Over the next three weeks, millions upon millions of people will draft fantasy football teams. At that point, all the research, all the notes all the film will become background noise. All we need are rankings. Here are my top-10 quarterbacks:
1. Aaron Rodgers, GB: Underrated running ability makes him the clear top option.
2. Cam Newton, CAR: He won’t run for 14 scores again, but 8-9 is a good bet. He’s getting better as a passer, too.
3. Tom Brady, NE: Added Josh McDaniels and Brandon Lloyd this offseason. Huge.
4. Drew Brees, NO: No Sean Payton, no problem. Pete Carmichael has plenty of experience calling the plays.
5. Matthew Stafford, DET: Last year was not a fluke. Titus Young will have a bigger impact this year.
6. Michael Vick, PHI: Major bounce-back candidate. Too much talent on offense not to go off.
7. Matt Ryan, ATL: This is who I’m targeting. ATL has changed philosophy. They’ll now ride or die with Ryan’s arm.
8. Eli Manning, NYG: Why should we expect a dropoff from last year? Eli is safer than Peyton as the younger player that isn’t coming off five neck surgeries.
9. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT: The Steelers aren’t going to be able to run the ball. That means lots and lots of Big Ben chucking. Mike Wallace will be in camp soon, too.
10. Robert Griffin III, WAS: The Redskins have installed designed runs for RG3 and he’s got a cannon for an arm. Sounds a lot like Cam Newton last year.
