For fantasy football players looking for an extra challenge, “Superflex” leagues have become a refreshing alternative over the past few seasons. For those new to the format, these are leagues where you can flex a quarterback at a second flex position in the starting lineup. For all intents and purposes, it is basically a two-quarterback league, because most fantasy players will flex a second quarterback in this format.
The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and Superflex leagues push quarterbacks up the draft board and make them as important as running backs in the early rounds. You also have to draft three of them in an ideal scenario to properly prepare for bye weeks and injuries.
In a 12-team Superflex league, you will likely see 35-plus quarterbacks come off the board. There will be 24 “guaranteed” starters and each team should draft at least one backup. In these types of leagues, it does make sense to roster quarterbacks such as Davis Mills and Mitchell Trubisky.
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Superflex Draft Strategies and Top Draft Picks
In standard drafts where only one starting quarterback is required, I usually fill out my other starting skill positions first and do not think about drafting a quarterback until at least the seventh round in a format where three starting wide receivers are required. In a Superflex league, quarterbacks are just as important to running backs in my view. I try to come out of the first four rounds with two quarterbacks in my preferred scenario.
If I can get two top-12 quarterbacks in the first three rounds, I will try to accomplish that goal. I will also be fully willing to get a second top-20 or so quarterback in the first four rounds. I will never take a second quarterback later than the fifth round and rarely later than the fourth.
As with any draft, I do not have a rigid plan for taking certain players in certain rounds. It all depends on the flow of the draft, as every single one has its own unique flow and rhythm. I will have a “shell” of a plan, because I have been in Superflex drafts where the first round is quarterback-heavy, and others where running backs are still in high demand.
When evaluating the No. 1 pick, I will recommend Josh Allen as the top overall choice. Quarterbacks are generally more durable than running backs, so I am good with taking a quarterback first in a Superflex league at any spot in the first round. Allen is the obvious ultimate combination of high-volume passing and rushing potential.
I have Justin Herbert ranked fourth overall, but you can take him as soon as second overall if one is willing to pass on Jonathan Taylor or Austin Ekeler. It will also be hard to pass on any of the top-three wide receivers this season, especially in leagues where you are required to start three. To take Patrick Mahomes in the top six or seven means you will have to be willing to pass on Taylor, Ekeler, Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase. There will be many Superflex drafts where the quarterbacks may not dominate the first round.
Mahomes becomes less of a surefire superstar pick after losing Tyreek Hill, and some fantasy analysts may not rank him third at the position this season. But Mahomes’ outstanding production cannot specifically be tied to one pass-catcher, as great as Tyreek Hill may be. Mahomes should still have a floor of being a top-six fantasy quarterback.
Jalen Hurts is my real “wild card” among the top quarterbacks this season, and he will be a definite target of mine in the first round of Superflex drafts. Adding A.J. Brown to a team with rising young playmaker DeVonta Smith and established tight end Dallas Goedert gives Hurt a potentially superb playmaking trio. His rushing abilities are well established. It would not be surprising to see Hurts perform as the best dual-threat QB in fantasy football outside of Allen this season.
Superflex First-Rounders and the Best QB2 Types
Kyler Murray obviously has a lot of upside, but we have also seen him raise concerns about durability and erratic performances. But he is still very worthy of a first-round pick. Lamar Jackson is the ultimate pure running QB and remains a definite No. 1 in this format. Dak Prescott is better than Murray and Jackson as a pure passer and is also worthy of a first-round pick. There have been published reports that he may run more this season.
The Broncos may allow Russell Wilson to “cook” more this year, which does give him the potential to finish in the top-five again this season. He has frequently finished in that range many times in the past. Joe Burrow obviously has a great crew of wide receivers that also makes him very worthy of a first-round selection and capable of a top-five QB finish. We can make a good case for taking any of the top-10 quarterbacks in the first round, and all those we have mentioned are superb second round picks.
Matthew Stafford is a great No. 1 QB option in the second round or early in the third, and even though Aaron Rodgers has lost Davante Adams, he can still perform at a very high level and should be a quality target outside the top-10 QBs. Trey Lance may be a risk because he will have to prove himself as a passer, but he has quality playmakers around him and can be one of the last of the possible QB1 types to target because of his rushing upside.
