Dynasty Diaries: Let’s Talk Superflex Baby, Let’s Talk About 2QB
Welcome to dynasty diaries. In this series, I will give you an inside look at all of my teams, their history and my plans for the future. I’d like to provide some insight into struggles I’ve faced, and reveal weekly thoughts and feelings on anything and everything football. Join me as I succeed or crash and burn. For more information on the leagues, check out the introduction. If there is anything more you’d like to see or any questions you have, please let me know in the comments section.
I took a break last weekend. Not just a little morning or afternoon off, but a real getaway. A climb up the highest mountain in Wales (Snowdon), along with two nights camping out in the open with no phone signal, internet or access to football.
It was a glorious experience, and wild camping is something I would recommend to everyone, but man did I hate not knowing what was happening on Sunday. The moment we reached an area with signal, I logged straight on to GamePass to ‘waste’ two thirds of my phone data for the month in a couple of hours to stream the Eagles-Lions game.
After the fandom was out of the way, I got back to the fantasy football and caught up by scrolling through my leagues, Twitter and the box scores. What I noticed was that in every game, my first concern is the quarterback play. Did they secure the win? How did they do it? What did the stats look like? Did they exceed on efficiency or volume? Did they start fast or finish strong? What does it mean for them moving forward?
And why do I think quarterbacks first? Well, partly because it’s the most important position in the league and crucial for team success, but partly it’s because I’m so heavily invested in the position in fantasy football due to the 2QB mindset. If there’s an injury to a starter at the position, you can almost be certain I’ll be putting a bid in for the replacement. If one of the players I’m starting has a big performance, it’ll be more beneficial than it would be to most players of 1QB leagues.
Quarterbacks matter, and if you don’t play in a 2QB or superflex league, I urge you to get involved as soon as possible. When anyone is even considering trading Todd Gurley for Carson Wentz, it must be pretty different, right? With that in mind, this week’s edition of Dynasty Diaries is quarterback-centric.
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The Leagues
International Dynasty League (3-2)
QB1: Aaron Rodgers (Acquired at 1.05 in 2013 Startup)
QB2: Russell Wilson (3.05 in 2013 Startup)
B(ench): None
I’ve been playing in this league since 2013, and have only drafted three quarterbacks, all in the startup: Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Brandon Weeden. From the moment the first two were slotted in as my QB1 and QB2, I knew I could focus all of my attention on the surrounding players from here on out. There are obviously risks with this, but I don’t believe any owner should play as if their stars will be injured. Why invest capital in a third quarterback who will spend almost the whole season on the bench? Sometimes only having two quarterback is a risk you can be willing to take.
Obviously, no one wants to ‘give up’ a week by playing only one quarterback, so if there’s an opportunity to acquire a starter from the waivers, I look to take it. However, in a league with 25 roster spots and a strong team, it’s simply not worth it to drop a Breshad Perriman or Arian Foster for someone who will only start one week and, considering they were available on the wire, probably not score a lot of points. Since quarterbacks are drafted highly in rookie drafts, I haven’t had a good chance to acquire a strong third and haven’t put too much thought into it.
If you are in this situation, don’t panic. If there is an injury to one of your top quarterbacks, react. But until then, it’s your chance to be comfortable and improve the rest of the squad.
QB1: Andrew Luck (Trade in 2015 – Andrew Luck for Russell Wilson, Josh Huff and 2016 First Round Pick)
B: Marcus Mariota (2.12 in 2015 Rookie Draft), Eli Manning (17.03 in 2014 Startup)
Perhaps my biggest downfall in this year is focusing too much on the quarterback position. I paid the price for Andrew Luck, when having an extra pick and depth at other positions would be extremely beneficial right now. I also had an offer of a third round pick for Eli Manning over the summer, which I turned down. While a third rounder in a 16-team league holds very little value, it might have been worth more than a QB3 who will probably not see my starting lineup except in the case of injury – so maybe I should have made that move.
Think about teams in which you have two or more strong starting quarterbacks and only need to start one. What are they really worth to you if they are sitting on the bench? Sure, the security is nice, but someone who scores zero ‘usable’ points all year could instead be moved for a piece that could improve the rest of the team. Especially in a 16-teamer, depth at the skill positions is key when bye weeks and the inevitably unpredictable injuries happen.
QB1: Drew Brees ($51 in 2015 Startup Auction)
SFlex: Carson Wentz ($299 in 2016 Rookie Auction)
B: Shaun Hill (Via Waivers), Teddy Bridgewater (IR) ($65 in 2015 Startup Auction)
As I’ve mentioned before, one of the outstanding things about the Kitchen Sink format is that is provides such outstanding flexibility. If you want to dabble in 2QB leagues without fully diving in, play with a superflex spot. It means that while you should be playing two quarterbacks, you can get away with one if disaster strikes.
