A dynasty mock draft of backup quarterbacks around the league, based on opportunity, situation, and talent.
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Ryan McDowell shares his takeaways from the week, and dynasty thoughts for your eyes only.
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Welcome to Monday Mocks, where I’ll bring you…you guessed it, a new mock draft every Monday during the off-season. In my opinion, drafting is the best part of fantasy football, so I do as much of that as I can. This series will be filled with all types of mocks. We’ll draft startups, rookies, devys, and more.
We are mixing things up a little this week. There are plenty more rookie mock drafts to come before the NFL Draft later this month, but today I wanted to focus on superflex dynasty leagues, specifically the quarterback position. Obviously, a high-level starting quarterback is one of the most valuable assets in any superflex dynasty league, but backup quarterbacks have never been more valuable.
Changes around the NFL, including more regular season games and a seemingly shorter leash for high draft picks, have resulted in more and more players seeing snaps and starts under center. Last year, 66 quarterbacks started at least one game in the league.
If your superflex dynasty leagues are anything like mine, nearly every QB2 around the league is on a roster. That’s why, with a hat tip to our own Eric Dickens, I chose to mock the backups around the league. Consider this a guide as to which backups most deserve a roster spot in your superflex dynasty league.
Most drafts are pretty easy. We heavily consider talent, mix in a little situation, and go from there. With backup quarterbacks, both of those take a backseat to opportunity. You want to roster backup signal callers who are most likely to see the field, which will result in them gaining value. Opportunity could come as a result of a below-average starting quarterback or maybe just one with an injury history. Spotting young, potential future starters is also very important, though we don’t currently have many of those around the league.
For the purposes of this article, we won’t include any rookies, though I am assuming that Caleb Williams starts for the Bears and the Commanders find a new starter as well. For the moment, Jarrett Stidham is penciled in as the Broncos starter, so you won’t find him in this draft. Here we go!
Obviously, Fields has taken a lot of heat in the past few weeks and his dynasty value has plummeted as a result of the limited trade market and ultimately landing in Pittsburgh. This is the easiest call of this unique mock draft though. Fields is by far the most valuable NFL backup quarterback. Just two years ago, he finished as the QB11 for the year and even last season was a top-twelve scorer in 46% of his games. We know Fields has talent and behind veteran Russell Wilson, he should also have opportunity. Wilson struggled in his time with the Broncos and is on shaky ground as the Steelers’ new starter.
After a surprisingly effective rookie season in 2022, Howell entered last season as the Commanders’ starter. While he was very solid from a fantasy standpoint, churning out ten QB1 games in the first 13 weeks, Howell took a step back as the season wore on and it became clear he was not a long-term option in DC. With a new coaching staff and a projected new quarterback with the second overall pick, Howell was shipped to Seattle, where he’ll backup Geno Smith. Seattle ultimately chose to stick with Smith though there were rumors they could move on following a disappointing 2023 campaign. At best, Smith will be the starter for one more season in Seattle but it won’t be a surprise if Howell sees the field at the first sign of offensive struggles.
What a comeback for the veteran Flacco! As soon as Aaron Rodgers went down early in the first game of the season, fans were clamoring for the Jets to sign Flacco. Instead, they stubbornly stuck with Zach Wilson. Meanwhile, the Browns scooped up Flacco after they lost multiple quarterbacks, including Deshaun Watson, and he went on an impressive run. Cleveland went 4-1 in Flacco’s five games and the quarterback produced at least 17 fantasy points in all five contests, finishing with three QB1 games. Now, he’ll backup Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis. As high as the upside is with the second-year quarterback, the floor is even lower simply due to a scary injury history. If Richardson is on your roster, Flacco is a must-add for this Colts offense that made Gardner Minshew a fantasy starter.
