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Quarterbacks are the centerpiece of all NFL teams. They run the offense and their play ultimately decides how well their team will do in a season.
This year saw an influx of QBs drafted in the first round, including Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson and the numer one overall pick, Baker Mayfield.
Although they are great prospects, I don't expect any of them to be in the top 20 QBs in terms of Fantasy Football. Here take a look at my top 12 QBs for the upcoming season.
12 Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – 2017 total = 0
Andrew Luck didn’t see the field in the 2017 season due to his persistent shoulder injury, despite the Colts getting everyone’s hopes up in the preseason.
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Talent-wise, Luck is one of the best QBs in the league. In his five previous seasons, he has been selected to three pro-bowls including the 2014 season, where he led the league in passing touchdowns with 40.
He also has the most passing yards thrown by a rookie QB, and the most passing yards in a single game, 433 against the Dolphins in 2012.
He has been a great fantasy asset for the years he has been in the league and will look to continue that trend when he returns.
Luck will be returning to a weak Colts team, but his addition will lift the team immensely and may have them challenging again in an already competitive AFC South.
Last year, Russell Wilson topped the QB charts with 347.9 fantasy points. In Luck’s last full season in 2016, he totaled 382 points.
This shows the talent is there, he just needs the health to go with it. If Luck can play the whole season, then he can easily crack the top five in this list.
But, with some uncertainty over his week one availability, 12 is the highest I can rank him.
#11 Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – 2017 total = 228.1
2017 saw Matt Ryan come crashing back to earth after his impressive 2016 MVP display. Ryan finished as the 15th ranked QB behind the likes of Blake Bortles and Case Keenum.
The departure of Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan to the 49ers really hurt Ryan, with his replacement Steve Sarkisian struggling to get the best out of the offense.
The Falcons still made it to the NFC Divisional round despite Ryan’s completions, completion percentage, yards and touchdowns all coming down on the previous year’s totals.
This offseason has been a positive one for ‘Matty Ice’. Ryan signed a five-year, $150 million contract extension with the Falcons, making him the highest paid player in the league.
They extended Devonta Freeman last offseason and will now turn their attention to locking up elite Wide Receiver, Julio Jones, to a long-term contract.
They also improved the offense in the draft by signing exciting prospect, Calvin Ridley in the first round.
Ridley is a superb route runner, creating separation with ease, therefore, making it easier for the QB to find him.
Ridley will slot in as the outside WR, opposite Jones, with Mohamed Sanu in the slot and Freeman and Coleman able to catch passes out of the backfield. Ryan is flush with weapons this year, and I fully expect him to improve on his 2017 season.
#10 Philip Rivers – Los Angeles Chargers – 2017 total = 270.4
The 36-year-old Rivers, vastly improved in 2017, as ’16 was a poor year for the veteran. He finished with a QB rating of 96.0, which is above his career average and way ahead of the 87.9 rating he set in 2016.
Rivers showed he can still get the job done when his WRs stay healthy. His rapport with Keenan Allen really came to fruition through the second half of the season, when the two combined for big play after big play.
The Chargers are quietly becoming one of the strongest teams in the NFL. They have a strong defense led by a powerful pass rush and ball-hawking secondary, and playmakers on the offense with Allen, Henry, Williams, Benjamin and Gordon.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Rivers surpassed a few of the QBs ahead of him on this list. Rivers will be available late in most Redraft leagues and will continue to be a dependable start week in, week out.
#9 Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh Steelers – 2017 total = 260.7
This offseason has been an interesting one for Big Ben. After teasing retirement over the past couple of seasons, the Steelers finally pulled the trigger on drafting their QB of the future, selecting Mason Rudolph in the third round.
This selection wasn’t appreciated by Roethlisberger, who has publicly questioned the Steelers selection.
In 2017, Big Ben ended up as the 10th ranked QB for fantasy, finishing with 4251 yards and 28 TDs.
He will once again have two of the best players in the league at his disposal, with Antonio Brown and Leveon Bell both putting up spectacular performances week after week.
Playing out of the slot, last year’s rookie, JuJu Smith-Schuster will look to build on an impressive first campaign in the league, where he emerged as one of Roethlisberger’s favourite targets.
