When to Draft a Quarterback in Your Fantasy Football League

Aug 31, 2023

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Unlike its “onesie” brethren in the tight end position, we can expect consistent quarterback fantasy production all the way down draft boards, with the top of the leaderboard regularly littered with names taken with far less draft capital. While it was once—until very recently—considered a very apt strategy to simply wait at the position to find similar production later in the draft, the proclivity of modern-day quarterbacks to take off and run while defenses react to a pass-heavy league has increased sharply.

In turn, “running” quarterbacks are incredibly valuable, and we’ve seen them beginning to rule the primary rounds of drafts. Though a big game through the air predictably equates to all sorts of names sliding their way into the top five on a week-to-week basis, the days of drafters clamoring over each other to grab the Peyton Mannings, Tom Bradys, and Carson Palmers of the world is a distant memory. To ensure a weekly floor at the position, it is almost imperative we spend draft capital on quarterbacks who are willing to put their bodies on the line in the open field and/or at the goal line.

With that said, there are some diamond-in-the-rough statuesque quarterbacks in the league who can pop into fantasy QB1 weeks more than others. Below we will break down how to approach the quarterback position in 2023, according to draft position, assuming a 12-team snake draft with both positional and overall ADP courtesy of the 4for4 Multi-Site ADP tool.

More Positional Strategy: When to Draft a TE | When to Draft a WR | When to Draft a RB |