Quarterback by Committee: Is it a Workable Draft Strategy?

The Quarterback position is DEEP! But, is rolling with a Quarterback by Committee a realistic fantasy option? But I digressing.

I went wild Saturday night. My wife was bartending, I was home with the kids and splurged. I entered an APEX Fantasy Money League. The draft was at 6pm my time, which meant it was right in the middle of supper, baths, bedtimes, but that is what a degenerate fake football dude lives for, isn’t it?

When I checked the league’s settings, I immediately realized the deep bench of 8 spots and that you started 3 Wide Receivers, in addition to having a Flex roster slot. That is a lot of play-markers and not a lot of Quarterbacks, especially in a PPR league.

Secondly, this is a FAAB waiver format. So although, streaming the QB position isn’t out of the question, I knew that I wanted to either grab a solid option in Rounds 8-10.

This would be after loading up on running backs and wide receivers, or try to pull together a Fantasy Frankenstein Quarterback by Committee.

After an owner finished Round 2 and started the 3rd with Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III I knew it was Quarterback by Committee time.

I had the 10th pick and Marshawn Lynch fell to me. I wanted Dez Bryant or Steven Jackson in the 2nd, but settled for Brandon Marshall, if you can call that settling. These picks were followed up with DeMarco Murray, Darren McFadden and then Antonio Brown and Steve Smith to round out my top 6 players.

If you approach drafts with the mindset that you’re going to go with a Quarterback by Committee, you can load up at both RB and WR. I like the idea of having 3 of each by Round 6. Meanwhile, there were 9 QBs taken before my Steve Smith selection.

Before I was able to pick again, there were 3 more Quarterbacks selected and my Quarterback by Committee approach was confirmed, solidified and put into action. I went back to the Running Back train with Daryl Richardson and Mark Ingram in the 7th and 8th Round.

From my 87th overall pick of Mark Ingram to my 130th overall pick of Jay Cutler there were only 3 Quarterbacks selected, excluding Cutler. However, one of them was Michael Vick who I wanted to lead my Quarterback by Committee approach. I selected Wide Receivers Chris Givens and Michael Floyd, but I could have had Vick and maybe Floyd if I’d have reached for a QB in the 10th Round.

I panicked a little bit and took Andy Dalton next because I liked his Week 8 matchup against the Jets. I really wanted to pair Cutler with Matt Schuab, because their matchups jive, unfortunately they both have Week 8 Byes so that needed to be accounted for as part of my Quarterback by Committee approach.

At this point, I was really happy with my team. I landed 3 Running Backs projected highly and 3 solid Wide Receivers, who are all their real team’s first option and even better in PPR formats. I’d also got 2 trendy sleeper Wide Receivers who start for their teams and another 2 solid Running Backs. It’s Daryl Richardson’s job to lose in St. Louis and for all the bust tags attached to Mark Ingram, he is relatively fresh and the Saints appear committed to giving him a chance to perform in 2013.

I went to my Tight Ends next and again, with the deep bench and waiver format, I wanted to take 2 of them. I am a fan of Brandon Pettigrew and although, I know I’m in the minority, he is a proven PPR producer and the Lions air it out a lot. I grabbed Ed Dickson next, which is alright, but the addition of Dallas Clark may hurt. I wanted Dustin Keller, thankfully I didn’t spend a pick on him, because he is hurt.

Unfortunately, between those two TE selections the final piece of my Quarterback by Committee went. After missing out on Matt Schaub, I turned to Alex Smith and his league best QB strength of schedule. Is owning Alex Smith, Andy Dalton and Jay Cutler as nifty and hip as owning Cam Newton or Russell Wilson?

No, no it is not. But that doesn’t mean it cannot work.

I added the Benagls and Cowboys defenses and Dan Bailey and called it a night.

Is a Quarterback by Committee a wise Draft Strategy?

Firstly, it depends on your league settings. If you have a small bench where every roster spot counts it isn’t advisable. Furthermore, if you have traditional weekly Waiver Wire settings where you can pick and pluck at will you have additional freedom and opportunity to stream the roster slot.

Secondly, if you’re averse to risk it also wouldn’t be the best approach. There are going to be weeks where you’ll plug-in the wrong QB and might lose a matchup as a result. But, here is a little tidbit. You’re going to wish you started a different player a lot. All said, there is a lot of security in owning Peyton Manning and changing your QB once all year.

However, if you start Fantasy Frankenstein at QB you could play the matchups all the way to Peyton Manning numbers. You don’t have to play your QB against the 49ers, or in the rain. In fact, you can handpick your matchups all the way to the play-offs. History doesn’t always repeat itself, but there are some great combinations of favorable matchups if you start approaching your QB roster slot with a few options.

Finally, the biggest advantage to going with a Quarterback by Committee is that you’re going to stock your skilled positions with talent. When your opponents are searching for answers and selecting the likes of Bryce Brown as their 3rd Running Back you’re adding a member of your quarterback by Committee, with 3 top 25 options at RB. While also boasting a cast of sticky fingered Wide Receivers.

The Matchups for my Quarterback by Committee

After quickly throwing together a potential schedule for my Fantasy Frankenstein there are a lot of favorable matchups, especially when you can start picking on the Raiders, Lions and Eagles multiple times. Throw in the Saints, Vikings, Jaguars, Redskins and Chargers and there is a lot to like.

Getting Serious about a Quarterback by Committee

Waiting on a Quarterback is nothing new, so if your league settings work and you want to load up on Running Backs and Wide Receivers it might be a Draft Strategy for you.

Here are a few helpful resources to help you put together a better Quarterback by Committee than I did.

4for4.com’s Quarterback by Committee Matrix: An excellent chart that grades combinations of Quarterbacks based on their matchups.

The Fake Football’s QB Strength of Schedule Rankings: Chet has crunched the numbers from last season highlighting weekly and year-end rankings.

Fantasy Football Today’s Matchup Analysis and Game-by-Game Projections:

East Division | West Divisions | North Divisions | South Divisions

Fantasy Pros’ Bye Week Cheat Sheet: Because it never hurts to have a Bye Week Cheat Sheet close!

Are you ready to take the plunge and go with a Quarterback by Committee?