Big Ben will have a new target at WR in second round rookie, James Washington who has come in to replace the outgoing Martavis Bryant.
Roethlisberger isn’t getting any younger, but with the weapons, he has in this offense, it’s impossible to rank him outside the top 10.
#8 Carson Wentz – Philadelphia Eagles – 2017 total = 281.7
2017 was a breakout year for Wentz, who definitely ‘levelled up’ on his rookie year in the league. Wentz’s superb season was unfortunately cut short by a torn ACL in week 14.
However, his back up Nick Foles stepped in and eventually led the Eagles to the SuperBowl. Through 13 games, Wentz totalled 3296 yards, with 33 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
His QB rating was 101.9, which was 22 points higher than his rookie year. His whole game greatly improved as he ran one of the most efficient offenses in the league.
The addition of Alshon Jeffrey definitely helped Wentz, who also assisted Zach Ertz and Nelson Agholor in logging the best seasons of their careers.
Wentz finished as the QB 5 on the year, despite missing three games. The only reason I don’t have him ranked higher is because of the timing of the injury.
A late season ACL injury means he is likely to still be rehabbing his injury through this preseason, meaning he could be a bit rusty if he starts in week one.
There has been talk about Wentz having to change his mobile, elusive style of play to more a pocket passer style.
He says he won’t change the way he plays, but we will have to see once the season starts.
#7 Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings – 2017 total = 277.6
Cousins played Free Agency beautifully, eventually signing with the Vikings and getting a fully guaranteed three-year deal worth $84million. Cousins wasn’t short of potential suitors but chose to sign with the Vikings in the hope of winning a SuperBowl with them.
He will walk into an offense that’s loaded with playmakers, such as Dalvin Cook, playoff hero Stefon Diggs, 2017 breakout star Adam Thielen, and the dependable Kyle Rudolph at Tight End.
Cousins has shown that he can be the franchise Quarterback that the Vikings needed, by throwing for no less than 4093 yards and 25 TDs in each of his last three seasons. This was in a less talented Redskins team, and under a front office that never really believed in him.
Cousins will be playing under a new Offensive Coordinator in John DeFilippo, who was a QB coach for the Eagles last year.
He guided both Carson Wentz and Nick Foles to have great seasons, so hopefully, he can strike up a good connection with Cousins too.
It wouldn’t surprise many people if Cousins led the Viking to the divisional playoffs in his first season in Minneapolis.
#6 Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – 2017 total = 262.6
Brees had an efficient season under center last year for the Saints. For the first time in his career, the team focused on a run-first approach, relieving some of the pressure on the 39-year-old. He had 536 attempts, which is his lowest in a 16 game season since he joined the Saints in 2006. It was also his lowest YPG (Yards Per Game) total over the same time period.
However, when called upon, Brees completed 72% of his passes, which marked a career high.
This offseason Brees was a Free Agent until he put pen to paper on a new deal with the Saints, that’ll see him stay in New Orleans for the next two years. The Saints have turned into serious contenders in the NFC.
They were just 10 seconds away from the Conference Championships this past season, until Stefon Diggs and the ‘Minneapolis Miracle’ stopped their progress.
They have had a great turn around on Defense, with DROY (Defensive Rookie Of the Year) Marshon Lattimore leading the way, and their offense has playmakers at both WR and RB.
Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara ran so well last year that Brees didn’t have to carry the franchise like he so regularly has.
I do see some regression in the running game this season, but Brees is more than capable of upping his passing attempts and touchdowns again.
#5 Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans – 2017 total = 168.9
Watson had an incredible start to his first year in the league. The 12th overall pick in the 2017 draft took over from Tom Savage early in the season and didn’t look out of his depth at all.
Unfortunately for the Texans, Watson’s season ended prematurely when he tore his ACL in practice. The former Clemson product finished the season with 1699 passing yards, nine TDs and eight INTs from seven games.
He also added 269 yards and two TDs on the ground, showing he can make plays with his feet as well.
The most exciting thing for the Texans is his almost telepathic relationship with DeAndre Hopkins.
They were constantly on the same wavelength, connecting with huge plays, which left fantasy owners of both men extremely happy.