Derek Carr could also be a significant difference-maker as a QB2 target. He will be working with the best receiving crew of his career. Carr’s fantasy production has been held back in the past because of mediocre wide receiver play. A combination of Hurts and Carr in a Superflex league could turn out to be a league-winning duo this season.
Among the definite QB2 targets, Kirk Cousins is not “sexy,” but he is a comfortable second starter. Tua Tagovailoa is in a pivotal early-career season with two prime playmaking weapons at WR. Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston should be adequate, and sometimes quite productive. Zach Wilson has better playmakers around him, but he still has much to prove. The Jaguars have tried to improve the supporting cast around Trevor Lawrence, but his pass-catching group looks like it is full of potential disappointments. I would ideally try to keep my QB2 Superflex starter targets inside the range of my top-20 QBs, with Ryan and Winston being the final possible choices.
Top-200 Fantasy Football SuperFlex Rankings
The top-200 fantasy football superflex rankings leans on PPR formats
Tier | Rank | Player Name | Pos | Scott |
1 | 1 | Josh Allen | QB | 1 |
1 | 2 | Jonathan Taylor | RB | 2 |
1 | 3 | Austin Ekeler | RB | 3 |
1 | 4 | Justin Herbert | QB | 4 |
1 | 5 | Cooper Kupp | WR | 5 |
1 | 6 | Justin Jefferson | WR | 6 |
1 | 7 | Ja'Marr Chase | WR | 7 |
1 | 8 | Patrick Mahomes II | QB | 8 |
1 | 9 | Jalen Hurts | QB | 9 |
2 | 10 | Derrick Henry | RB | 10 |
2 | 11 | Dalvin Cook | RB | 11 |
2 | 12 | Najee Harris | RB | 12 |
2 | 13 | Kyler Murray | QB | 13 |
2 | 14 | Lamar Jackson | QB | 14 |
2 | 15 | Christian McCaffrey | RB | 15 |
2 | 16 | Joe Mixon | RB | 16 |
2 | 17 | Dak Prescott | QB | 17 |
3 | 18 | Russell Wilson | QB | 18 |
3 | 19 | Davante Adams | WR | 19 |
3 | 20 | Tom Brady | QB | 20 |
3 | 21 | Joe Burrow | QB | 21 |
3 | 22 | Alvin Kamara | RB | 22 |
3 | 23 | Leonard Fournette | RB | 23 |
3 | 24 | Matthew Stafford | QB | 24 |
3 | 25 | Nick Chubb | RB | 25 |
3 | 26 | Deebo Samuel | WR | 26 |
3 | 27 | Aaron Jones | RB | 27 |
3 | 28 | Stefon Diggs | WR | 28 |
3 | 29 | Aaron Rodgers | QB | 29 |
3 | 30 | Tyreek Hill | WR | 30 |
3 | 31 | CeeDee Lamb | WR | 31 |
3 | 32 | Trey Lance | QB | 32 |
3 | 33 | Saquon Barkley | RB | 33 |
3 | 34 | A.J. Brown | WR | 34 |
3 | 35 | Derek Carr | QB | 35 |
3 | 36 | Mark Andrews | TE | 36 |
3 | 37 | Travis Kelce | TE | 37 |
4 | 38 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | 38 |
4 | 39 | D'Andre Swift | RB | 39 |
4 | 40 | Deshaun Watson | QB | 40 |
4 | 41 | Mike Evans | WR | 41 |
4 | 42 | James Conner | RB | 42 |
4 | 43 | David Montgomery | RB | 43 |
4 | 44 | Kirk Cousins | QB | 44 |
4 | 45 | Diontae Johnson | WR | 45 |
4 | 46 | Keenan Allen | WR | 46 |
4 | 47 | Tee Higgins | WR | 47 |
4 | 48 | Tua Tagovailoa | QB | 48 |
4 | 49 | Jaylen Waddle | WR | 49 |
