Salary Cap Leagues, Should You Pay Up for an Elite QB?

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After a 2022 season in which the top three quarterbacks gave fantasy managers a noticeable edge, salary cap drafters are paying more than ever for a quarterback.

Should salary cap drafters chase quarterbacks more aggressively this year after last year's results?

What would you be willing to pay to land one of the Top 7 guys - Patrick Mahomes II, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Justin Fields?

Our staff answers these questions to help you decide which direction to take.

Note: All answers assume the following criteria:

• Start 1 QB
• 4-point passing TDs
• $200 cap
• 12 teams

Related: Should You Target a Value QB?

Jeff Bell: Using 10% of my budget on a quarterback would be the goal, and that would be for one of the top three quarterbacks. Late-round quarterback, especially cheap in salary cap formats, has been drilled into many heads. This mindset creates the opportunity for value, especially if players like Justin Herbert or Justin Fields come up while the top three are still on the board. The top three quarterbacks gave an eight-point advantage over the back end of the QB1 tier. Stacking edges like this can add the equivalent of an extra player to your lineup. That is a significant enough edge on the top end of rostering these quarterbacks to make it worth walking out with one that possesses the ceiling to finish QB1 overall or at least the ability to drop 30+ point games in meaningful matchups.

Dan Hindery: Yes. Pay up. I believe that we have seen the top young quarterbacks separate from the pack enough that they provide just as big a weekly advantage as all but the very top players at other positions. As a point of reference, the top three quarterbacks each outscored the QB12 by at least 7.1 fantasy PPG. In Half-PPR scoring, only four wide receivers outscored the WR40 by that much. I would be fine paying $30 for one of the top three quarterbacks, but my top preference would be paying closer to $20 for a quarterback in the next tier.