As we know, Quarterbacks who have the ability to rush are very valuable in terms of fantasy. If Watson can get back to his pre-injury form then expect big things from him and Hopkins.
However, if you want him on your team you will have to pay up as his ADP is early in the 4th round.
#4 Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks – 2017 total = 347.9
Russell Wilson had a great personal year in 2017. He led all QBs in fantasy points, tallying 347.9 from 16 games.
He, like Watson, can get it done on the ground as well as in the air. He rushed for 586 yards and three TDs, adding to the 34 he threw through the air.
The reason why I don’t have him ranked higher is because of the team’s situation. The Seahawks seem like a team in decline.
They’ve lost big players on their defense in Sherman, Bennett, Avril and possibly Chancellor too. They have also lost key players on offense too with RedZone machine Jimmy Graham heading to the Packers, and Paul Richardson going to the Redskins.
This leaves Wilson very short of passing options outside of Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett. Rashad Penny should give them more of a rushing attack than in recent years, but he’s not going to help deeper down the field.
Wilson is a very talented QB who will again go very high in drafts, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up further down this list with his team not doing him any favours.
#3 Tom Brady – New England Patriots – 2017 total = 295.9
Brady was voted league MVP for the third time in his career in 2017. He had another brilliant season despite having some of his most dependable targets miss time with injuries.
Julian Edelman missed the whole season, whilst Chris Hogan, Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola all missed games along the way.
Brady finished the year as the No.3 ranked fantasy QB, throwing for 4577 yards and 32 TDs. He showed no sign of father time catching up with him and seems to be going from strength to strength, despite being 40 years of age.
This season there has been growing reports of unrest in the Patriots camp, with stories of falling outs and heated arguments between Brady and Coach Belichick.
No one is sure just how much truth is in these rumours, but I’m not reading to much in to it just yet.
Brady is the most decorated QB to play the game and he’s still playing at an elite level. He will have all of his weapons back in the passing game, minus Cooks who got traded to the Rams.
I fully expect Brady to lead the Patriots into playoffs, with another top-notch season under his belt.
#2 Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – 2017 total = 299.5
Cam Newton finished 2017 as the second-ranked QB and a lot of that is down to his productivity on the ground. Newton rushed for a career-high 547 yards on 139 attempts, scoring six TDs in the process.
He only threw for 3302 yards which ranked 18th among all QBs, so you can see how important his rushing is to his fantasy owners and the Carolina Panthers. Newton led the Panthers to an 11-5 record and I expect him to have another great season.
He has Greg Olsen back in the line up after a problematic foot injury caused him to miss a lot of the season. He also has a new toy in first round pick, DJ Moore coming in to strengthen the receiving corps.
He now has Funchess, Moore, Olsen and McCaffrey to lean on, in what should be an improved passing game for Newton. Expect him to go higher in drafts, with a premium on rushing QBs.
#1 Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – 2017 total = 129.6
2017 was full of frustration for Rodgers and the Packers, as he suffered a broken collarbone in the game against arch-rivals, the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers season then derailed, with them missing out on the playoffs and struggling in games that they would usually win.
Now, with a full offseason to recuperate, Rodgers will look to get back to the form he was in in 2016, where he threw 40 TDs and just seven INTs.
He is possibly the best Quarterback that the league has ever seen and makes play after play when all seems lost. He is more than capable of making plays with his feet if everyone is covered down field, making him a match up nightmare for opposing defenses.
Rodgers has voiced his discontent this offseason about not being consulted over Jordy Nelson’s contract situation, with his favourite target heading to Oakland.
However, the blow was softened with the acquisition of Jimmy Graham at Tight End. Davante Adams will step into the WR1 role, with Geronimo Allison or one of the three rookies drafted, lining up opposite him.
There have also been rumblings of Dez Bryant being signed, but I’ll believe that when I see it.
Its highly expected that Rodgers signs a new contract with the Packers in the next month or so, making him the highest paid player in the league.
This deal will eclipse the $30million a year deal that Matt Ryan recently signed. Rodgers will be the first QB taken in redraft leagues, costing an early third round pick. But that’s the price you’d expect to pay for drafting the GOAT!
