Dave Caban considers the dramatic increase in rushing production of the top fantasy quarterbacks and explains why this should change your approach to drafting the position — and it’s not as simple as just targeting passers with rushing upside.

Quarterback scoring exploded in 2020. The top-12 players at the position averaged 26.2 points per game (PPG). This was the highest average this century and 2.2 points higher than the position’s previous record of 24.0 points recorded 2018. In the 20 seasons prior, QB1s averaged only 21.1 PPG.^[1]Players that participated in three or fewer games have been removed from the data used in this article, as have results from Week 17.

The Position Is Evolving

It’s not surprising that fantasy QBs racked up points in 2020. After all, it was the highest-scoring year in league history, and the climate the league found itself in, as a result of COVID-19, definitely could have played a role in this offensive explosion. However, point totals have been rising for two decades.    

A contributing factor to the position’s 2020 success was rushing production. The top-12 QBs, according to fantasy points per game (PPG), contributed an extra 4.4 rushing points to their production on a weekly basis. This was the highest total of the last 21 seasons.

But these passers didn’t just produce on the ground, they averaged more passing points per game than any other group since the turn of the century and made themselves as important as ever.

This can’t be overlooked as it has shifted the value of QBs relative to other positions and amplified the difference they can make for their fantasy teams.

At the turn of the century, running backs dominated the fantasy landscape and scored more points than any other position. This held until 2007 when rushers were overtaken by signal-callers,