Maxxcash Once upon a time, fantasy football leagues were all largely the same. Of course, variations existed, but the general format across leagues was similar. Now, there a seemingly infinite number of formats. One such format growing in popularity is Superflex. For those new to the game or for anyone who has only played in the more traditional formats, here is a basic primer on Superflex leagues and how they differ from other formats.
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What Are Superflex/2QB Fantasy Football Leagues?
While this article is directed toward more novice players, I am going to take some liberties in assuming the knowledge of the reader. One such assumption is that everyone knows what a Flex position is. As long as you’ve played any basic fantasy football format, you’ve surely come in contact with a Flex spot. A Superflex position is just a Flex spot that also allows you to start a quarterback.
If your first thought is that you’d always start a quarterback in the Superflex, you now understand why the title of this article says “Superflex and 2QB.”
The idea behind starting two quarterbacks is to restore value to the NFL’s most important position. For many years, the late-round quarterback strategy was optimal because QB production was so replaceable in fantasy football.
Despite it being the most important position in real life, it was an afterthought in fantasy leagues. But when you can start two of them, suddenly the supply and demand proposition shifts. Now, the QB position is immensely valuable.
In the olden days, when fantasy managers wanted to play in a 2QB league, that was the only option — to simply have two starting quarterback slots. A big reason 2QB leagues never became even remotely popular is because there aren’t enough quarterbacks.
In theory, you should be able to roster a backup for every player at every position. That’s simply not possible if there are two QB spots because there are only 32 starting quarterbacks. In a 12-team league, at least four teams will only have two starting QBs.
I am not sure exactly when the Superflex position was created, but it wasn’t that long ago. The earliest information I can find on Superflex is 2017. It very well may be that recent.
The Superflex position is an ingenious solution to the quarterback problem. It is essentially a 2QB league, but it also provides fantasy managers who are unable to roster a third starting quarterback with outs. By allowing managers to start any offensive player, you will still be able to field a full lineup even if you don’t have two quarterbacks to start.
With that said, strict 2QB leagues do exist. They just don’t typically have more than 10 teams because, with 10 teams, every team can theoretically roster three quarterbacks.
Should You Always Start a QB at the Superflex Position in Fantasy Football?
Should you? Unequivocally, yes. Your goal should be to start a quarterback in your Superflex position every week. Nearly every team will be able to do this every week. At most, there should be one or two weeks where you can’t due to bye weeks. If there are more, it’s probably due to some bad injury luck.
A common lineup construction in Superflex leagues will look like this: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, Flex, Superflex. Essentially, it’s like a regular fantasy football lineup, just with a Superflex spot tacked on. Even if you have a stacked team, odds are the last player entering your starting lineup is no better than a WR4 or an RB3.
The typical threshold for WR4 performance is around 11 PPR fantasy points per game. An RB3 will get you around 10 ppg. Last season, the worst quarterback to start at least eight games still was able to average 10.8 ppg.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that quarterbacks score the most fantasy points, and it isn’t particularly close. Even the worst fantasy quarterbacks are better than legitimate starting-caliber fantasy WR4s and RB3s.
There are certainly plausible scenarios where starting a wide receiver or running back over quarterback makes sense; they are just exceedingly rare. If you have two starting quarterbacks on your roster that are playing on a given week, 95% of the time, they will both be in your lineup.
What Are Some Key Differences Between Superflex/2QB Leagues and 1QB Fantasy Football Leagues?
When it comes to scoring fantasy points, having a Superflex position doesn’t matter. The manner in which players score fantasy points is the same. You have your usual formatting options: PPR, half-PPR, non-PPR, PPFD (point per first down), TE premium (1.5 PPR for TEs), or any other scoring system you can think of.
However, as one would expect, the average weekly score will increase when you have a second QB in the lineup. Most weeks, your quarterbacks will be your highest scoring players.
The most glaring difference will be apparent in Superflex/2QB fantasy football drafts.
How Does Drafting Strategy Change in Superflex/2QB leagues?
Even in single quarterback leagues, the value of the position has increased over the past couple of years. So, the late-round QB strategy is kind of becoming antiquated anyway. Nevertheless, you cannot compare the values of QBs in single QB leagues to Superflex/2QB leagues.
There are only 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. It’s basic supply and demand. Due to the limited supply, demand is extremely high. As a result, quarterbacks fly off the board early and often in Superflex fantasy football drafts.
Any quarterback that averages around 20 ppg or more will be gone by the end of the second round. Even quarterbacks that are a little worse than that likely won’t last. You should expect 12-14 QBs gone in the first 24 picks.
As one might expect, with so many QBs going early, there will be RBs and WRs you typically see going in the first and second round available in the third and fourth rounds. It’s a rippling effect throughout the draft.
When I first started doing Superflex drafts, that was the biggest adjustment I needed to make. It feels wrong to pass on an elite RB1 or WR1 for a mid QB1 you would typically draft in the middle single-digit rounds of a 1QB league.
If you are new to Superflex, you need to train your brain to think differently. If you don’t draft at least one QB in the first three rounds, you’re gonna have a bad time. I prefer to start QB-QB as frequently as possible.
While even the weakest starting quarterbacks in the NFL are fantasy-viable, if your quarterbacks both average below 15 ppg, even if you are stacked elsewhere, you will struggle to overcome the QB deficit. So, if you’re not taking two quarterbacks relatively early, you better hit on your QB2 or QB3.
In a single QB league, even the worst starting QB may only average 3-5 ppg fewer than most other starting QBs. In Superflex/2QB leagues, the difference is massive. If a team starts QB-QB and you don’t take any in the first two rounds, you may be looking at a 20 ppg gap.
That’s so difficult to overcome because other positions simply don’t score as many points. Your advantage at wide receiver and running back won’t be able to make up the difference if your quarterbacks are combining for under 30 ppg.
With that said, there’s still no hard and fast rule about how to draft your team. If you get the picks correct, you can win with any strategy. You can take two within the first three rounds, take one early and a couple late, or even roll the dice in a bunch of QB2s (not recommended).
Closing Thoughts on Superflex/2QB Leagues
It’s important to go into a Superflex draft understanding that not only will every single starting QB be drafted, but several backups as well. Most teams will roster three quarterbacks despite the fact that eight of them won’t open the season as a starter.
In 1QB leagues, quarterbacks are replaceable. You can always find something on the waiver wire. That is not the case in Superflex/2QB leagues. The instant a starting quarterback goes down or gets benched, if his backup is not already rostered, he will be immediately. Everything revolves around the quarterback position.
While it may seem scary at first, Superflex/2QB fantasy football leagues are just another way to have fun in this great game we play. Whether you’ve only played 1QB redraft leagues your entire career or dabbled in all sorts of formats, there’s never a bad time to give Superflex leagues a shot.
