Late-Round QB Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Matthew Stafford-Malik Willis Winning Tandem

We’ve seen some pretty different results in this impromptu fantasy football draft strategy series. When I looked into the RB-RB fantasy football draft strategy, there was no way to know what kind of pass catchers I’d get starting in Round 3. Implementing the WR-WR fantasy football draft strategy brought with it some uncomfortable chasing at the RB position, though that brought with it another problem. Please check them out if you haven’t already.

Both of those strategies also came along with drafting quarterbacks after the elite players at the position had gone off the board. That’s been fairly familiar territory for me, though in the past few seasons I’ve dabbled in QB platoons. That has meant waiting longer at the position, then grabbing a pair of quarterbacks starting around pick 100 and then getting someone to pair them with.

Since so many QBs excel at home, getting as many shots of QBs in front of their own fans has brought with it some blowup games. For this mock draft exercise, I wanted to target Matthew Stafford and Malik Willis, two very different passers with big upside. And both are going after fantasy football ADP of 100. I’ll get into the why later.

As with others, I did this mock draft on our Draft Champion—if you haven’t tried it, you’ll want to try it now. What was very much evident is that I was able to load up the roster at the skill positions, especially at running back and wide receiver. It even let me get some depth. This draft was from the 1.10, and the settings were 0.5 PPR, 1 QB/2 RB/3 WR/1 TE/1 FLEX. I left a kicker and defense for the last two picks. Let’s see what happened.

Matthew Berry’s Draft Day Manifesto

Fantasy Football Strategy Using Late-Round QB

Round 1: Get Cookin’

Getting James Cook at this point was fun, and I didn’t bat an eye that I was leaving De'Von Achane and Jonathan Taylor on the board. Getting Cook in that great offense featuring one of the best o-lines in the game, it was quite the start. So hard to pass up 28 TDs in the past two seasons, and at least I have a Hero RB.

Round 2: Return of Saquon

So much for that Hero-RB draft strategy concept. Saquon Barkley being there, I went with the volume play. He’s the clear RB1 here, and is projected at 284 rush attempts with over 1,500 scrimmage yards. Better health on the offensive line—the scheme, too—and for Saquon after that gargantuan 2024 Super Bowl run makes this a great start. RBs are going in this range, as expected.

Rounds 3-5: Load Up at WR

I’m really liking the builds going RB-RB starts, so these picks I was able to group together. Picking in the 10th spot, I knew it’d be a quick turnaround to load up in a good range for WRs. Garrett Wilson, Emeka Egbuka and Terry McLaurin all appear to be the clear WR1 targets on their teams—though Chris Godwin will get plenty of looks in Tampa Bay.

While Wilson will have never caught regular-season passes from Geno Smith when Week 1 rolls around, if he gets anywhere near the 139 targets for which he’s projected, this is a great WR1 option. Egbuka could really explode in a high-volume attack, and I can’t stop, won’t stop, drafting McLaurin in Round 5. He’s my pick for one of the steals of the draft this year.

Rounds 6-8: Filling out the starting lineup

Tyler Warren was the main target in this range, as getting him in Round 6 I really like his chances to possibly pop and become one of the TE1 overall contenders. With Alec Pierce possibly getting off to a slow start due to his offseason surgery, Warren and Josh Downs will be the primary targets for Daniel Jones.

Jadarian Price in Round 7 is a wild card, because if he takes over the Seattle backfield this will be a steal at this point. Michael Wilson looked like he was at a tier break, because the WRs dried up after him. He’s my first reserve, so it was now time to get set for what I’ve been planning for.

Rounds 9-10: Stafford-Willis Tandem Time

I have to admit, I like the stylistic differences between Stafford and Willis. Both have fantasy football projections to like, though in different categories. Stafford is projected to be third in passing yards at 4,126 and second with 29.7 passing TDs. Willis is projected to be third in rushing yards at the position with 638, and we know that if he gets even above-average passing numbers he could finish in the top 10 at the position.

Also, what I like is that of their late-season schedule, the only week where weather could be an issue is Week 11 in late November, when the Rams are on a bye and the Dolphins are in Buffalo. And even if it’s not frigid conditions with the wind howling, Willis trying to play catchup with Josh Allen could be fun and lead to lots of fantasy points.

There are so many matchups to exploit on both sides, that is if Willis builds on those impressive performances late in his Green Bay tenure. Weeks 1 and 2 the Rams play the 49ers—in Australia—and then host the Giants. Weeks 9 and 10, the Dolphins host the Lions then travel to Indianapolis, with both games seeing some points scored.

The fantasy playoffs have only one troublesome matchup, Week 15 when the Dolphins travel to Green Bay. Weather could be a factor, which makes it easy to pivot to Stafford at home in a potential shootout with the Cowboys.

The next week, if you don’t want the Rams in Seattle on Christmas, Willis and the Dolphins host the Chargers in one of those dreaded early-window games for a West Coast team. Week 17, championship week, take your pick between Stafford at Tampa Bay and Baker Mayfield or the Bills traveling to Miami in a game where Allen and company will look to put up some points in the South Florida sunshine. Think Willis will be passing and running some? If you’re in a championship that week, you could do a lot worse than either of these matchups.

Matthew Berry's Half-PPR Rankings

Rounds 11-16

These were just depth picks. Khalil Shakir and Jayden Higgins are a floor play (Shakir) and an upside play (Higgins in Year 2). Travis Hunter was a late bet on the talent that could really pop, while T.J. Hockenson was a shot for the moon in case he gets back to his pre-ACL surgery form. A defense (Chargers) and kicker (Eddy Pineiro) rounded out the roster.

Late-Round Strategy Mock Draft Overview

This was fun, and plenty freeing that I was able to take a pair of bell cow running backs right off the top. Then grabbing three like WR1s alongside a top TE in Warren and putting an RB in the flex with Price set up the starting lineup pretty well.

While I feel confident that a healthy Stafford will be the starting QB the majority of weeks on fantasy rosters with both QBs, having Willis on my bench is comforting that he could become something early enough in the season that I won’t want to drop him. And if he pops, those decisions during the fantasy playoffs are a great problem to have.