Best Time to Take a QB? (2024)

By Jared Smola | Updated on Fri, 28 Jun 2024 . 1:48 PM EDT

Superflex drafts are challenging. The superflex position adds another layer of strategy – and also tends to bring more variation from draft to draft.

Superflex Mock Drafts Are Key To Success

The best way to optimize your strategy is to practice with superflex mock drafts. You’ll get a feel for where the pockets of value are at every position, particularly QB. And you can test out different roster-building styles.

That’s exactly what I did in a series of mock drafts with the Draft Sharks Mock Draft Trainer.

I deployed three different strategies in the mock drafts:

1. Two Early QBs
2. Hero QB (One Early QB)
3. Wait on QBs

Let’s take a look at how all three drafts played out and which roster build projects the best.

Superflex Mock Draft #1: Two Early QBs

This superflex mock draft saw 11 QBs go in the first round. I was able to grab Joe Burrow as the seventh QB off the board.

Zero QBs went in the first four picks of Round 2, allowing me to add Dak Prescott as my second QB.

There was then surprisingly just one more QB taken in the next round-and-a-half. That left me with Drake London as my WR1.

Here's a look at the first three rounds.

Full Draft Board

My Team and Post-Draft Analysis

Ouch.

This team does not project well – by Draft Sharks or consensus projections.

The current superflex market makes it nearly impossible to land two elite QBs.

Superflex ADP has six QBs inside the top-13 picks and 10 inside the first two rounds.

Our QB rankings have Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen in a top tier; Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in Tier 2. Then QB values get relatively flat down through QB11.

So, unless you can land two of those top four QBs, it doesn’t make sense to reach for a mid-tier QB in Round 2. The opportunity cost of passing on an elite RB or WR in that range is too great.

Grabbing two early QBs also likely precludes you from considering an elite TE since you’re playing catch-up at RB and WR.

Superflex Mock Draft #2: Hero QB (one early QB)

This superflex mock draft saw just two non-QBs go in the first round. They both went ahead of my pick at 1.06, though, allowing me to secure Lamar Jackson as my QB1.

Just two QBs went in Round 2; none in Round 3. Still, I was able to lock up our sixth-ranked WR in Puka Nacua and our seventh-ranked RB, Kyren Williams.

Here's how the first three rounds played out.

Full Draft Board

My Team and Post-Draft Analysis

You’ve probably heard of the Hero RB strategy: Taking an elite RB with one of your first few picks and then punting the position until the middle and late rounds.

Here’s the QB version. Spend your Round 1 pick on an elite QB and then wait as long as possible to add a couple more.

The idea: Secure high-end production at one QB spot and then hope to platoon your way to serviceable numbers at the Superflex spot.

This strategy projects much better than two early QBs. Simply put, the strength we’re gaining at RB, WR, and even TE outweighs what we’re losing at that second QB spot.

Just look at the fantasy-point projections from my Round 2 and 8 picks in each draft:

The gap between Nacua and Ridley is 23 points larger than the gap between Prescott and Levis.

That’s a specific example that you likely won’t face in your superflex draft, but the general concept holds true across the player pool: It’s more valuable to grab an elite RB or WR than a second-tier QB.

Superflex Mock Draft #3: Wait on QBs

I broke the QB run with CeeDee Lamb at 1.04 in this superflex mock draft. Christian McCaffrey and Tyreek Hill were the only other non-QBs to go in Round 1.

Jordan Love went at 2.01, but Tua Tagovailoa was the only other QB to go before Round 4.

Even still, I was able to leave the first three rounds with a pair of top-seven WRs and our seventh-ranked RB.

This is what the first three rounds looked like.

Full Draft Board

My Team and Post-Draft Analysis

I was frankly surprised by the result of this superflex mock draft.

“Wait on QBs” not only projects best – but it projects as a dominant strategy.

Now, part of the dominance of this strategy lies in the ability to grab Jayden Daniels in Round 5. Our projections have the rookie as an excellent value at that price.

But the strength of this strategy goes beyond Daniels. Bypassing QBs in the first four rounds allows us to secure a dominant group of RBs and WRs. In this specific superflex mock draft, I was able to lock up two top-seven WRs and two top-11 RBs.

There’s even room to grab a high-end TE, as I did here with Evan Engram.

The QB pool is deep and flat enough this season to give us the ability to survive at that position – while crushing our opponents at the other spots.

Do Your Own Superflex Mock Drafts

There are, of course, limitless variations within the three superflex draft strategies we ran through above. Maybe an elite TE like Travis Kelce in the “Wait on QBs” strategy projects even better. Perhaps taking a second QB a bit earlier in a “Hero QB” build is the way to go.

The only way to find out is to experiment with superflex mock drafts.

And there’s no better way to do that than with the Draft Sharks Mock Draft Trainer.

Hone your skills and craft your strategy by mock drafting against our unique computer algorithm using your exact league rules.

It takes just a few minutes to complete a mock draft, so you have more time to test different strategies.

And you’ll get instant feedback on how your team stacks up, according to both Draft Sharks projections and industry-consensus projections.

Get to work with the Draft Sharks Mock Draft Trainer.

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