Quarterback Rankings
Updated as of 8/26/2013
Every year there seems to be some debate about the overall importance of the Quarterback. I have said in the past that you should always select a Running Back in the 1st round of your draft. More and more I see this being not always the case.
Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers and Tight ends have all been in the top 10 in Fantasy Football points at the end of the 2012 season. If you have a top 3 pick, you should still take one of the top RBs. However, if you have a mid to late first round pick, you should really think about taking Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, especially if you receive 6 points per Passing TD.
If you play in a league where the Passing TD is only 4 points, you may want to consider taking a running quarterback early, such as Cam Newton.
I have all three of these QBs being viable first round picks. This is especially true if you are able to snag a great RB or WR in the second round.
If you miss these three QBs, you should try to get Peyton Manning or Tom Brady in the late 2nd to early 3rd round of the draft.
After that, I would shy away from picking another QB a couple of rounds. Your best bet is to try to wait for the late 3rd or early 4th round and see if one of the following three QBs are still available: Matt Ryan, Colin Kaepernick or Russel Wilson.
That being said, you might not be completely screwed if you do not get one of these top 8 QBs in my rankings above as long as you can load up with quality RBs or WRs. Andrew Luck, Matt Stafford, RGIII, Tony Romo and Eli Manning will probably still help you this season.
If you get stuck without one of the elite quarterbacks, I would suggest taking a backup QB before anyone else gets one in the 9th-10th round. The odds of one of the two decent QBs having a great year is still pretty high. You can always play the matchup game with which QB is playing the weaker defense.
2013 NFL Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings
|
QB Rank |
Name | Team | Bye Week |
Average Overall |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | 4 | 17.14 |
| 2 | Drew Brees | NO | 7 | 19.10 |
| 3 | Peyton Manning | Den | 9 | 27.90 |
| 4 | Cam Newton | Car | 4 | 28.62 |
| 5 | Tom Brady | NE | 10 | 37.95 |
| 6 | Matt Ryan | Atl | 6 | 45.57 |
| 7 | Colin Kaepernick | SF | 9 | 49.14 |
| 8 | Matthew Stafford | Det | 9 | 50.62 |
| 9 | Robert Griffin III | Was | 5 | 53.43 |
| 10 | Russel Wilson | Sea | 12 | 56.33 |
| 11 | Andrew Luck | Ind | 8 | 58.48 |
| 12 | Tony Romo | Dal | 11 | 64.33 |
| 13 | Eli Manning | NYG | 9 | 86.14 |
| 14 | Ben Roethlisberger | Pit | 5 | 107.10 |
| 15 | Michael Vick | Phi | 12 | 116.00 |
| 16 | Joe Flacco | Bal | 8 | 137.38 |
| 17 | Andy Dalton | Cin | 12 | 137.52 |
| 18 | Sam Bradford | StL | 11 | 138.57 |
| 19 | Jay Cutler | Chi | 8 | 141.33 |
| 20 | Carson Palmer | Ari | 9 | 153.62 |
| 21 | Matt Schaub | Hou | 8 | 155.71 |
| 22 | Josh Freeman | TB | 5 | 157.14 |
| 23 | Phillip Rivers | SD | 8 | 164.38 |
| 24 | Alex Smith | KC | 10 | 167.00 |
| 25 | Ryan Tannehill | Mia | 6 | 168.57 |
Projected Fantasy Value: 1st 4 Weeks and Playoffs
This year I'm going to do something new. Below is the overall Quarterback rankings. However, I'm also going to include another way to rank them. Two of the most important times of the year are the First 4 weeks and the 2 Weeks of the playoffs. The chart below show the average fantasy points scored for these time periods.
Projected 1st 4 Weeks
|
Projected 1st 4 Weeks |
Quarterback | Yards | TDs | Int | Rush Yards |
Rush TDs |
Fum Lost |
| 1 | Drew Brees NO | 1,194 | 10 | 4.3 | 7.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 2 | Colin Kaepernick SF | 901 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 201 | 1.5 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Peyton Manning Den | 1,177 | 8.7 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| 4 | Tom Brady NE | 1,095 | 8.3 | 2.3 | 10.7 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| 5 | Robert Griffin III Was | 902 | 6.7 | 1.7 | 148 | 1 | 2.5 |
| 6 | Matt Ryan Atl | 1,186 | 7.8 | 3.6 | 25.9 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| 7 | Russell Wilson Sea | 914 | 6.6 | 1.9 | 117 | 0.7 | 1 |
| 8 | Matthew Stafford Det | 1,169 | 7.1 | 3.9 | 27 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
| 9 | Michael Vick Phi | 960 | 5.2 | 4 | 186 | 0.7 | 2.3 |
| 10 | Tony Romo Dal | 1,138 | 6.8 | 4 | 13.8 | 0.2 | 0.9 |
| 11 | Andrew Luck Ind | 975 | 6.4 | 2.6 | 58.7 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| 12 | Eli Manning NYG | 1,048 | 7.2 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 0.2 | 1 |
| 13 | Aaron Rodgers GB | 821 | 6.8 | 1.5 | 49.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| 14 | Alex Smith KC | 1,022 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 53.7 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
| 15 | Joe Flacco Bal | 1,009 | 6.2 | 2.3 | 11.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 |
Projected Playoffs (Week 15 and 16)
I play in a league where the top 4 make the playoffs which start in Week 15 and end Week 16. We never play on Week 17 and I suggest that you never play in a league that decides it's champion when a lot of NFL teams are no longer trying as hard. If you are going to have 3 weeks of playoffs, start in Week 14.
Week 15 Projections
|
Projected Week 15 |
Quarterback | Yards | TDs | Int | Rush Yards |
Rush TDs |
Fum Lost |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers GB | 272 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 16.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 2 | Drew Brees NO | 299 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 3 | Colin Kaepernick SF | 224 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 48.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| 4 | Peyton Manning Den | 295 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 5 | Tom Brady NE | 281 | 2 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 6 | Matt Ryan Atl | 295 | 2 | 0.9 | 6.6 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 7 | Cam Newton Car | 221 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 40.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 8 | Robert Griffin III Was | 225 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 36.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| 9 | Russell Wilson Sea | 219 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 29.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 10 | Matthew Stafford Det | 293 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 6.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 11 | Michael Vick Phi | 240 | 1.3 | 1 | 44.9 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| 12 | Tony Romo Dal | 289 | 1.8 | 1 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 13 | Andrew Luck Ind | 249 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 14.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| 14 | Eli Manning NYG | 265 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0 | 0.3 |
| 15 | Joe Flacco Bal | 251 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Week 16 Projections
|
Projected Week 16 |
Quarterback | Yards | TDs | Int | Rush Yards |
Rush TDs |
Fum Lost |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers GB | 272 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 17 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 2 | Drew Brees NO | 299 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 3 | Colin Kaepernick SF | 220 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 51.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| 4 | Peyton Manning Den | 299 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 5 | Tom Brady NE | 281 | 2 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 6 | Cam Newton Car | 225 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 40.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 7 | Robert Griffin III Was | 225 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 37.1 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| 8 | Matthew Stafford Det | 293 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 7.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 9 | Matt Ryan Atl | 300 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 6.1 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 10 | Russell Wilson Sea | 215 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 30.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 11 | Michael Vick Phi | 238 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 46.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| 12 | Tony Romo Dal | 284 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 13 | Andrew Luck Ind | 245 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 14.8 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| 14 | Eli Manning NYG | 261 | 1.8 | 1 | 1.3 | 0 | 0.3 |
| 15 | Ben Roethlisberger Pit | 254 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 7 | 0 | 0.3 |