NFL

Fantasy Football: What Are the Odds a Specific Player Will Fall to You in Your Draft?

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Quarterback

It's a bit unfortunate that we're starting at quarterback because the position tends to have much higher pick variance than other spots. This makes sense anecdotally. It's a position susceptible to "runs" at the position, meaning one player's draft slot could vary greatly from one draft to the next. Still, there's plenty we can glean from the data.

Before we break down the data, here are the two sheets for quarterback scoring, again with a big tip of the cap to Fantasy Football Calculator. All pick odds are based on 12-team, one-quarterback leagues.

Quarterback Availability Odds: Standard Scoring

Quarterback Availability Odds: PPR Scoring

In looking at this sheet, you'll notice how quickly things fall off from the top three passers to the next tier. It would be wise to exploit this gap if you're looking to spend up on a quarterback.

If you want one of the top three guys, you still have 50.00% odds of snagging Drew Brees with the 45th overall selection in PPR leagues. That gives you a bit of leniency before the dropoff occurs.

But if you wind up missing out on a top guy, don't panic. The next chucker on the totem pole -- Matt Ryan -- is available 57.18% of the time at the 60th overall pick. You can wait even longer if you consider Derek Carr or Russell Wilson to be in that same tier.

For those of you looking to wait and draft a quarterback late, you can sit on your thumbs for a while. Ben Roethlisberger -- the poster boy of the ills of home/road splits -- is available 67.20% of the time at pick 100. Deeper, Andy Dalton is on the board 59.33% of the time at pick 130, and guys like Carson Palmer can be had over half the time at pick 145.

Even though the variance is higher at quarterback, and it will depend heavily on how your leaguemates play, we can still learn from this. There are big pockets in ADPs where quarterbacks just don't go. This can allow you to not fall prey to one of those runs at the position, preventing you from reaching for a guy long before you have to.