4 | 50 | Terry McLaurin | WR | 50 |
4 | 51 | Kyle Pitts | TE | 51 |
5 | 52 | Gabriel Davis | WR | 52 |
5 | 53 | Justin Fields | QB | 53 |
5 | 54 | Allen Robinson II | WR | 54 |
5 | 55 | George Kittle | TE | 55 |
5 | 56 | Matt Ryan | QB | 56 |
5 | 57 | Antonio Gibson | RB | 57 |
5 | 58 | Javonte Williams | RB | 58 |
5 | 59 | Jameis Winston | QB | 59 |
5 | 60 | D.K. Metcalf | WR | 60 |
5 | 61 | Zach Wilson | QB | 61 |
5 | 62 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | 62 |
5 | 63 | Courtland Sutton | WR | 63 |
5 | 64 | Ryan Tannehill | QB | 64 |
5 | 65 | Cam Akers | RB | 65 |
5 | 66 | Michael Pittman Jr. | WR | 66 |
5 | 67 | Jerry Jeudy | WR | 67 |
5 | 68 | Davis Mills | QB | 68 |
5 | 69 | Damien Harris | RB | 69 |
5 | 70 | Breece Hall | RB | 70 |
5 | 71 | Darren Waller | TE | 71 |
5 | 72 | Mike Williams | WR | 72 |
5 | 73 | Mac Jones | QB | 73 |
5 | 74 | Travis Etienne Jr. | RB | 74 |
6 | 75 | Trevor Lawrence | QB | 75 |
6 | 76 | Daniel Jones | QB | 76 |
6 | 77 | Elijah Mitchell | RB | 77 |
6 | 78 | Cordarrelle Patterson | WR | 78 |
6 | 79 | Rashaad Penny | RB | 79 |
6 | 80 | J.K. Dobbins | RB | 80 |
6 | 81 | Mitchell Trubisky | QB | 81 |
6 | 82 | T.J. Hockenson | TE | 82 |
6 | 83 | Marcus Mariota | QB | 83 |
6 | 84 | Hunter Renfrow | WR | 84 |
6 | 85 | James Cook | RB | 85 |
6 | 86 | Carson Wentz | QB | 86 |
6 | 87 | Amari Cooper | WR | 87 |
6 | 88 | Brandin Cooks | WR | 88 |
7 | 89 | Chris Godwin | WR | 89 |
7 | 90 | Dallas Goedert | TE | 90 |
7 | 91 | Kareem Hunt | RB | 91 |
7 | 92 | Miles Sanders | RB | 92 |
7 | 93 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | RB | 93 |
7 | 94 | DJ Moore | WR | 94 |
7 | 95 | Darnell Mooney | WR | 95 |
7 | 96 | Marquise Brown | WR | 96 |
7 | 97 | Devonta Smith | WR | 97 |
7 | 98 | Jared Goff | QB | 98 |
7 | 99 | DeAndre Hopkins | WR | 99 |
7 | 100 | Dalton Schultz | TE | 100 |
7 | 101 | Adam Thielen | WR | 101 |
7 | 102 | Drake London | WR | 102 |
7 | 103 | Tyler Lockett | WR | 103 |
7 | 104 | Drew Lock | QB | 104 |
7 | 105 | Ronald Jones II | RB | 105 |
7 | 106 | Kenneth Walker | RB | 106 |
7 | 107 | Kenny Pickett | QB | 107 |
7 | 108 | Robert Woods | WR | 108 |
7 | 109 | Baker Mayfield | QB | 109 |
7 | 110 | Michael Thomas | WR | 110 |
7 | 111 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | WR | 111 |
8 | 112 | Allen Lazard | WR | 112 |
8 | 113 | Russell Gage | WR | 113 |
8 | 114 | Jimmy Garoppolo | QB | 114 |
8 | 115 | Melvin Gordon III | RB | 115 |
8 | 116 | Zach Ertz | TE | 116 |
8 | 117 | Josh Jacobs | RB | 117 |
8 | 118 | Zamir White | RB | 118 |
8 | 119 | Dawson Knox | TE | 119 |
8 | 120 | Desmond Ridder | QB | 120 |
8 | 121 | Michael Gallup | WR | 121 |
8 | 122 | Chris Olave | WR | 122 |
8 | 123 | Elijah Moore | WR | 123 |
8 | 124 | Matt Corral | QB | 124 |
8 | 125 | Chase Edmonds | RB | 125 |
8 | 126 | Marlon Mack | RB | 126 |
8 | 127 | Treylon Burks | WR | 127 |
