Superflex Fantasy Football QB2 Draft Strategy: Who Is This Year's Matthew Stafford?

My friend James was in quite the quandary last summer. Our 14-team superflex league draft had entered the sixth round and, as expected, quarterbacks had been flying off the board. Up to the middle of the round 22 quarterbacks had gone off the board, when Sam Darnold was selected right before his spot.

His team already had a quarterback, Jalen Hurts, who was taken in the first round. Six other teams did the same in the opening turn. This was time to finish out the QB tandem. He’d narrowed the options to two signal-callers: Geno Smith and Matthew Stafford. The narrative around Stafford up to that point was whether he’d be able to play at all because of a back condition that had kept him off the practice field most of the preseason. Smith was new to the Raiders, and had found a rebirth of his career in Seattle before the trade. The Raiders also had Chip Kelly calling plays, so what could go wrong? Hint: practically everything.

With time running out on the clock, James went for Stafford under the direction of HC Sean McVay and throwing to Puka Nacua and Davante Adams—completing the Stafford-Puka stack influenced the pick. We know Stafford went on to win the NFL MVP, but what did it do for James’ team? Well, that pick was the key component of a roster that went unbeaten, 14-0, and lapped the field in dominant fashion. That is until suffering a Patriots-like loss in the fantasy championship matchup. We don’t need to remind him about that (wink).

While this is an extreme example, it shows the importance of the second QB in a superflex fantasy football league. There are different strategies on how to attack the QB position in this format, as it’s not easy to have success without a second passer to boost the roster. Some may want to hit quarterback in the first two picks, while many choose to wait a while finishing off the duo. Let’s take a look at some options after QB20 in our fantasy football rankings who could be vital to superflex teams.

QB2 Strategy for Superflex Fantasy Football Drafts

Not everyone is going to hit a home run like James did in his draft—I left out that he sniped Stafford from my team picking next, ugh!—but the importance of the second QB cannot be understated. The QB position being the highest scoring in fantasy football gives a team a huge advantage if it can somehow get two players performing as top-12 QBs. It’s one thing to get both passers in the first two or three picks, like most have as a strategy. To be able to get an early QB and then load up with early picks at RB, WR and TE can fill a roster with high-performing players. Here are some options after QB20 who should be targets for fantasy managers looking to wait a bit to fill that spot.

Just missing the cut are preseason darlings Malik Willis (QB19) and Tyler Shough (QB20), but there are still a few good options who should keep their starting spots through the season:

Baker Mayfield | Buccaneers | Rank: QB21

Dropping more than 800 passing yards and 15 TDs from his outlier season of 4500-41 in 2024 was quite the tumble for Baker Mayfield. As Dwain McFarland pointed out in his seminal QB Tiers article, injuries were a big factor in Mayfield’s drop in production.

In his first six games, Mayfield averaged 256.5 passing yards and threw for 12 TDs. That was a pace of 4,360.5 yards and 34 TDs, which is not that far off his 2024 numbers. Our fantasy football projections are 3,715 yards and 25.9 TDs. That’s in line with his 4,044-28 season in 2023.

Mayfield has a very good WR tandem in Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin, and a very good offensive line. Without a dominant running game and a defense that allowed the sixth-most passing yards at 254.8 last season, Mayfield should be passing plenty this season. The Bucs’ dropback rate was 61% last year, tied for 11th place. Baker even has sneaky rushing ability, as he’s surpassed 370 yards on the ground the past two seasons. During the fantasy playoffs he has two home games and a date in Atlanta, so weather won’t be a factor. That Week 17 home date against the Rams could be fun. Just stay healthy, Baker!

Sam Darnold | Seahawks | Rank: QB23

Can he do it again? Actually, last season was again. Darnold hitting 4,048 passing yards and 25 TDs was his followup to the 4,319-35 renaissance season he had in Minnesota. Yes, he has a new OC in Brian Fleury from the Kyle Shanahan tree—Darnold has hit a couple branches on that tree—that will take some time to get up to speed, but let’s not discount the fact that Darnold has played well with three different playcallers the past three seasons.

He still has reigning OPOY Jaxon Smith-Njigba to throw to on the regular, so what’s not to like? His passing attempts fell to 477 last season from 545 the year prior in Minnesota. Let’s not discount the fact that the Seattle defense lost some players to free agency, so that unit could get off to a slow start even with defensive genius Mike Macdonald dialing up the plays. Even with the occasional shootout, Darnold may have the occasional low-volume game because the Seahawks’ defense will still be very good.

Daniel Jones | Colts | Rank: QB24

Health is the biggest question mark with Daniel Jones. Recovery from a torn Achilles is not easy, as Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers have shown the past couple seasons. Indiana Jones is younger (age 29), and let’s remember how good those first eight games were last season when he was piloting an offense that was doing things even Peyton Manning never did in Indy.

With 2,062 and 13 TDs alongside Jonathan Taylor looking like the best RB on the planet, the Colts looked truly unstoppable. Can you imagine anything close to that production as a second QB on your squad? Monitor the reports on his mobility and practice participation in training camp, because he could be a steal at this ranking. The reports out of OTAs were that he looked sharp in his passing sessions.

We’re going to add one honorable mention/wild card.

Jacoby Brissett | Cardinals | QB29

Once he took over the starting gig in the desert, it was a fun Jacoby Brissett run, wasn’t it? In those 12 games—look past the 1-11 record—Brissett averaged 40.3 attempts, 280.3 passing yards and connected on 23 TDs.

The Cardinals defense was injured and bad, putting Brissett and the offense in catchup mode weekly. But the pass-catching trio of TE Trey McBride and WRs Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson are still there. Add to them Jeremiyah Love, one of the most well-rounded RB prospects we’ve ever seen. This offense will score some points, and the defense may not be that much better so shootouts will be plenty. The big question is do the Cardinals take a look at rookie QB Carson Beck late in the season? That would not be fun if Brissett has been a part of your roster that’s helped your squad to the fantasy playoffs.