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The Re-Draft Roundtables Series
The Footballguys staff looks at various strategies to help you in redraft leagues.
Participating in a redraft league is a process that starts with the draft and hopefully ends with a championship. The Footballguys staff has answered several questions about various strategies to help you achieve your championship dreams. From the beginning to the end and everything in between, we've got you covered to give you the tools and knowledge needed to dominate your redraft league.
For Superflex leagues, what is your approach to constructing the best team possible and navigating the quarterback selection process without sacrificing other position groups?
Jason Wood
As Superflex leagues proliferate, nuances are growing. A few years back, it seemed that any time a league had Superflex settings, you could count on everyone drafting at least two quarterbacks in the first three rounds without any thought of overall value. While that's still a justifiable strategy, a few years of playing out these leagues has tempered some of the unbridled quarterback mania.
One of the important parts of any league, including Superflex, is the size of a starting lineup. If your league has 11 or 12 starting spots, the Superflex spot is less important than if you have 8 or 9 starting spots. It also gives you more flexibility to strongly consider playing running backs or wide receivers in that spot.
Sam Wagman
Superflex is a relatively new concept, as I only played in my first such league last year. I have learned, though, to attack value where it falls, and in these leagues, you see skill-position players predictably tumble due to drafting quarterbacks high. I typically like to leave the first two rounds with a quarterback that will give me both upside and stability and an RB/WR/TE that has fallen past ADP and can make up for my passing on a second quarterback. I’m okay waiting for several rounds to select my second quarterback, as a few always fall.
Ben Cummins
Quarterbacks receive a massive boost in Superflex leagues. That does not mean you have to force quarterback/quarterback with your top two picks, but you will need to draft multiple quarterbacks way earlier than in a standard league to be competitive. This is a fine line that must be walked within each specific draft. Ideally, I like to have my top two quarterbacks no later than the fourth round. Despite the urge to draft other positions in what appear to be extreme values, it’s important to understand the heavy early quarterback runs will push all other positions down the board.
Craig Lakins
Superflex leagues offer a new way to zig while your league-mates zag, but make sure you do so responsibly. If I can pick up a top-flight quarterback early on, it's an easy decision. If those are gone when you're on the clock, the typical RB/WR studs have likely been pushed down the board and into your lap. Don't feel pressure to force a quarterback too early due to diminishing supply. If your league-mates are going QB in the first two rounds, you'll be feasting on top talent at the skill positions and can wait to start taking your quarterbacks.
It doesn't feel great heading into Round 4 with no quarterback on your roster, but you can also feel safe that your league-mates won't be touching the quarterbacks left on the board if they stocked up early. This provides another chance to veer away from the norm and continue stocking up on the rest of your lineup. Later, you can take as many shots at quarterbacks with upside as possible.
Andy Hicks
Superflex leagues are incredibly difficult primarily due to the uncertainty of when the quarterback runs occur. For these drafts, it can be a curse to be at the start or end of a draft. If you grab Jonathan Taylor at No. 1, you do not know if three, seven, or 18 quarterbacks will be gone by the time it gets back to you. Do you, therefore, take Josh Allen at one overall? What if only three are gone by the time it gets back? If you are at 12 and only Allen is gone, what then? It is going to be a long time between picks 13 and 36. You will lose if you are strong everywhere but at the quarterback position. Trotting out Baker Mayfield and Marcus Mariota and hoping for the best is asking for trouble.
Dan Hindery
For the most part, my approach is just to rank guys in order and take the best player available, the same as I would in a one-quarterback league. However, there does come a point where if I feel like I have to reach a little bit for a quarterback because they are going faster than expected, I go ahead and reach. You don’t want to put yourself in a spot where you are awful at the position, even if you feel like you have added a lot of value elsewhere. With that in mind, ideally, I have my top quarterback within the first few rounds. I am comfortable trying to scrounge for a second quarterback in the mid-to-late rounds if I get caught on the wrong side of a run but am not comfortable going with a late-round quarterback for both spots.
