Quarterback By Committee (Start 2 QBs)

  Posted 8/18 by Chase Stuart, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

In this article, I explained the benefits of using a Quarterback-By-Committee system this season in standard fantasy drafts. However, a growing number of leagues now start 2 QBs, or allow you to use a QB at one of your flex positions. Can QBBC accommodate this?

There are two ways to go about handling this. The simplest way is to treat them as two entirely separate positions. You could draft Tony Romo as your QB1, and then still take Aaron Rodgers and David Garrard, or Tarvaris Jackson, Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme to fill the committee role for the separate QB2 position. This is sound, reasonable and would produce strong results. The problem, of course, is not everyone will be able to draft Romo. In a start-two-QB league, Romo is probably going to be a first round pick, and may not be practicable for you at your spot. And while drafting Carson Palmer and Jackson/Garcia/Delhomme is just as sound in theory, your predraft plan doesn't always come to fruition.

Most leagues that start two QBs every week are 10-team leagues, and in 12 team leagues the situation is even worse. The demand for QBs skyrockets, and it will be difficult to guarantee rostering any three players. So while I certainly don't think this approach is a bad one, let's focus on the other option. One other note: While in the Start-1 QB article I advocated going with Garrard and Rodgers, that was because QB 12 has little value in a standard league. But in a Start-2 QB league, QB12 has a ton of value. Therefore, I'm more focused on getting guys with great schedules and some upside, and not worrying as much about the specific abilities of the QB (after all, you can draft less talented QBs later, and can make up that difference by being stronger at other positions).

My suggestion is to find the best trio (or quartet) of quarterbacks when looking at the two best matchups each week. So a committee where QB-A plays Detroit, QB-B plays Tampa Bay and QB-C plays San Diego goes from being the best for that week to being just average. And that's the important difference we want to highlight.

I'd advocate grabbing four QBs if possible. That won't always be an option, especially in 12 team leagues, but we'll look at that in the second half of this article.

For a start-two-QB league, the trio with the easiest combined schedule is Tarvaris Jackson, Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme, just as it was for the start-one QB leagues. Now remember, I'm not saying that that group will outscore a trio of Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, and Tom Brady. I'm only saying that that trio's collective schedule is the easiest. That schedule gives you an additional 47.9 FPs (from the two positions) over an average schedule.

Top QBBC Trios in a Start-2-QB League

Here are the top 40 committees based strictly on the easiest two schedules for each trio of QBs in the league, with how many FPs you should gain by using that committee in the first column. As always, week 17 numbers are not included. To understand the methodology behind these numbers, please refer to the Start-1 QB article.

Some of these committees aren't very helpful. I don't care what the schedule is, if you have Drew Brees, Donovan McNabb and Jason Campbell, that's not much of a committee. Similarly, regardless of the schedules, if you've got Manning, Delhomme and Jackson, you'll play Manning every week.

But most of these committees are good. Here's a good checklist to keep in mind how often a particular QB/team falls into the top 40:

Obviously, you want some combination of Jackson, Garcia, Campbell, McNabb and Delhomme. Getting three out of those five is a reasonable goal.

Top QBBC Quartets in a Start-2-QB League

If you're in a ten team league, or if you're really adventurous in a twelve team league, you can try to get four starting QBs. That's not going to be easy, but by going this route, you can really make up for QB quality by getting QB quantity. While the top combination of three QBs gives you a schedule that's about 3 FP/G better than average, getting four QBs gives you a schedule featuring opponents that have defenses that are worse than 4 FP/G (spread over two positions) below average.

Once again, here's a good QB checklist for how many times a team/QB appears in the top 40:

Obviously, the same four teams keep popping up. The key to getting a good committee based on strength of schedule is to get two or three out of Tarvaris Jackson, Jake Delhomme, Jeff Garcia and Jason Campbell. If you were to go about this, you'd do well to note their current average draft positions. Jake Delhomme should go first, and be drafted somewhere in the QB13-16 range. Then Jason Campbell, at around QB20. Garcia and Jackson usually a few spots later, in the QB22-25 range.

If Delhomme is gone before your pick, you might think you could just grab a Garcia-Campbell-Jackson combination. However, Campbell and Garcia have the same bye week. So if Delhomme is gone, just look at any of the other top combos on either of the two big tables. But what if you can't get any of the four? Or if you just don't like any of the four? Here's a list of the top 25 trios - based solely on strength of schedule - with none of those QBs.

I'd recommended keeping this article open (or printing it out) and using it during your draft as the QBs go off the board. It should only take a few seconds for you to figure out which chart to use (based on what QBs have been selected) and then to scroll down and find the best combo.

Best of luck in all your fantasy leagues this year. Be sure to shoot all your questions to stuart@footballguys.com.