I recently completed a fantasy draft where I picked tenth in a 12-team league and took Cleveland Browns WR Braylon Edwards in the second round. As the fourth round swung back around to me, I was faced with a serious dilemma: do I take a quarterback here, and who should it be? My choices at that point were Carson Palmer and Derek Anderson. Both are reasonable choices at that point in any draft, and I was really torn on what to do. I actually think Anderson will have a better season, but I had to ask myself: do I dare “double dip?”

With all apologies to George Costanza’s snacking tendencies, the infamous double dip is when a fantasy owner drafts two star players on the same team, in this case, a QB and a WR. Of all the possible same team combinations, this is the riskiest, yet also the most potentially rewarding route. Most folks, yours truly included, usually craft a fantasy football strategy that involves minimizing risks and maximizing potential benefits. The double dip strategy is not that. It is a high-stakes gamble, one that could be the direct cause of your losing a game in more than one week. Yet, it could also be a very good way to win that elusive fantasy championship, if you choose the right players and get them at good values.

In examining the double dip strategy, I focus statistically on zero TD games as a baseline for a bad QB game. It seems to be the most reliable indicator of a poor fantasy game, though there are rare occasions where QBs throw for plenty of yards without throwing a TD. It goes without saying that if the starting QB didn’t throw any TDs, then the stud WR probably didn’t catch any, which is the major risk of this strategy.

I looked at some of the top fantasy WRs and QBs, focusing on whether their play in 2007 would have worked out as a double dip. I know that last year’s numbers as a whole or on average don’t always translate exactly to this year’s numbers. However, if you look at the numbers on a game-by-game basis, they at least give you some idea about how the player is used by the team and how he performs over the course of the season. In this light, I used last year’s numbers to at least attempt to project whether double dipping might be a good strategy for these players in 2008.


Tom Brady/Randy Moss/Wes Welker, NE
Look, if you’re in some zany dynasty league that would allow you to have both Brady and Moss, don’t hesitate for a second, no matter what the numbers say. If you can somehow make this happen, the numbers for double dipping are on your side.  In 2007, Brady had just one bad game, with zero TDs and 140 yards passing. Of course, anyone who even considered sitting Brady at any point last year is someone you want to play against in your league.  For Moss, he had only two “bad” days, and even those would have netted you more than seven points in a point per reception [PPR] league. Yes, there are guys that are more consistent than Moss, but none as consistently great. Welker did have three sub par games, but even so, he’s not a guy you should ever sit, no matter the match up. He averaged seven catches per game in his first year with the Patriots, along with pretty solid yardage. He did have eight TDs as well, though they came in bunches, and he went for long stretches without any. However, you’re talking about a first and a third/fourth round pick with Brady and Welker, so you’re at least spreading the risk to some extent. So, while Moss and Brady would only be available for double dipping in your fantasy of fantasy football, Brady and Welker are still a solid play together. Verdict: Start a fight at a wake to double dip on these guys.

Drew Brees/Marques Colston, NO
In 2007, Brees set the NFL record for most passes completed in a season (440). With head coach Sean Payton calling the plays and new TE Jeremy Shockey on board, look for Brees to break his own record this year. In 2007, Brees was as safe a QB play as anyone not named Tom Brady. He had four games with zero TDs, although his lowest output in those games was 192 yards.  Pretty good stuff. Now, we know that Colston is a top 10, if not a top five, fantasy receiver. Nevertheless, he’s riskier in this strategy than you might think. In Brees’ zero TD games, Colston was an average to below average play, scoring 4-10 PPR points.  While Colston and Brees were fantastic together most of the season, there are at least four weeks in which this combo would have left you hanging. Considering that these guys would have to be your second and third round picks (and you’d have to be lucky and/or draft with dolts to get them both), four bad weeks could be the difference between making the playoffs and staying home. As good as these two players are individually, there is a risk in playing them together in 2008, particularly when Brees has a stellar red zone target like Shockey, who will probably cut into Colston’s numbers. I’d advise against the double dip in this case.

Peyton Manning/Reggie Wayne, IND
This year, you could realistically choose to draft both players, since they are both late round one/early round two in value. On top of that, it might actually be a good plan. Let’s set aside for a second that Manning could miss the first game of the season [EDITOR'S NOTE: The latest news reports say that Manning should play in week one]. OK, fine. You can live with playing your backup for one week. Trust me, it will be worth it. Week-to-week, Manning and Wayne are two of the most consistent plays in fantasy football. Manning had just two games with zero TDs last year, and one of them didn’t really count: week 17 against the Titans, when the Colts were locked into their playoff slot and didn’t care (that’s why fantasy doesn’t usually score week 17). Amazingly, Wayne posted double digit fantasy points every single week in a PPR format, even in Manning’s bad games. Not even Moss pulled off that feat. So, on a week-to-week basis, Wayne was the most consistently valuable fantasy WR. You can obviously make a logical argument that Moss and his bazillion TDs [23 in 2007] are more valuable over the course of the season, but if consistency is your goal, Wayne is your guy. Though they had one so-so game together, the bundles of points these two cooked up over the rest of 2007 more than made up for it. Dip, and then dip again, my friend. 

