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Top 5 QB-by-Committees for 2015

We were advocates of the “wait-on-a-QB” strategy long before it became the cool thing to do.

The strategy is simple: Take advantage of the depth at QB by nabbing a couple of guys late in the draft and playing the matchups with them throughout the season.

It was certainly a viable plan this past year. Sixteen different QBs posted at least 6 top-12 weeks. That’s 4 more than the numbers of starters required in a standard 12-team league. And here’s the best part – 8 of those guys went in the 8th round or later on average.

Of course, going QB-by-committee works better when you’re starting QBs in positive matchups. That’s why we post this article every year. We’re digging through all the possible late-round QB combos to find the pairs that work best.

To qualify as a “late-round QB” for this article, a QB must be going outside the first 8 rounds in current 12-team ADP. Taking your 1st QB in Round 9 would allow you to completely fill a starting lineup of 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE and 1 Flex -- and draft an extra guy at any spot.

Positive matchups are highlighted in the tables below. Last year’s bottom 10 QB defenses are considered positive matchups. Of course, those same 10 teams won’t finish at the bottom again this season, but they’re unlikely to vault into negative-matchup territory. Among 2013’s bottom 10 QB defenses, for example, 5 remained in the bottom 10 in 2014 and all but 1 finished in the bottom half.

Here are the top 5 QB-by-committee pairs for 2015, ranked from strongest to weakest.

If you want to snag Brady at his reduced price tag, Bradford looks like his best partner. The Eagles’ new QB gets 4 positive matchups while Brady is out. Week 3 at the Jets looks scary, so you might want to add a 3 ^rd QB – perhaps whoever is under center for the Jets – for that week. Of course, this all assumes that Bradford’s surgically repaired knee is ready for the opener. 

This is the priciest duo. But it’ll net you 13 positive matchups, including 4 straight to open the season and 6 straight to finish it. 

Pair these division rivals for 14 positive matchups. Manning gets 3 straight to open the season, so you can take some time to see what kind of form RG3 is in. The 1 ^st time you’d use Griffin is in a juicy Week 4 matchup against the Eagles.

If you’re sworn off RG3, pair Manning with Winston. This duo gives you 14 positive matchups. And you can give the rookie 3 games to get his feet wet before you consider using him.

Stafford isn’t a great value at his ADP, and Winston is obviously a question mark. But this pair nets 15 positive matchups, including 13 straight to close the season.

Streaming at QB

Wanna play the matchups at QB but don’t wanna carry 2 on your roster all season? You’re a streamer!

We’ll have QB streaming advice all season, picking out the top option each week. If you’re planning to go that route, Tony Romo is your top draft target. He opens the season with 5 straight positive matchups. If you wanna go cheaper, target Carson Palmer or Sam Bradford, who both have positive matchups in Weeks 1 and 2.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.