2018 Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Late-Round Quarterbacks
The quarterback is the most important position in football. The NFL teams that are playoff contenders every year usually have a top-tier quarterback on their teams such as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Russell Wilson.
However, in 2017 we saw fantasy football champions have quarterbacks such as Alex Smith, Jared Goff, or even Blake Bortles on their roster. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are great to have in fantasy football too, but here are a couple of reasons why you should consider targeting some late round QBs in your upcoming 2018 fantasy football draft instead.
Lots of Quarterbacks Finish as QB1’s on a Week to Week Basis
There are 32 NFL teams which means there is a maximum of 32 starting QB’s you could put in your starting lineup each week (less during bye weeks). In 2017, 41 different quarterbacks were a top 12 scorer at least once through weeks 1 thru 16.
41 different quarterbacks would have put up a top 12 performance for your fantasy team at least once even though there isn’t even that many starting positions in the NFL. This means backup quarterbacks in the NFL are putting up good enough fantasy football numbers to be worth starting in your league. Many of these players can be found late in the draft or even on the waiver wire for that given week.
Difference Between the Best and the Rest
You might be saying a lot of those quarterbacks probably only finished as a QB1 two or maybe three times and the greats like Russell Wilson and Tom Brady probably as QB1’s most of the time.
Well, unfortunately, the greats aren’t much better than the rest of the league’s QBs in terms of fantasy consistency. Of those 41 QBs, only four finished as a QB1 at least half the weeks during the season with Russell Wilson leading all QBs in 2017 with 10 weeks as a QB1. The other three were Tom Brady, Carson Wentz, and Ben Roethlisberger.
Quarterbacks like Cam Newton, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, and Drew Brees did not accomplish that feat. All three of those QBs also had a higher ADP than both Carson Wentz and Ben Roethlisberger meaning you may have paid a lot of draft capital for a quarterback to not even be worth starting half the weeks of the fantasy season.
Draft Impact
These statistics are not new to fantasy football in 2017. In 2016, 36 QBs finished as a QB1 with only eight doing it half the time. Again in 2015, 41 QBs finished as a QB1 with only 7 doing it half the time.
Each year you can find value late in the draft at the quarterback position. In 2017, Carson Wentz and Alex Smith were drafted in the 12th round or later and guys like Jared Goff and Blake Bortles were picked up off of waivers late in the season to bring home fantasy championships.
Use this knowledge in your 2018 draft and let other owners take quarterbacks early allowing you to stockpile strong running backs and wide receivers which are much harder positions to replace during the season. Target guys like Matthew Stafford, Ben Roethlisberger, or Jameis Winston who are all going in the 10th round or later and take that extra RB or WR that could be the breakout player of the 2018 season.
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