Fantasy Rankings: Quarterbacks
by Josh Gaier
With the fantasy football season quickly approaching, New Era Scouting premieres its rankings, starting with the quarterback position. Each week, a new position will be released until each one has been addressed.
1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady was the maestro controlling the most harmonious offense in the NFL last season, and the core remains intact. Although it’s highly unlikely he reaches the 50-touchdown mark again, Brady is poised to throw at least 35 touchdowns, while keeping the interceptions in the single digits. Brady has taken the reigns from Manning as the No. 1 fantasy quarterback and is the only quarterback worthy of going in the first round.
2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
One word describes Peyton Manning in fantasy football: consistent. Manning doesn’t present a ton of upside, but — truth be told — he doesn’t present downside either. He’ll remain on the field 16 games, and he’ll claim his 30 touchdown passes and low interception numbers. If Harrison’s decline makes you weary, don’t let it. If you’re fortunate enough to draft Manning, you won’t ever have to worry about your quarterback position the remainder of the year.
3. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Fresh off ending his relationship with Jessica Simpson, Romo looks to build upon his stardom in the 2008 season. Romo’s gunslinger mentality offers remarkable upside, but, at the same time, shows that he’ll be vulnerable to high interception numbers. Nevertheless, Romo has shown so far in his career that he is a playmaker who knows how to get the ball in the end zone. A 30-touchdown season, interception numbers in the high teens, and a couple of rushing touchdowns are the likely numbers for this Cowboy.
4. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Big Ben’s 2007 season showed the improvement and fantasy potential that had been brewing in the Steelers signal caller. With the addition of Limas Sweed in the second round of the draft, Roethlisberger was granted his wish of throwing to a big possession receiver. With a trio of receivers consisting of Sweed, Hines Ward, and Santonio Holmes, the sky is the limit for the Steelers’ passing game.
5. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Although Brees jumped out to a woeful start in his 2007 campaign, he rebounded nicely and had a solid second half of the season. The Saints rather weak wide receiver corps makes us all jittery when selecting Brees, but Sean Payton controlling the offense eases some of that pain. As Payton has shown in the past, he’s going to let Brees throw the ball around — in 2006, he attempted 554 passes and, in 2007, he attempted 652 passes (third-most in NFL history; most completions all-time, 440). With the offense still retaining its firepower (and hopefully its health) from the 2006 season, Brees should be able to surpass his 28-touchdown mark from a year ago.
6. Caron Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
Chris Henry left, and Chad Johnson wants to join him. Without doubt, the troublesome Bengals’ receiving corps is in shambles despite having arguably the best tandem in the league with Chad Johnson and T. J. Houshmandzadeh. Nonetheless, Palmer has asserted himself as a top-tier fantasy quarterback over the years, but with his aerial weapons in question, Palmer doesn’t seem like a viable option to start every week. Palmer will, without question, have some stellar performances in the 2008 season, but as the saying goes: you’ll have to take the good with the bad.
7. Derek Anderson, Cleveland Browns
The threat of Brady Quinn overtaking him is there, and the completion percentage makes Anderson look like a lower-tier fantasy quarterback, but the 29 touchdown passes from 2007 are a nice counter-argument. However, Anderson still has a knack for throwing a lot of interceptions; but, with more experience, that could change for the better. With the signing of Donte’ Stallworth, Anderson can now use his cannon arm to hit another terrific target downfield, along with Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow II. Bottom line: Anderson is a wildcard. It wouldn’t be surprising if he built upon his 2007 success, or if he fluttered and became a one-year wonder.
8. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks
The paradigm west coast quarterback of the modern day NFL is Matt Hasselbeck. He won’t ever post eye-boggling numbers, but he’ll throw his dinks and dumps to the tune of 20+ touchdown passes and relatively low interception numbers. The offense is tailored to Hasselbeck’s strengths — although the supporting cast is rather fragile. Most importantly, fantasy owners need to play match-ups with Hasselbeck, as he’ll make you a believer one week and a doubter the next.
9. Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams
Picking Bulger as your starting quarterback would be risky. We all know that potential is there for him again to become the elite player he once was, but that horrible 2007 taste is still left in our mouths. If the offensive line can hold its own and keep Bulger standing, he’ll certainly be able to boost his numbers significantly from a season ago. When drafting Bulger, don’t expect him to start every week for you, but he’s a great player to play match-ups with, and he still offers upside of returning to pre-2007 form.
10. Donavan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
Injuries have continued to slow down this once-soaring Eagle over the years, and McNabb is just a shadow of what he used to be. To make matters worse, McNabb looked inaccurate and raised questions about his ability to perform last year, as he couldn’t connect on easy throws. But McNabb responded. He performed a great, but quiet, second half and still has the arm to carry a team, but not the body to remain healthy. If you draft McNabb, you’ll need a solid option behind him to fill in during his tough match-ups and to start when McNabb hits the injury list.
11. Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos
12. David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars
13. Eli Manning, New York Giants
14. Phillip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
15. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers
16. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans
17. Jon Kitna, Detroit Lions
18. Vince Young, Tennessee Titans
19. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
20. Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins
21. Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
22. Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals
23. JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders
24. Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills
25. Tarvaris Jackson, Minnesota Vikings
26. Brodie Croyle, Kansas City Chiefs
27. Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers
28. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
29. Rex Grossman, Chicago Bears
30. Kellen Clemmens, New York Jets
31. Chad Pennington, New York Jets
32. Shaun Hill, San Francisco 49ers
33. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
34. John Beck, Miami Dolphins
35. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens