Top-10 Fantasy QBs

Posted by Danny Goldin on August 26, 2010   Jump To Comments

I rolled through my Top-10 fantasy running backs the other day, and now it’s time to rank the gunslingers. Following are the Top-10 quarterbacks you should be targeting, along with a few additional men that are either going too high or too low in most drafts.

1) Drew Brees – Brees led the NFL in touchdowns last year, was tied with Philip Rivers for the league lead in 2008, and has the most yards over that span. You’re completely safe with any of the Top-4 guys, but Brees is definitely No. 1; he has the reliability of Peyton Manning and the ridiculous upside of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.

Rodgers is a darn good real-life QB, and he's even better in the fantasy realm.

2) Aaron Rodgers – A few months back, I argued that Rodgers was the fourth-best real-life quarterback in the league, behind only Brees, Manning and Brady. In fantasy football, he’s even better. In standard scoring formats, Rodgers led all players in fantasy points last year, and that didn’t even count his five-score, 400-yard playoff game. His ability to rush is an added bonus, as he led all quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns last year and was second with 316 yards. While I’d prefer Brees, it certainly would not be ludicrous to nab A-Rod as the first QB off the board, and to snatch him as high as No. 5 or 6 overall.

3) Peyton Manning – While Manning may not typically be the top-producing fantasy quarterback over a given year, you sure as heck know that he’ll finish in the Top-5. In his 12-year career, he’s never tossed for fewer than 26 touchdowns, and he’s failed to reach 4,000 passing yards just twice (his rookie season and in 2005, though he still topped 3,700 yards both of those years). He’s also never missed a game, and that type of reliability is invaluable.

4) Tom Brady – Let’s get this one out of the way: he’s not going to pass for 50 touchdowns in 2010, or ever again. I do, however, believe that 30 is well within reach. He’s another year removed from knee surgery and will continue to have the green light from Bill Belichick to sling it early and often.

5) Matt Schaub – Schaub led the league in yardage last year, and it was no fluke. He was consistent, topping 200 yards every week after Week 1, and only one of those games failing to throw for at least one score. As the anchor of a wide-open Houston offense and with the best wideout in the league at his disposal, Schaub will be great yet again. Keep in mind, however, that he does have a history of injuries, so think about taking your backup a tad bit earlier than you might like.

Romo sucks a lot of blond celebrities' faces and usually sucks in the playoffs, but he still puts up big-time regular season stats.

6) Tony Romo – Give me Romo over Rivers, as Romo gained a fine receiver this year in Dez Bryant, while Rivers has presumably lost one, assuming Vincent Jackson doesn’t end his holdout anytime soon. For all the heat that Romo takes, he’s still an excellent regular-season quarterback, and that’s all that matters in fantasy.

7) Philip Rivers – The likely loss of V-Jax hurts Rivers, but it’s still tough to ignore a guy that’s topped 4,000 yards each of the past to years to go along with 62 passing TDs and just 20 interceptions. The man is still a weekly plug-in for your lineup, with or without Jackson.

8] Jay Cutler – Interceptions aren’t as harmful in fantasy as they are in real life, and when you take them out of the equation, Cutler still had a decent season last year. The 3,666 passing yards were a bit low, but he still tossed for 27 scores while adding 173 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. I think Mike Martz’s pass-heavy offense will ensure that Cutler tops the 4,000-yard plateau this season.

9) Kevin Kolb – I know this is higher than most will rank him, but I’m a believer. He topped 300 yards in each of his two starts last season, and I foresee many more of those games this season. He has the perfect set of weapons to run Andy Reid’s offense, and I’ve been impressed with his demeanor after watching both of his preseason games thus far.

10) Carson Palmer – This is less about Palmer, and more about the fact that I’d personally only feel comfortable going into the season with any of those previous nine as my starting fantasy quarterback. Most people have Favre and/or Joe Flacco in their Top-10, but I’m not high on either one (I’ll get to Favre in a second). I think Palmer will be pretty solid this season, though I’d have no problem placing Matt Ryan or Eli Manning in this spot, either.

Overrated

Brett Favre – No, I did not do this because of the site that it’s posted on, I promise you that. I simply think that the Vikings’ offense will be a lot more conservative and run-heavy this season, and the loss of Sidney Rice for half the season certainly doesn’t help.

Woah! Hard Knocks' Sanchez looks exactly like fellow HBO star Vinny Chase.

Mark Sanchez – The Jets will be good, but not because of Sanchez. He’ll continue to be more of a game manager than game changer, and that will not cater well to his numbers.

Chad Henne – I don’t get what the buzz over Henne is about. He wasn’t too good in college, completing under 60 percent of his passes both his senior year and overall career at Michigan. He tossed for just 12 touchdowns to go along with 14 interceptions in 13 starts (and 14 games) with the Dolphins last year. The expectations for both him and the Dolphins are too high.

Underrated

Vince Young – He’s confident for the first time in a while. He’ll lead all signal callers in rushing yards, and will have plenty of room to pass while opposing defenses focus on Chris Johnson.

Matthew Stafford – Stafford had at least one touchdown in each of his last five games, and 10 overall, before getting hurt last season. He’s fully healthy and should make great strides in his sophomore campaign. The Lions figure to be respectable, at least on the offensive side of the ball.

You can e-mail Danny at dgoldin@brentfavre.com.