In this league, I overspent on the quarterbacks in the startup and only betted on two of them (in particular Teddy Bridgewater was way too expensive), but having some luck with Carson Wentz getting the early starts has saved me. One thing I haven’t yet done is draft a devy quarterback, and now that Drew Brees is moving towards the end of his career, it’s something that’s worth looking at. The quarterbacks currently owned as devy players are:
- Kyle Allen
- Brad Kaaya
- Josh Rosen
- Jacob Eason
- Jeremy Johnson
- Jake Coker
- Deshaun Watson
- Jake Browning
- Shea Patterson
The good news is that every year quarterbacks come from nowhere to ascend to the top (like Wentz), and I’m sure there will be more than one now-unknown signal-caller who will emerge and be drafted highly. DeShone Kizer and Lamar Jackson are available, and if quarterback is the position I need to attack then I can go young. Alternatively, next year might be one in which I need to acquire an ‘intermediary’ type quarterback who will be a solid starter for the years Brees is contemplating hanging up his cleats.
It’s extremely important to have a balance of options in a dynasty league where you can start two quarterbacks. Performances can fall off so quickly (see Peyton Manning) that holding two older players is a big risk, but we also know that more often than not, young players take time to develop and we may not be able to rely on them week-to-week. Ask yourself – are you prepared if the ‘unknown’ players you own don’t pan out?
QB1: Carson Wentz (1.09 in 2016 Rookie Draft)
QB2: Sam Bradford ($1000 in 2015 Off-season Waivers)
B: Brian Hoyer (Waivers), Teddy Bridgewater (IR) (Trade in 2015 – Teddy Bridgewater for Carson Palmer), Robert Griffin III (IR) (Trade in 2015 – Robert Griffin III and Calvin Johnson for Alex Smith, Matt Cassel, Andre Williams, Brandon Marshall, Martavis Bryant and Julius Thomas)
It’s been all change here since acquiring Manning, Alex Smith and Matt Cassel in the dispersal draft. I made a statement in the league by blowing all $1000 on Sam Bradford last season after he was acquired by Philadelphia, which was a huge mistake. However, he’s been a valuable part of my season so far. The lesson I learned from that was that even if Bradford did turn out to be a top ten quarterback last year as I’d hoped, I needed that money for more than one player. Without him, I would still have been able to pick up players every week on the wire by using my budget wisely and would have had the chance to improve the rest of the team.
Even in a 2QB league, there are still scraps on the wire, because we really don’t know what’s coming next. It’s important to do anything possible to acquire starters if you don’t have ones that can be relied on moving forward, and I’ll continue to do everything in my power to do that.
Dear Diary – Random Ramblings
1. On a superflex tip, the Scott Fish Bowl (#SFB480) is such a fun spectacle. If you’re a DLF reader, I’m sure you’ve already heard of it, but if not; make sure you read all about it and sign up for 2017.
2. I mentioned in the last dynasty diaries piece that I was heading to the International Series game in London. The spectacle of American Football in the UK is improving every year and the support is growing. I love that. But the in-game atmosphere simply doesn’t match up to a true home game and never will, until the NFL brings a team to the capital. There’s nothing like a whole stadium cheering or jeering together in unison, and hopefully we will get that over here one day.
As for the game, I covered the performances of Andrew Luck and Blake Bortles over at TwoQBs.com, but it really was a dismal display. I’m glad there was a close finish, because most of the game was sloppy and flag-filled, without any real star quality on show. London fans can look forward to Eli Manning, Case Keenum, Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins. Exciting…
3. For a deep look at quarterbacks in dynasty football, check out Ryan McDowell’s Dynasty Stock Market on Quarterback Value or alternately see our quarterback rankings, where George Kritikos and Jeff Miller did some updates just a few days ago.
4. One player who continues to rise is Dak Prescott, and that whole Dallas offense is simply a joy to watch. Ezekiel Elliott is proving why it was a wise move to select him over Jalen Ramsey at pick number four in the draft. Some will still argue that the process was wrong, but when you’re adding a superstar to a dominant offensive line, you can annihilate opponents. With 140, 138 and 134 yards on the ground in his last three games, he’s showing he is very #good. God, I’m so excited to watch him throughout the course of his career.
5. If you aren’t signed up to the DLF Newsletter, you really should be. Ryan McDowell always brings the heat with his advice and tidbits, such as:
“Speaking of Mariota, Week Five was his first appearance this season among the top 12 fantasy scorers at his position and he shot all the way to the top, thanks to his 60 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. In fact, Mariota scored more fantasy points via the run last week than running backs like Eddie Lacy, CJ Anderson, Matt Forte or Lamar Miller. He would’ve been the RB21 on the week with his rushing numbers alone.”
You can look forward to many more goodies if you sign up.
6. I had the honor of getting a sneak peek of Eric Dickens’ new ‘How I Play’ interview series before it was released this week, and how awesome was the first instalment with 4for4’s Josh Moore? It’s always fun to look inside the mind of someone who’s had success in this field, and Josh doesn’t disappoint.
And finally, for anyone wondering – yes, the title is a Salt-N-Pepa reference.
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As well as editing for DLF, James writes for Sky Sports and can be found on Twitter at @JS_Football
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