For the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on standard 1 QB leagues in this section. So if you play in a 2 QB, SuperFlex, or Dynasty league, your draft strategy will likely vary.
First and foremost, DON’T DRAFT A QB EARLY! There are 2 reasons for this. First, there simply isn’t that much difference between QB’s from a Fantasy perspective. The Top QB in points per game in 2020 was Josh Allen, who average 25.4 points. The 10th best Fantasy QB, Lamar Jackson, average 22.8 points – 2.6 ppg less than Allen.
Let’s compare that spread to the running backs. The top RB last year, Alvin Kamara, averaged 22.4 ppg. The 10th best, Kareem Hunt, averaged 12.5 ppg – nearly 10 points less. While it is true that injuries to players like McCaffrey, Barkley, and Chubb contributed to this large spread, you’ll find if you do the research that this is the case most years.
The second reason why you shouldn’t draft a QB early is because they can be unpredictable. Going into last season, most everyone had Lamar Jackson ranked highest at the position, and as I mentioned earlier, he finished 10th. The bottom line is there are many good options out there, so spend your early picks on stud RB’s and WR’s instead.
The Tier 1 players will probably need to be drafted anywhere from the late 2nd round to the early 4th round. At that point, you should have a few cornerstone players to pair with them. The Tier 2 guys should go in the middle rounds. Exactly where depends on the other players in your league, so if you want one of these guys, keep tabs on them.
If you don’t opt for any of the Tier 1 or 2 QB’s, wait. You should still be able to get a quality Tier 3 QB towards the end of your draft. You may even want to grab 2 of them so you can mix and match based on schedule (try to avoid 2 with the same bye week if you can).
The rest of the ranked QB’s should be taken as depth options, or just left on the waiver wire. If you end up drafting a Tier 1 or 2 guy, you may not even want to draft a backup – just stream the best option during their bye week.
That’s pretty much it for QB’s. The most important thing you can do on Draft Day is stay patient.