While the 2023 regular season is still a few months away, it is never too early to prepare for the fantasy football season. Every year the fantasy football industry talks about the depth at the quarterback position. Yet, there are always the three or four elite quarterbacks everyone wants on their team. However, the number of elite fantasy quarterbacks could be as high as eight this season.

Those eight quarterbacks are Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields, Justin Herbert, and Trevor Lawrence. They are also the top eight quarterbacks drafted according to the FantasyPros ADP. All eight have an ADP inside the top 60 picks. Meanwhile, there are 13 quarterbacks with an ADP inside the top 100.

Ideally, fantasy players can land one of those eight quarterbacks without paying a top-60 draft pick. However, there are plenty of productive fantasy quarterbacks between pick 60 and 100. Furthermore, fantasy players shouldn’t worry if they can’t land one of those top eight quarterbacks.

The quarterback by committee strategy can become your best friend if you miss out on those top eight players. Thankfully, FantasyPros has the ultimate tool to help you with this draft strategy.

• More Dynasty Articles & Advice
• Dynasty Trade Value Chart
• Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
• 2023 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit

The QBBC Finder Tool

While everyone would love to have Mahomes, Allen, Hurts, or Burrow on their roster, fantasy experts love the later-round quarterback approach. The reason why is the quarterback by committee (QBBC) finder tool.

This tool will help fantasy players find the best possible pairing of quarterbacks at almost any area in the draft. Select the range of the ADP you want to target, and it will show you the best pairings possible. The tool will account for bye weeks and the strength of schedule. It will also provide an estimated average number of points scored per week by the duo.

One reason fantasy experts love to wait on quarterbacks is the weekly variance at the position. Even the top quarterbacks like Mahomes, Allen, Hurts, and Burrow have weeks where they don’t finish top 12. Similarly, there are weeks where low-end starters and even injury-replacement players end the week as a QB1.

For example, the top 10 Week 1 quarterbacks last year included Mahomes, Allen, Hurts, Herbert, Jackson, and Kyler Murray. However, it also included Carson Wentz (QB3), Jameis Winston (QB6), Marcus Mariota (QB9), and Ryan Tannehill (QB10).

Similarly, we had a mixed-bag result in Week 17 last year. Mahomes was the only quarterback from the elite eight to end the week as a top 10 quarterback. He joined Tom Brady, Daniel Jones, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson. However, Jarrett Stidham (QB3), Jared Goff (QB6), Sam Darnold (QB8), Geno Smith (QB9), and Brock Purdy (QB10) also finished the week in the QB1 range. Yet, all five of those quarterbacks were undrafted in most 1QB leagues last year.

Therefore fantasy players can find weekly starters off the waiver wire, whether in Week 1 or Week 17. When you play in a superflex league, finding quarterbacks becomes more difficult. However, finding options in a 1QB league is easy.

Fantasy players want to leave their draft with two quarterbacks with this strategy. The good news is that you can load up everywhere else on your roster and wait until the final few rounds to address the quarterback position. For the sake of this article, I will only include quarterbacks with an ADP outside the top 12.

Ideally, you want a stable QB1 and someone to play the matchups when your stable quarterback has a tough opponent or his bye week. However, another way to use this strategy is by pairing an early-season quarterback with a favorable schedule with another player.

The early-season quarterback will get you off the ground early in the year while you see how your roster shapes out. Whether you need to stream the position starting midseason or have the depth to make a blockbuster deal for an elite quarterback, the early season stable QB1 will give your team options.

However, let’s assume you don’t have the depth needed to make a blockbuster deal for an elite quarterback. Fantasy players can use this QBBC strategy to pair an early-season quarterback with a mid or late-season option. The logic behind this move is to get ahead of the streaming teams and have two quarterbacks on your roster that can provide your team with a weekly QB1 finish.

