A few weeks ago, I posted a thread asking why more leagues don't use 2 QB's. It adds a whole other dimension to the league and requires a lot more strategy. For whatever reason, though, it's still relatively uncommon, and so I find that most of the strategy threads in the Shark Pool are predicated on the assumption that we're always dealing with a traditional 1 QB leagues. Therefore, questions about where to draft someone assume that you can wait for a long time and still a grab a very productive QB (one who might be gone as early as the 4th round or so in a 2 QB league). Because the strategy is so different in 2 QB leagues, not just with where to draft QB's, but the way that affects how/where RB's and WR's are drafted, I thought it would be useful to create a thread solely dedicated to 2 QB leagues.
In terms of general strategies for 2 QB leagues, it seems that you can go with one of these:
Grab 2 elite QB's early.
* You take some combo of Brees, Manning, Rodgers, Brady, Romo, Rivers and Schaub in the first 3 rounds.
Grab 1 elite QB in the first 3 rounds and another by round 5.
* You have two QB's in the first 5 rounds. For example, you have one of the guys listed above, plus someone like Cutler, McNabb, Eli, or Ryan.
Take 1 elite QB early and then wait until later in the draft to take another.
* You have one of the guys mentioned in the first option plus a guy like Henne, Leinart, or Orton.
Take 2 QB's very close together in the 4th -- 6th rounds.
* You have Cutler, Eli, McNabb or Ryan plus Flacco, Favre, Palmer, or Kolb.
Take 1 QB in the 4th-6th and wait until later to draft another one.
* You have Cutler, Eli, McNabb, Ryan, Flacco, Favre, etc. plus Henne, Leinart, Orton, etc.
Wait on QB's and take 2 (or 3) QB's late in the draft.
* You have some combo of Henne, Leinart, Sanchez, Cassell, Campbell, Orton, Hasselbeck, Freeman, Moore, etc.
Personally, I find the first and last strategies very risky. The first is a risk because you absolutely need both of those QB's to hit big or for one (or more than one) of your RB's and WR's to really surprise. The one time when I think this can be worth taking at is if you're picking first and second, as you can grab Chris Johnson or ADP and then two QB's at the turn in the 2nd and 3rd. I still think it's risky, but if you're looking at Chris Johnson, Brady, and Romo after 3 rounds, you can likely afford to absorb the hit from your other RB's and WR's. The last strategy is a big risk because you're likely counting on the two QB's you're taking to have big upsides, but they likely also have some downside, and if they miss, you're in trouble. It can also be chancy if there's a particular QB you really like who you're counting on falling to you late (let's say Henne, for example), but if that doesn't happen and he goes earlier than you thought, it can really throw you off.
One of the hardest things about these leagues is that you have to be prepared to ignore the concept of what typically constitutes value. It's very tough to be looking at the Draft Dominator and seeing RB's and WR's still on the board when you're thinking of taking a second QB who seems like a reach. But if you keep taking what usually represents value, you will end up with the last strategy above every time, and it can be problematic.
Which strategy do you generally like, and which one do you like this season? Are there particular QB's you're targeting at certain points of the draft? And what RB's/WR's are you looking at who might fall a bit in a league with this set-up?
All thoughts are welcome.
In terms of general strategies for 2 QB leagues, it seems that you can go with one of these:
Grab 2 elite QB's early.
* You take some combo of Brees, Manning, Rodgers, Brady, Romo, Rivers and Schaub in the first 3 rounds.
Grab 1 elite QB in the first 3 rounds and another by round 5.
* You have two QB's in the first 5 rounds. For example, you have one of the guys listed above, plus someone like Cutler, McNabb, Eli, or Ryan.
Take 1 elite QB early and then wait until later in the draft to take another.
* You have one of the guys mentioned in the first option plus a guy like Henne, Leinart, or Orton.
Take 2 QB's very close together in the 4th -- 6th rounds.
* You have Cutler, Eli, McNabb or Ryan plus Flacco, Favre, Palmer, or Kolb.
Take 1 QB in the 4th-6th and wait until later to draft another one.
* You have Cutler, Eli, McNabb, Ryan, Flacco, Favre, etc. plus Henne, Leinart, Orton, etc.
Wait on QB's and take 2 (or 3) QB's late in the draft.
* You have some combo of Henne, Leinart, Sanchez, Cassell, Campbell, Orton, Hasselbeck, Freeman, Moore, etc.
Personally, I find the first and last strategies very risky. The first is a risk because you absolutely need both of those QB's to hit big or for one (or more than one) of your RB's and WR's to really surprise. The one time when I think this can be worth taking at is if you're picking first and second, as you can grab Chris Johnson or ADP and then two QB's at the turn in the 2nd and 3rd. I still think it's risky, but if you're looking at Chris Johnson, Brady, and Romo after 3 rounds, you can likely afford to absorb the hit from your other RB's and WR's. The last strategy is a big risk because you're likely counting on the two QB's you're taking to have big upsides, but they likely also have some downside, and if they miss, you're in trouble. It can also be chancy if there's a particular QB you really like who you're counting on falling to you late (let's say Henne, for example), but if that doesn't happen and he goes earlier than you thought, it can really throw you off.
One of the hardest things about these leagues is that you have to be prepared to ignore the concept of what typically constitutes value. It's very tough to be looking at the Draft Dominator and seeing RB's and WR's still on the board when you're thinking of taking a second QB who seems like a reach. But if you keep taking what usually represents value, you will end up with the last strategy above every time, and it can be problematic.
Which strategy do you generally like, and which one do you like this season? Are there particular QB's you're targeting at certain points of the draft? And what RB's/WR's are you looking at who might fall a bit in a league with this set-up?
All thoughts are welcome.
