QB Rankings
The WMFL team brings you their quarterback rankings and also discusses the discrepancy in some of their rankings.
Tom Brady
Rizzla (5): I like Tom Brady a lot this year and believe he is firmly in the top tier of quarterbacks for fantasy football. However with that said Brees, Rodgers, Newton and Stafford all present similar if not superior upside. I could have easily had Brady at two or three but I feel Stafford and Newton both have the fantasy upside to finish this season ahead of Brady in total points scored. I see Brady passing for closer to 4,000 yards than 5,200 yards this season and for his yards per game to drop by more than 30.
Zach (2): Tom Brady is Tom Brady. He threw for over 5,200 yards last season and now Brandon Lloyd has joined the potent mix. Brady has a plethora of weapons to utilize and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another 5,000 yard campaign in 2012. Stafford has had one good fantasy season and I just can’t trust him to duplicate the season he had in 2011. Brady is arguably the most consistent quarterback in the league and a safe pick in round one or round two.
Carson Palmer
Rizzla (16): I have Palmer ranked as a QB2 with weekly QB1 upside. He definitely has the talent and receiving corps to finish the season as a QB1 but I would not be comfortable drafting him as a QB1. Palmer should not struggle to threaten 4,000 passing yards despite a run heavy scheme. As per ESPN “In his last eight starts last season, Carson Palmer was fifth in passing yards, seventh in completion percentage, ninth in completions, 10th in attempts, fourth in yards per attempt, tied for second in passing plays of more than 25 yards and tied for 12th in touchdown passes, and he had Denarius Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey on the field at the same time in only five games.”
Zach (21): I’m not really intrigued by anyone on the Raiders except a healthy Darren McFadden. Palmer showed signs of his old self in the second half of last season and has a speedy and athletic cast around him. However, Palmer is nothing but a backup fantasy quarterback and bye week replacement. As long as McFadden is healthy the Raiders will focus on him and Palmer will be more of a Trent Dilfer kind of quarterback, just controlling the game. His fantasy value is mediocre at best.
Robert Griffin III
Rizzla (13): The more and more I think about RGIII the more I like him. He has ‘fast’ running back speed coupled with pocket QB presence. In Mike Shanahan’s offense where scrubs have thrown for over 4,000 yards over the past two seasons (if you combine QB’s numbers (4058 in 2011, 4261 in 2010) the sky is truly the limit in the passing game for the exciting RGIII. Everything about his game screams fantasy star. Currently the 12th QB off the board there is a very good chance RGIII finishes more than a few weeks as the number one fantasy QB.
Zach (16): Some experts are saying Griffin III has the potential for Newton-like rookie numbers. I don’t buy that a bit. Griffin has all the talent and athleticism in the world, but Newton is a bulldozer. Newton has the size that Griffin doesn’t. Griffin has straight up speed; he can’t break tackles and isn’t as big of a running threat in the redzone. That, in fact, is why owners will be high on Griffin- his running ability. He is an accurate quarterback and does have a lot of potential, but I wouldn’t want him as my starting fantasy quarterback. There are at least 15 better quarterback options out there.