Carson Palmer/Chad [Ocho Cinco] Johnson/T.J. Houshmandzadeh, CIN
It’s reasonable to assume that you could draft Palmer and either Johnson or Houshmandzadeh in rounds two to five. Palmer is about a late third/early fourth round pick, while the fantasy world seems to have caught up to the notion that Houshmandzadeh is a better fantasy WR than Johnson (or whatever he’s calling himself these days). Palmer was pretty consistent in 2007, having only three no-TD games. In those three games, he scored around seven to 10 points. Both Houshmandzadeh and Johnson were average plays in those games, each scoring 8-14 PPR points. Here’s the part where I warn you about Johnson. Over his career, his TDs have come in spurts. He disappears from the end zone for long stretches, probably because he’s either run out of celebratory dances or money to pay the fines. On top of that, he has only caught 10 TDs in a season once in his career. That said, you can count on him for lots of catches and good yardage in nearly every game. Considering his current shoulder injury and history of TD droughts, you should pass on the Palmer/Johnson double dip, at least in 2008. Houshmandzadeh is easily the more consistent of the two Bengals receivers. He only had one game last year where he scored in single digit fantasy points, though one of those was one of Palmer’s bad games. The Palmer/Houshmandzadeh combo has more potential for reward and less risk than any combo outside of Manning/Wayne. Yeah, it’s a bold step, but double dipping on these two could work, particularly if you can get a good value with Palmer in the fourth or fifth round.

Matt Leinart/Kurt Wagner/Larry Fitzgerald/Anquan Boldin, ARI
First of all, you’re clearly a crazy person to even think this, but I’ll humor you anyway, just in case you’re an armed crazy person. While Larry Fitzgerald is a prolific and steady fantasy receiver, you shouldn’t be starting one of the Cardinals QBs unless you’re in a bye week. Leinart and Warner are too inconsistent, and coach Ken Whisenhunt has shown a willingness to platoon them when Leinart struggles. If Fitzgerald had a decent QB to pair with, he’d be an excellent candidate for the double dip. He averages five to six catches per game and around 10 TDs per year. As far as Boldin goes, he misses far too many games to even consider for this strategy; in his six year career, he’s only played a full season once. Double dipping on the Cardinals is about as advisable as running around naked in the scorching desert sun while licking gila monsters. At least, I hear that’s what happy hour is like in Phoenix.

Tony Romo/Terrell Owens, DAL
Considering that their draft value is roughly equal (early to mid second round), you would have to overvalue one of these guys to get both of them in the first two rounds. That is not the path to fantasy victory. Regardless, let’s take a look at what a Romo/T.O. dip would get you. Romo’s only bad game was a week 17 throw-away against the Washington Redskins, which you can forget about. The rest of the season, he was golden, throwing multiple TDs in 12-of-16 games. On the other hand, T.O. is not the world’s most consistent fantasy WR. Last year, he scored five or fewer PPR points in four games. For what it takes to draft him, that’s an awful lot of games with no production.  Owens ain’t getting any younger, either; he’ll turn 35 this season. He keeps himself in phenomenal shape, but eventually, things start breaking down. So while the Romo/T.O. double dip sounds like fantasy Nirvana initially, it’s probably closer to fantasy Hole.

Brett Favre/Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ
Throw out the statistics. For the value you’ll get picking these two, this is a great double dip. Favre did have four no TD games last year, and he was pretty pedestrian in all of them, throwing for 150-200 yards. However, if you draft Favre as your fantasy QB, you’re talking about a seventh round draft pick, give or take a round. Considering that you’d be able to load up on your other positions, probably taking a top five TE quite early, it would be worth shouldering four cold games from your QB. Cotchery is a rising star, who will be helped immensely by having a QB of Favre’s caliber throwing to him. Think of him as Donald Driver plus 20 pounds. Cotchery did have three sub par games last year, but he caught 4-to-8 balls in every other game. That’s third round value at a fifth round price tag. I’ll also mention Laveranues Coles to say that he could post Greg Jennings circa ’07 type numbers, though he’s probably more a WR3/4 or flex player at this point in his career. The Cotchery/Favre double dip is where the real value is. It’s a mid-round double dip where you could get a ton of value at minimal risk. However, keep in mind that the Packers are a more talented team than the Jets, and Favre’s numbers could go down a bit this year. Still, it’s a sneaky strategy that could pay off handsomely.

Derek Anderson/Braylon Edwards, CLE
Anderson was a solid play in 2007. He had three no TD games, but he threw for 350 yards in one, 275 in another, and 137 in the third. Unfortunately, that third was also (quite obviously) a game that Edwards crapped out in as well. Unfortunately, that was week 15, which is the first week of the fantasy playoffs in most leagues. Yeah, Anderson killed me in that game, too. Nevertheless, this was a totally weird and random game that happened in the middle of a snow storm in Cleveland. You can’t predict those kinds of things. Beyond that, these two were amazing together. Edwards scored fewer than 10 PPR points in only one game last year, and that was the game that QB Charlie Frye started. Dude is a fantasy stud, and I have to say that I’m stunned to see him dropping to the end of the second round in many drafts. Considering that Anderson will be more comfortable as the starter with a year under his belt and that Edwards is already one of the best WRs in the league, double dipping on this combo looks like it actually might work.

In my draft, I wussed out and went with Palmer. Was it the right call? From the standpoint of minimizing risk, sure, it was. Based on previous history, though, I could have gone with the Anderson/Edwards combo and felt pretty good about it. Believe me, I won’t let conservatism get the better of me next time, and I’ll be watching the Browns closely this year to see what might have been. 

On this Labor Day weekend, Mike Gilbert encourages you to enjoy your fantasy drafts and spread the love by sampling as many party dips as you can, with the same chip, of course. You can reach Mike with questions on this strategy or to tell him how it worked out at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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