Gary Davenport
In most Superflex drafts, quarterbacks will fly off the board early—especially if the scoring favors the position. This isn't to say that you have to take a quarterback in Round 1. Or that two of your first three (or four) picks need to be signal-callers. You can use the zeal of other managers to grab quarterbacks early against them and get value at other positions if you can figure out how long you can wait before grabbing the last quarterback in a given tier. Having Kyler Murray and Kirk Cousins is well and good, but having Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan can be even better if it means being stronger at running back or wide receiver.
Ryan Weisse
The rest of the league will determine my strategy around quarterbacks. If it looks like half of the first two rounds will be quarterback, I'll take one too. Better to be left with the worst of the top-tier than all the scraps at the end of the draft. Just like in most of my strategies, my wide receivers are sacrificed. There are so many good wide receivers, so I'll wait until late and get guys others have passed on but still have upside, a la Brandin Cooks.
Chad Parsons
The key is determining where the key tier drops are located at the position. I like Kirk Cousins, Jameis Winston, and Jared Goff more than most, so using them as a backstop for a second quarterback placement is a worst-case outcome, even if waiting or being squeezed in the middle rounds. Matthew Stafford is a sturdy threshold to stay at or above for your first quarterback. Waiting on wide receivers has been my pivot in Superflex formats when spending more early capital at quarterback.
Dave Kluge
There’s a massive advantage if you can hit on two elite quarterbacks in a Superflex league. But remember, a Superflex spot doesn’t have to be a quarterback. Passing on players like JaMarr Chase for a middle-of-the-pack second quarterback is not optimal. As always, let the draft come to you. Do not allow positional needs to dictate your selections.
Adam Harstad
There is no "navigating the selection process without sacrificing other position groups." Not in Superflex, but not in non-Superflex, either. Fantasy football is a game of opportunity costs. Every pick you make at one position results in your team being weaker at every other position.
The Draft Dominator has a suite of useful tools (estimated ADP tailored to your league settings, an ability to display projections for all remaining players in a position group) that will help you make informed decisions to minimize the opportunity costs. Grab players at a position when there's a giant drop looming on the horizon, delay players at a position when the board is fairly flat for a while.
Christian Williams
The best approach is to continue with a value-based, tier-centric mindset. I've found success in scooping value while others scramble to acquire quarterbacks early. I've also found success grabbing two quarterbacks in the first two rounds. The strategy largely depends on what slot you're selecting from and the actions of your league mates. If you're drafting from the 1.01, the best value pick is Josh Allen. But if you're drafting 1.08 and seven quarterbacks flew off the board before your selection, the best choice may be a running back, wide receiver, or tight end. Value-based drafting allows for flexibility which traditionally ensures an advantage over league mates.
Jeff Bell
Pick selection dictates the quarterback approach. I like an anchor quarterback strategy and cannot see passing on one of the top six quarterbacks early in drafts. If I am closer to the turn, it is a case for third-round reversal, a standard snake, and I defer to staying anchor quarterback to grab an elite position player. If it is a third-round reversal, double-tapping quarterbacks become more attractive as positional player value should fall to the early third round.
Justin Howe
Going into a Superflex draft, it's important to know that most quarterback scoring differences will be negligible. By year's end, there are rarely more than a few points separating the No. 7 quarterback, for example, from the 17th. With that in mind, I don't prioritize my second quarterback spot too significantly.
If I pick relatively early in Round 1, I'm more than happy to leap at an elite first quarterback. Of course, I mean the leader of a great offense - and one who will add points on the ground. But after that, I'm generally happy sitting tight until the initial quarterback run tapers off. If it looks like I can scoop Kirk Cousins or Tua Tagovailoa in a few rounds, then there's no chance I'm passing up the crazy value of a Joe Mixon or a JaMarr Chase in Round 2.