8 | 128 | Alec Pierce | WR | 128 |
8 | 129 | Sam Darnold | QB | 129 |
8 | 130 | Christian Kirk | WR | 130 |
8 | 131 | Dameon Pierce | RB | 131 |
8 | 132 | Pat Freiermuth | TE | 132 |
9 | 133 | AJ Dillon | RB | 133 |
9 | 134 | Cole Kmet | TE | 134 |
9 | 135 | Darrell Henderson Jr. | RB | 135 |
9 | 136 | Tyrion Davis-Price | RB | 136 |
9 | 137 | Brandon Aiyuk | WR | 137 |
9 | 138 | Skyy Moore | WR | 138 |
9 | 139 | Devin Singletary | RB | 139 |
9 | 140 | Garrett Wilson | WR | 140 |
9 | 141 | Geno Smith | QB | 141 |
9 | 142 | Rashod Bateman | WR | 142 |
9 | 143 | James Robinson | RB | 143 |
9 | 144 | Kenneth Gainwell | RB | 144 |
9 | 145 | Irv Smith Jr. | TE | 145 |
9 | 146 | Jarvis Landry | WR | 146 |
9 | 147 | Christian Watson | WR | 147 |
9 | 148 | D.J. Chark Jr. | WR | 148 |
9 | 149 | Michael Carter | RB | 149 |
9 | 150 | Rhamondre Stevenson | RB | 150 |
9 | 151 | Tony Pollard | RB | 151 |
9 | 152 | Austin Hooper | TE | 152 |
9 | 153 | Jalen Tolbert | WR | 153 |
10 | 154 | Jamaal Williams | RB | 154 |
10 | 155 | J.D. McKissic | RB | 155 |
10 | 156 | Alexander Mattison | RB | 156 |
10 | 157 | Rachaad White | RB | 157 |
10 | 158 | Mike Gesicki | TE | 158 |
10 | 159 | Nyheim Hines | RB | 159 |
10 | 160 | Chase Claypool | WR | 160 |
10 | 161 | Kadarius Toney | WR | 161 |
10 | 162 | Jakobi Meyers | WR | 162 |
10 | 163 | Hunter Henry | TE | 163 |
10 | 164 | Noah Fant | TE | 164 |
10 | 165 | Raheem Mostert | RB | 165 |
10 | 166 | Boston Scott | RB | 166 |
10 | 167 | Gus Edwards | RB | 167 |
10 | 168 | Tyler Allgeier | RB | 168 |
10 | 169 | Odell Beckham Jr. | WR | 169 |
10 | 170 | Velus Jones Jr. | WR | 170 |
11 | 171 | Albert Okwuegbunam | TE | 171 |
11 | 172 | Brian Robinson Jr. | RB | 172 |
11 | 173 | DeVante Parker | WR | 173 |
11 | 174 | James White | RB | 174 |
11 | 175 | Donovan Peoples-Jones | WR | 175 |
11 | 176 | David Bell | WR | 176 |
11 | 177 | Rondale Moore | WR | 177 |
11 | 178 | David Njoku | TE | 178 |
11 | 179 | Logan Thomas | TE | 179 |
11 | 180 | Tyler Higbee | TE | 180 |
11 | 181 | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | WR | 181 |
11 | 182 | Robert Tonyan | TE | 182 |
11 | 183 | Jameson Williams | WR | 183 |
11 | 184 | C.J. Uzomah | TE | 184 |
11 | 185 | Jahan Dotson | WR | 185 |
11 | 186 | George Pickens | WR | 186 |
11 | 187 | Robby Anderson | WR | 187 |
11 | 188 | Jamison Crowder | WR | 188 |
11 | 189 | Sony Michel | RB | 189 |
11 | 190 | Evan Engram | TE | 190 |
11 | 191 | Sammy Watkins | WR | 191 |
11 | 192 | Rex Burkhead | RB | 192 |
11 | 193 | Hayden Hurst | TE | 193 |
11 | 194 | Adam Trautman | TE | 194 |
11 | 195 | Khalil Herbert | RB | 195 |
12 | 196 | John Metchie | WR | 196 |
12 | 197 | Darrel Williams | RB | 197 |
12 | 198 | Isaiah Spiller | RB | 198 |
12 | 199 | Samaje Perine | RB | 199 |
12 | 200 | Kyren Williams | RB | 200 |
12 | 201 | Kenny Golladay | WR | 201 |
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