What is a superflex league, and why should you try one?

The modern NFL crippled is dominated by quarterbacks. The past 12 regular-season MVPs and 14 of the past 19 Super Bowl MVPs person been quarterbacks. Nine of the past 11 players taken archetypal wide successful the NFL draught person been quarterbacks. The single-season passing touchdown grounds has been breached 3 times successful the past 21 seasons. And 3 of the astir accomplished quarterbacks successful past -- Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning -- achieved their champion statistical campaigns wrong the past 18 seasons.

Beyond the awards and gaudy statistic accumulated by those who play the position, modern quarterbacks proceed to captivate america with their athleticism. Mobile QBs person revolutionized the game, with players specified arsenic Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson capturing headlines and dominating the fantasy football landscape.

Allen has the grounds for astir seasons with astatine slightest 375 phantasy points (doing truthful successful each of the past 5 seasons) and is the league's reigning MVP. Jackson acceptable the single-season scoring grounds for phantasy points by a backmost successful 2024, giving him 2 of the apical 4 years connected that database (2019).

These are performances to beryllium celebrated and etched into our brains. The phantasy shot acquisition reaches its apex erstwhile we amplify these memories. And that excitement is wherefore I would implore you to marque 1 elemental alteration to your league this year: Start 2 quarterbacks alternatively of one.

Here's however you bash it: Add a superflex slot to your league's lineup.

What is simply a superflex, you ask? Listed arsenic an "OP" (offensive player) successful ESPN leagues, the superflex slot tin beryllium filled by a QB, RB, WR oregon TE.

While you could simply adhd a 2nd starting QB slot, adding a superflex alternatively is the recommended approach, peculiarly if your league has much than 10 teams successful it.

Superflex leagues are efficaciously 2QB leagues -- the numbers carnivore retired that a backmost should beryllium prioritized successful that lineup slot -- but this enactment provides the flexibility of utilizing a RB, WR oregon TE instead, successful the lawsuit you tally abbreviated connected QBs successful a fixed week owed to byes oregon injuries.

NOTE: To adhd an OP slot to the starting lineup successful your ESPN customized league, click connected "LM Tools" and past "Edit Roster Settings." Adjust the dropdown paper accordingly and you're each set.

There are different rationales for the power to commencement 2 quarterbacks arsenic well.

It means a greater absorption connected QBs aboriginal successful your draft

If we are to emulate the NFL game, shouldn't we beryllium drafting apical quarterbacks astir arsenic aboriginal arsenic the game's champion moving backs and wide receivers?

Among the twelve oregon truthful phantasy shot leagues successful which I play, 2 of my favorites are superflex/2QB setups, 1 of which I've played for astir 30 years. The displacement successful draught strategy demanded by specified a format is simply a invited challenge.

In a superflex format, it is absolutely morganatic to respect Allen oregon Jackson arsenic the No. 1 wide prime (I personally fertile Jackson first). In fact, it's not a hard lawsuit to marque that some of them, positive Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts, warrant information among the archetypal 5 wide picks.

Naturally, much QBs go fantasy-relevant

It's not lone astir trumpeting the Allens and Jacksons of the league. It's besides astir elevating the lesser-known quarterbacks who aren't ever worthy capable to ace a accepted phantasy lineup.

For example, implicit the last 8 weeks of past season, Jared Goff was the highest-scoring phantasy backmost successful the league -- yes, Jared Goff! -- yet not erstwhile during that clip was helium started successful much than fractional of ESPN leagues.

Meanwhile, Sam Darnold authored 1 of the position's astir unexpected breakthrough stories successful caller memory, finishing apical 10 astatine the presumption for the week 8 times and ninth successful scoring for the season. Yet, lone 7 times was helium started successful greater than one-third of ESPN leagues, astir of them during the phantasy playoffs.

In superflex leagues, however, both QBs were lineup mainstays for the near-entirety of the season.

Fantasy managers successful superflex formats indispensable clasp the situation of scouting a wider scope of the position's subordinate pool, including perchance foreseeing breakthroughs similar Goff's oregon Darnold's. After all, Darnold was a known Week 1 starter (following J.J. McCarthy's season-ending injury) who led an discourtesy with 1 of the astir potent sets of receivers. Those who took a accidental connected him could person been the ones exclaiming, "Sam Darnold's 35-point Week 14 propelled maine into my league's playoffs!"

Darnold wasn't the lone specified caller example. The past 2 seasons besides brought america akin occurrence stories similar Jordan Love successful 2023 and Baker Mayfield and Bo Nix past year, quarterbacks who were lightly drafted successful modular phantasy leagues but made compelling cases for a person examination.

Now flash guardant astatine the position, to 2025: How volition Justin Fields fare successful his instrumentality to a starting relation with the New York Jets? To what grade mightiness C.J. Stroud rebound from a disappointing sophomore campaign? What tin we expect from McCarthy successful his instrumentality from aggregate genu surgeries?

In modular leagues, these answers are mostly irrelevant travel draught day, due to the fact that nary of the 3 makes a compelling capable lawsuit to beryllium successful a phantasy lineup successful September. In those single-QB formats, we're amended disconnected redeeming the clip we'd walk scouting those quarterbacks, and reinvesting it into painstakingly examining Bhayshul Tuten's way to prominence successful the Jacksonville Jaguars' backfield, oregon Marvin Mims Jr.'s likelihood of yet breaking done successful the Denver Broncos' receiver pecking order, due to the fact that those and akin answers from different teams' moving backmost and wide receiver extent charts supply much invaluable penetration into our late-round, seat and sleeper picks.

The likes of Fields, Stroud, McCarthy, etc. should person a much salient spot successful my phantasy analysis. And successful a superflex league, it's imperative to analyse each 32 teams' backmost pictures, close determination alongside examining each team's third-string moving backmost and No. 3 and/or slot wide receiver.

It means much points scored by your lineup

We each emotion much phantasy points, right? Last season, quarterbacks amassed 163 full games worthy astatine slightest 20 phantasy points, an mean of much than 9 per week and much than the moving backmost presumption scored arsenic a whole.

In a 10-team league with 1 starting QB for each team, galore of those 20-point performances spell by the wayside. But with two starters, the immense bulk of those games upwind up counting toward immoderate team's phantasy score.

Using ESPN's most-started percentages from 2024 to conception the 20 astir probable starters successful a superflex/2QB league, 83% of those 20-point efforts would've made the lineup cut, alternatively of the 49% that really did successful standard, single-QB play.

Let's each springiness quarterbacks their due, and person much amusive playing phantasy successful the process. This year, adhd a 2nd starter to your lineup and marque them the centerpieces of your roster.