Quarterback By Committee (Start 2 QBs)

  Posted 8/17 by Chase Stuart - Exclusive to Footballguys.com

In this article, I explained the benefits of using a Quarterback-By-Committee system this year 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 handle this issue. The simplest way is to treat them as two entirely separate positions. You could draft Drew Brees as your QB1, and then still take Matt Schaub and David Garrard to fill the committee role for your QB2 position. This is reasonable and would work in most leagues. The problem, of course, is not everyone will be able to draft Brees. In a start-two-QB league, Brees is probably going to be a very high first round pick, and may not be practicable for you at your spot. And while drafting Aaron Rodgers and Schaub/Garrard is just as sound in theory, your predraft plan doesn't always come to fruition. Further, you'll end up spending a bunch of early picks on QBs this way - which is a fine strategy, but not one every fantasy owner is comfortable implementing.

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 quarterbacks 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. Remember that I wrote in the Start-1 QB article that getting QB 12 production has little value in a standard league. But in a Start-2 QB league, QB12 has a ton of value. Therefore, we need to focus on getting guys with great schedules and some upside, and not worry 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 Pittsburgh and QB-C plays Baltimore 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 Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger and Shaun Hill. Now remember, I'm not saying that that group will outscore a trio of Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady. I'm only saying that that trio's collective schedule is the easiest. That schedule gives you an additional 81.5 FPs (from the two positions) over an average schedule.

Top QBBC Trios in a Start-2-QB League

Here are the top 51 committees based strictly on the easiest two schedules for each trio of QBs in the league, along how many FPs you should gain by using that committee in the first column (compared to if that committee had an average schedule). 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 Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Matt Hasselbeck, that's not much of a committee. But a lot of these committees are good. Here's a good checklist to keep in mind how often a particular QB/team falls into the Top 51:

Obviously, you want at least two of Hasselbeck, Hill and Bulger. Manning and Warner have very easy schedules, and are worth drafting just to start them every week. Seeing Chicago on there is interesting; Cutler has the toughest schedule in the league according to a straightforward analysis. He plays Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philly, and Minnesota and Green Bay twice. Even worse, he gets Detroit only once this year, as the Bears play the Lions in week 17, a nonfactor in most fantasy leagues. But because of his game against Arizona, his one game at home against the Lions, and two more against the Rams and Seahawks, he should be a good start in at least four fantasy games.

Your plan should always be to be flexible - if a stud QB falls, pounce on him regardless of schedule. And don't forget to keep an eye on guys like Warner and Manning who are stars with easy schedules. Grabbing a few NFC West QBs later in the draft will be a nice supplement to your fantasy roster if you grab some star RBs and WRs in the early rounds.

Top QBBC Quartets in a Start-2-QB League

If you're in a 10-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. Below are the top-50 QB schedules:

And here's a good QB checklist for how many times a team/QB appears in the Top 50:

Obviously, the same five teams keep popping up. The key to getting a good committee based on strength of schedule is to get two or three out of Hasselbeck, Bulger and Hill, and if you're lucky, Warner or Manning. If you were to go this route, you'd do well to note their current average draft positions in leagues like yours.

What if, by chance, you miss out on all three NFC West QBs? And you don't want to grab a stud like Brady, Brees, Manning, Warner, Rodgers, Rivers or McNabb? Here are the top 25 committees excluding all ten 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.