Salary Cap Leagues, Your Preferred QB Strategy

Footballguys Staff's Salary Cap Leagues, Your Preferred QB Strategy Footballguys Staff Published 07/31/2023

Our staff has looked at the quarterback position in salary cap leagues in a few ways.

Should You Pay Up for an Elite QB?
Should You Target a Value QB?
Should You Go Cheap at QB?
Allocating QB Roster Spots
Overpriced Quarterbacks
Underpriced Quarterbacks

After those discussions, we asked them for their bottom line with these two questions:

What is your personal preference for how you'll attack the quarterback position this year? What percentage of your salary cap will you devote to it?

Jeff Bell: Plan A: Walk out with a top three option, with the goal of devoting less than 10% of the cap to that. Plan B: If a discount arises on Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, or Justin Fields, grab it. Plan C: Double up on two of Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson, and Anthony Richardson. Plan D: Spend $3 total on three of Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith, Dak Prescott, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, and Kyler Murray.

Dan Hindery: The key to auction success is flexibility. Start with a Plan A but also have some Plan B and C options in mind. My Plan A would be to spend approximately 10% of my cap on Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, or Justin Fields. Plan B would be to pay slightly more than that if the bidding for Patrick Mahomes II or Jalen Hurts is less aggressive than expected. Plan C is paying something in the neighborhood of 5-6% of my budget on Trevor Lawrence, who I think has the best chance of the cheaper guys to make the leap to the elite tier.

Ben Cummins: If forced to choose, I’ll say saving salary by rolling with a Geno Smith or Jared Goff kind of quarterback in order to allocate more funds to stud wide receivers and running backs.

Already a subscriber?

Continue reading this content with a ELITE subscription.

An ELITE subscription is required to access content for Salary Cap leagues. If this league is not a Salary Cap league, you can edit your leagues here.

Photos provided by Imagn Images
Share This Article

More by Footballguys Staff

 

Rookie Big Board by Bloom, Superflex Leagues

Sigmund Bloom

Sigmund Bloom lays out his Rookie Big Board for leagues where you can start two quarterbacks.

05/01/26 Read More
 

IDP Rookie Rankings: Top 40 Players

Kyle Bellefeuil

Kyle Bellefeuil and Joseph Haggan join forces to give you their consensus Top-40 IDP rookies, along with player summaries.

05/01/26 Read More
 

Faceoff: 5 Questions, 2 Experts: Post-NFL Draft Edition

Gary Davenport

Taking into account the changing state of fantasy football after the 2026 NFL Draft, two fantasy experts debate five questions.

04/30/26 Read More
 

2026 NFL Draft IDP Review: Defensive Backs

Gary Davenport

Gary Davenport breaks down the 2026 NFL Draft's Impact on the top rookie defensive backs

04/30/26 Read More
 

2026 NFL Draft IDP Review: Linebackers

Gary Davenport

Gary Davenport breaks down the 2026 NFL Draft's Impact on the top rookie linebackers

04/29/26 Read More
 

2026 Post-NFL Draft Dynasty Startup Draft

Dave Kluge

Full results from a 2026 post-NFL Draft dynasty startup draft, with expert analysis and strategy.

04/29/26 Read More