chiefs game is 53.5 points so you might want to just start Goff Week One anyway! 

 

At the end of the day, that’s what your bench is for, isn’t it? Mitigating risk and improving the weak spots in your lineup? If you start your draft with three running backs and four wide receivers, you can afford to take a couple of quarterbacks somewhere in rounds 8-12. Heck, in a 10 team league you can potentially draft TEN players and THEN grab Cousins and Richardson, based on our current composite ADP. If one hits then you’ve done your job. We're going to be dropping guys for waiver adds anyway right? If they both hit, now you are trading. And our new Dynamic Rankings are going to guide you through that.

Dynamic Tier Quarterback Fantasy Football Player Rankings

We recognize that some real-life gamers need more than a long, linear list of players. Those rankings aren't helping anyone identify upside vs. floor. They aren't helping you beat the waiver wire. So we are changing how we share some rankings and how you view your drafts. Here’s a glimpse of how they will look both for drafts and throughout the season.

Quarterback
Standalone
Patrick Mahomes
Jalen Hurts
Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Justin Herbert
Joe Burrow
Trevor Lawrence
Roster Two
SafeUpside
Dak PrescottJustin Fields
Kirk CousinsDeshaun Watson
Aaron RodgersTua Tagovailoa
Derek CarrAnthony Richardson
Geno SmithRussell Wilson
Jared GoffDaniel Jones
Brock PurdyJordan Love
Matthew StaffordKenny Pickett
Jimmy GaroppoloDesmond Ridder
Ryan TannehillBryce Young
Mac JonesC.J. Stroud
Lowest Tier Options
Kyler Murray
Baker Mayfield
Sam Howell
Back Up Stashes
Trey Lance
Colt McCoy
Clayton Tune
Jacoby Brissett
Will Levis
Taylor Heinicke
Gardner Minshew
Kyle Trask
Tyler Huntley
Bailey Zappe

How It Works

Standalone: If you have a quarterback from the Standalone Tier, you will very likely start them every week and you only need to plan for their bye week. 

Roster Two: If you do not have a quarterback from the Standalone Tier you should be rostering two: one “Safe” tier quarterback you can trust to start for the time being. And one “Upside” tier quarterback that is a risky start right now but has potential league-winning upside if they blow up. Most quarterbacks in the "Upside" group are guys with rushing upside or are simply unproven. As we mentioned in the intro, you might even draft the upside player first then circle back for a safe option.

Lowest Tier Starters: The “Lowest Tier Starters” are how we rank the remaining current starting quarterbacks if you are in a pinch in a Two-QB or Superflex league and need someone.

Backup Stashes: The “Backup Stashes” section is how we rank backup quarterbacks in terms of both their upside and the possibility that the starter is benched at some point.

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