With our second installment of Fantasy Football Forecast, I’ll be ranking the top 12 QB options for the upcoming fantasy season. A few QBs are looking to make big jumps this years. Likewise, some seasoned vets have dropped. As with any NFL Season – expect the unexpcted. Ready! Set! Green 718! Hike!
QUARTERBACKS:
1.) Peyton Manning – Denver Broncos
Let’s face it. This is the greatest regular season quarterback of all time. Peyton broke every passing record there was last season. Despite losing Eric Decker to the Jets, the greatest-of-Mannings, will still be distributing the ball all over the field. Look for slumps in his matchups agains NFC West teams this season though.
2.) Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints
Much like our #1 selection, Brees has a penchant for spreading the ball all over the field. With Jimmy Graham signing his new deal, expect a lot of big yardage games.
3.) Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts
Surprise, surprise fantasy footballers. Andrew Luck has gotten his Colts to the playoffs every year since his arrival. In his third year, expect greatness. Luck had a 60% completion rate last year, and has proven his ability to escape the pocket and run it downfield himself. He plays in the worst offensive division in professional football, and is matched up against the worst defensive division in professional football this season (NFC East).
4.) Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers
Consistency. That’s what you get out of Aaron Rodgers. Now that he has a balanced attack with Eddie Lacy setting up behind him, expect ARodg to run play action like a machine. Too little of a deal is made of his ability to escape the pocket. Rodgers has showed time and time again that he can tuck the ball in and do damage on his feet. His favorite target in Jordy Nelson is always ready to catch a bomb as well. Big yards, short yards, running yards and lots of touchdowns. Bank.
5.) Phillip Rivers – San Diego Chargers
I don’t expect a winning record from the Chargers this year. Phillip Rivers’ resurgance last season was just the beginning however. Rivers flourished without Norv Turner last year and with his added target in Kenan Allen. Ol’ Noodle Arm was comeback player of the year in 2013. Fantasy players be warned though: San Diego faces the toughest end-of-season schedule in the NFL.
6.) Tom Brady – New England Patriots
A little lower on the list than a lot of you would’ve expected, right? With no huge upgrades in his receiving corps, and some added faith in Shane Vereen, I’m expecting the Patriots to be a more ground and pound team than ever. If big Gronk stays healthy this season, some of y’all in keeper leagues could be happy with Brady, but with Edelman and Amendola as his top targets, I’d hold off until the second or third round on this surefire Hall of Famer.
7.) Robert Griffin III – Washington Redskins
He’s back. I love the Jay Gruden addition at HC. But what I like the most is the downfield presence of Desean Jackson. RG3 has a cannon that is almost unrivaled. There will be a substantial drop in read-option plays, but “Mr. The Third” is capable of improvising as we’ve seen time and time again. With his hopefully improved psyche and knee health, the Redskins could challenge the Eagles for NFC East supremacy, and Griffin could be the very reason why. Big arm. Great target. Fast legs. Need I say more?
8.) Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions
Better coaching, and better players this year on Detroit’s roster. Stafford has ranked top 5 in the last two fantasy seasons in PPG. I would’ve ranked him higher this season but a couple 2012 draft picks look to make big leaps this year in terms of production (Luck, Griffin). Stafford would be a steal in the 3rd or 4th round.
9.) Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers
No Steve Smith. Scary. Ankle reconstruction = scarier. I don’t see Carolina as a team making the strides they did in 2013. In fantasy though, Cam’s talent is undeniable. He’s becoming more accurate as a passer with every season under his belt. Time will tell if he’ll be ready to take on another bruising NFL season.
10.) Colin Kaepernick – San Francisco 49ers
Colin is the focal point of the (arguably) best team in football. He operates the read-option with such ease and has quite a few targets to throw to: Crabtree, Davis, Boldin. The ‘9ers running corps are almost equally as impressive: Lattimore, Gore, Hyde and James. Whether he’s gunning the ball deep, dumping off on short routes or evading sacks and jogging downfield himself, Kap is projecting to average 26 PPG.
10.) Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears
Two massive receivers, a productive tight end, and an offensive guru running the show. There’s absolutely no reason (barring injury) for Cutler to have a bad season. The Bears have arguably the easiest schedule in the NFL and with such an elite group of weapons… Cutler would be a steal, mid-rounds.
11.) Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys
He has to be on this list. His detractors will think I’m a lunatic, but lets face the facts: Romo has the highest QBR of all time. He may not be there when you need him most, but this is fantasy football. The man can produce. His top target is second only to Megatron and with every 3rd and Witten play being drawn up in combination with little bubble screens to the resurgant Demarco Murray – Romo is an excellent choice for starting QB. He will likely be available in later rounds in most leagues. Book it.
12.) Nick Foles – Philadelphia Eagles
27-2. Sound familiar? That’s Nick Foles Touchdown to Interception ratio in 2013. Logically, Foles will be lucky to escape September with only 2 interceptions. But when discussing efficiency, who’s better? Losing Desean Jackson could be slightly detrimental, but with his favorite target in Riley Cooper staying and the addition of Darren Sproles taken into account: expect another highly productive season. We’re estimating 22-24 PPG for the 2014 season and HUGE games can be expected against his divisional rivals.
