Fantasy Draft Guide: Positional Strategies

Drafting Approaches To Consider for Each Position

Author

One Week Season
September 02, 2025

OWS Fam –

Quick reminder: As a Daily Dose subscriber, you get the Fantasy Scroll Draft Guide FREE (normally $19).

Use code 👉 MogtheDraft 👈 

Now, let’s dig into today’s feature from the Fantasy Scroll…

QB Strategy

By: Mike Johnson (X: @mjohnson_86 -- Discord: @MJohnson86)

Quarterback is the most important position in professional sports. However, it is one that can have a drastic impact on your fantasy team’s success in multiple ways. Some people overvalue the quarterback (especially certain types of quarterbacks), and this hurts their teams as they allocate too many resources to the position and leave their rosters barren at other positions. Others don’t value quarterback enough and overestimate their ability to effectively “stream” at the position. This can leave them at a positional disadvantage every week and lead to poor roster decisions in the aftermath of trying to fix this issue.

My approach to the quarterback position in almost all of my fantasy drafts this season will be to take one of the “Big 4” QBs, or be the last person in my league to select a quarterback (potentially even having league mates who take multiple QBs before I take my first). The lone exception to this may be Joe Burrow, who I would prioritize selecting on rosters where I have Ja’Marr Chase. For 2025, my preference by far is to get one of those top four quarterbacks on my roster if at all possible. The reason for this is simple supply and demand, along with roster flexibility. Let me explain.

As my colleague Tony discusses in the Unspoken Edge, knowing and understanding the dynamics of your league settings is critical to success. The first and most obvious aspect is being cognizant of how many teams are in your league. Most leagues are either 10- or 12-team leagues, and for the purposes of this article we will be talking strictly about leagues that only allow you to start one quarterback. 

At quarterback there is a clear top four of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, and Jalen Hurts (pick your order) whose rushing and passing abilities combine to make them lethal. All four of these players are so talented and in such good situations that we can safely assume that they will finish as top-five quarterbacks unless injury derails them. Basically, across a 17-week season with one bye week mixed in, all of these guys are going to get you 350-400 points. There is a ton of value in that, and we will discuss why.

10-Team League

If you are in a league with only 10 teams, what this means is that all of the teams will be relatively strong on paper and you will have plenty of chances to select strong options at every position. This means that having ELITE players at any position is where you are able to gain the biggest edge. Quarterback is no different, except for the fact there are fewer players who can give you that edge. Since running back and wide receiver will feel very deep for you in a 10-team league, “reaching” to get one of these elite quarterbacks is almost always worth it. I would not take one in the first or early second round, but anytime in the third round is fine given the positional advantage it provides. I wouldn’t even blame anyone for “reaching” for one in the second round just to be sure they get one – it is a smaller league size and the difference between which “Flex” player you get at 18 and 23 is likely negligible, so if there is a specific QB you significantly prefer, then taking them before the “turn” makes sense. Another edge here is that by selecting an “elite” quarterback you are now able to comfortably select only one QB. You are starting any of those four quarterbacks every week, regardless of matchup, so this means that your bench can be focused entirely on the other positions for all but one week (your QB’s bye week). In a smaller league, this extra roster spot can be especially helpful because those players on the border for you are likely very good and could turn into league winners at some point. The bottom line is that having an elite quarterback gives you a positional advantage there while also opening up your roster at the other positions. As discussed above, especially in a 10-team league I am happy to wait a long time if I don’t get one of the elite guys. If you read my QB Tiers article, waiting until the end of my draft to take a quarterback will almost always allow me to take two QBs from “Tier 3.” I am fine with that, and the reality is that while we all have “our guys”, which player from these tiers ascends is really a crapshoot.

Like what you’re seeing? Remember — the Fantasy Scroll is FREE for Daily Dose subscribers.

👉 Use code MogtheDraft before kickoff to claim yours!