The quarterback position is more crowded than ever in fantasy football. Someone who just posted the highest YPA in NFL history isn’t going to be drafted as a top-10 QB, while a four-time MVP winner with a star WR is going to be drafted as QB20.

Justin Herbert was the average QB8 in his four years in the league, but he will be the QB19 in 2024. Deshaun Watson is a few seasons away from being arguably the best player in the league, but is still only 28 years old And runs; he is drafted as QB23 on Yahoo. Justin Fields was largely undrafted but has real top-5 potential if he becomes Pittsburgh’s starter.

The rookie class was full. Superflex leagues are therefore likely to become even more popular in the future.

Running quarterbacks remain a cheat code in fantasy; among the 27 quarterbacks who have had over 100 runs over the last 10 seasons, 41% finished in the top three fantasy quarterbacks, while only three finished outside the top 12.

Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards and threw the fifth-most touchdowns last year, but finished as QB19 in fantasy points per game. Anthony Richardson surpassed Tagovailoa’s weekly average despite playing just 17 snaps in Week 2. Jalen Hurts would drop from QB2 to QB16 if you subtracted his tush-push touchdowns from last season. Josh Dobbs was traded twice and only managed 5.9 YPA (189.5 passing yards average), but finished last year as a top-five fantasy QB in 25% of his starts.

Because of the depth, waiting for a quarterback in 2024 is a perfectly good strategy (assuming it’s not superflex), but the optimal strategy is to draft a quarterback who has more potential with his legs. And if one of the running QBs gets injured, the number of replacements will remain high on waiver wires due to the depth of the position.

With so many options, there’s no right or wrong way to attack the quarterback position in 2024. However, drafting a dual-threat QB this season will give you a real advantage at a more promising position.

A position player you want to finish your draft with and why: Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

Fantasy points per dropback are one of the best future indicators of fantasy performance, and Richardson just recorded the most FP/DB since Lamar Jackson’s historic 2019 season. Richardson averaged 29.2 fantasy points per four quarters as a rookie, sharing weekly top-five finishes with CJ Stroud despite only playing 10 quarters.

Richardson continued to show a strong ability to avoid sacks, as he did in college, and his running pace last season would have led all quarterbacks in rush yards (925), rush TDs (26!), attempts (170) and runs attempted (111). He easily led the league in run attempted rate in the red zone and has no plans to change his style of play in year two.

Richardson has a limited NFL sample size and appears to enter 2024 with an increased risk of injury, but the other Tier 1 fantasy quarterbacks all have question marks as well, and none have the potential of an AR. Shane Steichen is a certified QB guru, and the Colts play at an incredibly high pace indoors (top five in plays per game with Richardson last year). Indianapolis is loaded with athletic weapons and has two true wide receivers and a top-five offensive line. Richardson will also likely improve in his second year in the league and become much more adept at Steichen’s offense.

Richardson has as much fantasy potential as any quarterback in the league, and yet he is available in rounds when others are already off the board.

If you miss out on Richardson (or want to avoid his health risk), Kyler Murray is your clear next target.

A dark horse expected to crush their ADP: Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

Daniels may no longer be a “mystery pick” after his impressive preseason debut, but he’s still capable of outperforming his current ADP (108.6). Last college season, he averaged the second-most fantasy points per game (40.2) since 2016 and the second-most fantasy points per dropback since 2014. Daniels averaged over 60 rushing yards and 34 rushing touchdowns during his college career, and Kliff Kingsbury helped Kyler Murray become a top-10 quarterback as a rookie. Kingsbury’s scheme ranked first in situational-neutral tempo and no-huddle rate during his four seasons in Arizona, while scoring runs against easy boxes at a league-high rate.

Daniels is a truly elite runner who led all NCAA quarterbacks in forced missed tackles per attempt (0.72) last year, while leading all Power Five QBs in rushing yards (1,250), YPC (10.4), scrambles (55) and PFF rushing grade (92.4 – the best always). Running not only increases a fantasy quarterback’s performance, but also his ceiling, and Daniels will likely run as much as any other quarterback in the league as a rookie.

Daniels is undoubtedly an injury risk, but high-potential picks (assuming they’re not superflex) make a lot of sense with the quarterback position deeper than ever. I rank the rookie as the QB8 in fantasy.

A player you expect to fall well short of his ADP: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Burrow suffered a rare, season-ending wrist injury last year that no NFL quarterback has ever experienced. He had “good days and bad days” in May and still hasn’t thrown three days in a row. Burrow has an insidious, long injury history and has also become a check-down artist since opposing defenses began frequently using two high-ranking safeties.

He finished 38th in downfield passing ratio in 2022 and 32nd in intended air yards per attempt last season, and reports from Bengals camp suggest it will continue in a similar fashion in 2024. Quarterbacks can thrive with a low aDOT, but truly top-notch fantasy production will be much more difficult (see: Patrick Mahomes), especially without a running game.

Burrow was great when he was healthy after Cincinnati’s off-season last season, and it’s possible Cincinnati will throw passes more often with Joe Mixon gone. But Burrow probably won’t run much at this stage of his career, and he’s managed just 6.98 YPA since 2022 (26 games) while intentionally throwing much more under the ball. Burrow also faces Ravens, Steelers and Browns defenses for 35% of his schedule. He’s the QB8 in Yahoo Drafts.

Burrow (ADP: 56.7) should not be drafted ahead of Murray (who could easily finish with more fantasy points even if Burrow were to win MVP) or 30 picks ahead of Brock Purdy.

1) Anthony Richardson

2) Josh Allen

3) Jalen hurts

4) Lamar Jackson

5) Kyler Murray

6) Patrick Mahomes

7) CJ Stroud

8) Jayden Daniels

9) Brock Purdy

10) Dak Prescott

eleven) Joe Burrow

12) Jordan Love