My Ideal QB1 for Paring

Despite being the QB18 in the FantasyPros ADP, I am a big fan of Russell Wilson this season. The star quarterback struggled in his first year with the Denver Broncos. However, the team got destroyed by injuries. More importantly, Nathaniel Hackett was clearly not the right guy to lead the team.

Wilson was the QB16 last season, averaging 15 fantasy points per game, the lowest average of his career. However, the former third-round pick played better to end the year. Over the final four weeks of the 2022 season, Wilson averaged 241.5 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and 20.1 fantasy points per game, scoring 23 or more three times. Fantasy players should feel confident that the veteran quarterback bounces back this year with Sean Payton on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Wilson is my ideal QB1 when using the QBBC strategy because of his early season schedule and ADP. The Broncos face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, the Chicago Bears in Week 4, and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6. All four teams are easy matchups, giving up the eighth-most or better fantasy points per game to quarterbacks last year.

Unfortunately, Wilson has a Week 2 matchup against the Washington Commanders and a Week 5 matchup against the New York Jets. Neither team was a difficult matchup, giving up the eighth-fewest or worse fantasy points per game to quarterbacks last year. Yet, they won’t be a cakewalk matchup either.

With Wilson as my stable QB1, which quarterback will I pair with him? The answer depends on the type of pairing I want to create.

Double Early Season Pairing

Fantasy players who want to get the best possible matchups early in the year should pair Wilson with Geno Smith. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback faces the Detroit Lions in Week 2, the same week Wilson takes on the Commanders. Last year the Lions were one of the top teams to stream quarterbacks against, as Detroit surrendered 23.2 fantasy points per game to the position.

Furthermore, Smith had a massive performance against the Lions last year. He completed 76.7% of his pass attempts for 320 yards and two touchdowns in a win. Furthermore, the veteran also had 49 rushing yards and a touchdown in the contest, ending the week as the QB2, scoring 31.7 fantasy points. Meanwhile, the Seahawks added to Smith’s receiving core during the NFL Draft, selecting Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The former backup could be the overall QB1 in Week 2.

Early & Midseason Pairing

Let’s look at another scenario for fantasy players. You aren’t worried about playing Wilson against the Commanders in Week 2, so you don’t need an early-season quarterback to pair with him. However, you are concerned about the Week 5 matchup against the Jets, the Week 7 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, and the Week 9 bye. Daniel Jones is the perfect midseason pairing for Wilson in that case.

The New York Giants quarterback had the best year of his career in 2022, finishing the season as the QB9, averaging 18.1 fantasy points per game. Meanwhile, Jones faces the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. They surrendered 18 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks last year, while the Commanders gave up 17 fantasy points per contest. More importantly, Jones faces the Dolphins in Week 5 and the Raiders in Week 9, the week Wilson has his bye.

Early & Late Season Pairing

Last but not least is the Yin and Yang or early and late pairing. Fantasy players who want to get their two quarterbacks for the year and play the matchup should pair Wilson with Jimmy Garoppolo. I wrote an article a month ago breaking down the players with the best and worst playoff schedules. Garoppolo has arguably the best fantasy playoff schedule of any quarterback this season.

He faces the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14 and the Chiefs in Week 16. Both teams are easy matchups, giving up the eighth-most or better fantasy points per game to quarterbacks last season. Meanwhile, Garoppolo faces the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 and the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17. The matchup against the Colts is less than ideal. However, Wilson faces the Lions in Week 15 and the Chargers in Week 17. The Lions are an excellent matchup, while the veteran quarterback averaged 18.5 fantasy points per game in the two contests against the Chargers last year.

Meanwhile, Garoppolo gives fantasy players an alternative to Wilson during the middle part of the year. Garoppolo faces the Bears in Week 7 and the Chiefs in Week 12, the two weeks when Wilson faces a less-than-ideal matchup. While some are worried about Garoppolo’s foot injury, the veteran quarterback should be 100% by the time fantasy players need him in Week 7.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.