Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson (Fantasy Football)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, it’s important to know which players to target and which to avoid. The amount of information out there can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine which players to draft and which to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). This way, you can identify players that the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others that they may not draft until much later than average. Let’s take a look at Konami Code quarterbacks to consider in fantasy football drafts.

By now, most fantasy football managers have heard of the term Konami Code. As it sounds, it has become a kind of cheat code. Rich Hribar of Sharp Football Analysis coined the term in relation to fantasy football. In his words from this 2013 article:

If you’ve never played Contra, that doesn’t matter (except that we can never be friends). What matters is that this is the most famous cheat code ever created. And I’m here to tell you that the Konami code has been implemented into our Fantasy Football game, namely rushing quarterbacks and how they affect the base score.

Since then, rushing quarterbacks have taken the league by storm. It’s important to know the strategy and identify potential Konami Code quarterbacks to target in fantasy football drafts. Here’s a look at the 2024 crop of Konami Code quarterbacks. Below, we dive into a few notable names.

Konami Code for Speedy Quarterbacks

Pat Fitzmaurice breaks down the Konami Code Rushing Quarterbacks to consider for upcoming fantasy football drafts.

Josh Allen (BUF)

The fantasy track record that Josh Allen has compiled is impressive. His annual fantasy scoring finishes since 2019: QB7, QB1, QB1, QB2, QB1. He’s thrown for over 4,000 yards in each of his last four seasons, averaging 4,385 passing yards and 34.3 TD passes over that span. Allen adds immense value as a runner. We probably shouldn’t expect a repeat of the 15 rushing touchdowns he had this season, as his previous single-season high was nine. That said, Allen has averaged 596 rushing yards and 9.0 TD runs over the last five years. A spring trade that sent Stefon Diggs to the Texans calls the caliber of the Bills’ pass-catching prowess into question, but even with the loss of WR firepower, Allen still has a strong case to be considered a QB1.

Jalen Hurts (PHI)

Jalen Hurts finished as the second-ranked QB in fantasy scoring in 2023, but there are reasons to worry heading into the 2024 season. After averaging 25.6 fantasy points per game during a banner 2022 campaign, Hurts’ scoring average dipped to 21.9 FPPG in 2023. His passing yardage per game dropped from 246.7 to 226.9, and his yardage per attempt fell from 8.0 to 7.2. Hurts also suffered a dip in completion percentage and touchdown rate, and his passer rating fell from 101.5 to 89.1. On the positive side, Hurts did provide some rushing value, rushing for 605 yards and 15 TD runs, the most ever by a quarterback in a single season. The fear is that Hurts’ fantasy value could take a nosedive in 2024 if there is a significant drop-off in rushing touchdowns. TD runs accounted for 24.1% of Hurts’ fantasy points in 2023. If Hurts wants to remain a top-three fantasy quarterback, he will likely need to improve his passing efficiency.

Lamar Jackson (BAL)

Lamar Jackson has long been the best running quarterback in football — and arguably the best of all time. But Jackson made huge strides as a passer in 2023, flourishing under the tutelage of Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who is in his first year on the job. Jackson set new career highs in passing yardage (3,678), completion percentage (67.2%) and yards per attempt (8.0). And of course, Jackson provided plenty of fantasy value as a runner, with 821 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Jackson finished as the fourth-ranked QB in fantasy scoring in 2023 despite being held out of the season finale, and he had a spectacular stretch run for his fantasy managers, averaging 27.8 fantasy points per game from Weeks 14-17. Jackson will once again take his rightful place atop the top QB tier for fantasy drafts in 2024.

Fantasy Football Draft Rankings

Check out our experts’ consensus rankings for the 2024 fantasy football draft.