What is the best quarterback strategy in 2024 fantasy football? Guess what – it doesn’t matter

In reality — or at least within the NFL’s version of reality — identifying one of the few right answers at quarterback is absolutely essential to a team’s success. It is the attitude on which everything else depends. Any franchise that wanders into a QB wilderness is a franchise without hope.

That’s why the last 11 players in the league (soon to be 12) have been quarterbacks. That’s why eight of the top ten No. 1 overall picks were quarterbacks. This is why the list of highest-paid players in the NFL is nothing more than a long list of quarterbacks.

However, in fantasy football, pinpointing one of the correct answers on a quarterback is… well, it’s nice when it happens. If you can hold the position appropriately when you are drafted, cool. One less thing to worry about. But it’s not necessary.

In fantasy leagues of typical size and shape, quarterbacks weren’t much of an issue in 2024. Of the players who appeared repeatedly on title-winning teams in public Yahoo leagues, only two of the top 10 and five of the top 25 were QBs . . No quarterback ranked among the top five.

No QB was the best option on the run.

When we strip out the other positions and just look at the midfielders who are in the highest percentage of league winners, it becomes very clear that this roster spot can be successfully addressed in a number of ways.

Here’s a look at the QBs who collected the most fantasy titles in 2024:

• 1. Joe Burrow (includes 20.08% of league champions)

• 2. Baker Mayfield (19.65%)

• 3. Jayden Daniels (17.95%)

• 4. Sam Darnold (16.6%)

• 5. Bo Nix (16.55%)

• 6. Lamar Jackson (14.69%)

• 7. Justin Herbert (13.25%)

• 8. Brooke Purdy (13.08%)

• 9. Jared Goff (12.42%)

• 10. Patrick Mahomes (11.68%)

• 11. Tua Tagovailoa (10.99%)

• 12. Josh Allen (10.8%)

Jackson and Allen are, of course, the best quarterbacks in real life, and they are the two highest-graded players in fantasy linebackers this year — both are coming off historic seasons — but neither is a golden ticket player in our game. Keep this fact in mind next August when one of these guys tempts you in the second or third round. At this scope of the draft, the opportunity costs are not trivial — you’re passing on a potential difference-maker at receiver, running back or tight end just so you can feel good about a position that’s actually easier to fill.

Remember, Mayfield, Darnold, and Nix were pickup trucks in the season for almost every manager who relied on them for weeks of money. Burrow was selected in the sixth round Medium projectPurdy in ninth, Daniels in tenth and Gauff in eleventh. All of these guys were plausible fantasy answers.

Basically, there was no better, specific way to address the situation last season. You can win with a luxury QB, an average player, an end player, or a waiver flier. Even in a season that produced the first 4000-900-40 quarterback in league history, there were many different ways to solve the QB problem.

If the disconnect between the value of quarterbacks in reality and fantasy doesn’t sit well with you, we get it. Welcome to the club. It’s not too difficult to come up with league scoring setups that create meaningful separation at this position. If you simply switch to Superflex, you’ll find that quarterbacks receive a decent level of respect on draft day.

If you stay committed to one QB’s life, that’s okay too. Just please remember that tens of thousands of managers won fantasy titles in 2024 with obscure names at the top of their lineup. In standard leagues, this is not a roster spot that requires a significant investment.