1 Drew Brees
NO (BYE: 10)
Ever since Drew Brees landed in New Orleans, his numbers
have been absolutely cartoonish. He’s
been remarkably consistent posting four straight years of 500+ attempts and
4300 + passing yards while averaging 30 TDs per year. Sean Payton rolls out one of the most potent offenses in the NFL
and Brees has responded brilliantly cumulating with last year’s Super Bowl
title. There’s no indication of a
titanic change, so he remains a top fantasy option in 2010.
2 Aaron
Rodgers GB (BYE: 10)
Last year, we had some confidence ranking Rodgers as the
number 4 overall QB,“You may not get your hands on one of the big names, but
Rodgers has the ability to perform as a top 3 QB.” Now we are wondering if he should be number 1, and if you decide
to draft Rodgers over Brees, we wouldn’t blame you one bit. He was extremely efficient in ’09, throwing
30 TDs and only 7 INTs. Toss in 5
rushing TDs, and you have an elite option.
Eventually, the rushing TDs will lessen, but that could easily be made
up in the passing yardage – select him among the top-3 QBs.
3 Peyton
Manning IND (BYE: 7)
Peyton Manning’s 2009 campaign was his best since 2004 when
he threw for 49 TDs and 4557 yards.
Last year he notched 4500 passing yards, the 10th time he’s
reached 4000+ yards in his 12-year career, while connecting on 33 TDs. He has a vast and deep receiving corps along
with the durability of Kevlar, which is exactly what you want if you are going
to draft a QB early.
4 Tom Brady
NE (BYE: 5)
Can you really call a season that produced 4398 passing
yards and 29 total touchdowns a disappointment? Some owners were unrealistically looking for a repeat of his
50-TD season, but we were hoping for 30 and he nearly delivered. Wes Welker’s injury caused a little bit of
concern, but he appears far ahead of schedule and is targeting opening
day. That’s an extremely encouraging
sign because, if his receivers can stay on the field, it should be all systems
go in 2010.
5 Matt Schaub
HOU (BYE: 7)
Finally! Finally Matt Schaub stayed healthy and posted those
gaudy numbers we were all waiting for.
Houston would like to run the ball more, but the offense still relies on
the Schaub-Johnson combination. The
song remains the same for Schaub – if he stays on the field, expect those same
spectacular numbers.
6 Tony Romo
DAL (BYE: 4)
Romo’s 2009 season produced career-highs in passing yardage
(4483) and passing attempts (550) along with career-lows with 9 INTs and 6
fumbles. Unfortunately, he was sacked
34 times, the most in his career, but the Cowboys shook up the line replacing
Flozell Adams with Doug Free. They also
added Dez Bryant to an already dangerous Miles Austin, so the ingredients are
there for another solid campaign.
7 Philip
Rivers SD (BYE: 10)
Rivers has been consistent over the past 2 years, averaging
31 TDs and 482 attempts while cracking the 400-passing yard mark twice. After two seasons of a floundering run
attack, San Diego spent their first round pick on Ryan Mathews in an attempt to
balance out the offense, so Rivers maybe called upon to throw less if the
rookie can hit the ground running.
Also, he may not have his best receiver since Vincent Jackson and the
club are in an ugly contract stalemate.
Even if San Diego follows through on implementing a more balanced
approach, Rivers should be fine as long as he maintains the 65+% completion
percentage.
8 Brett Favre
MIN (BYE: 4)
After doing his best to avoid as much of training camp as
possible, Favre is back practicing with the Vikings. Favre became rejuvenated and posted one of his best seasons
throwing 33 touchdowns and a career-low 7 interceptions. His increased accuracy was the biggest
surprise, but it’s certainly possible that he’s found new life under Brad
Childress. However, it’s equally possible
that he reverts back to the guy who threw 88 TDs and 84 INTs over the previous
4 years. He’ll likely land somewhere in
the middle which makes him draft-worthy if you decide to wait and take a QB in
the middle rounds.
9 Jay Cutler
CHI (BYE: 8)
Many owners rode Mike Martz’s high-flying offensive schemes
to past championships, and they’re looking for a repeat performance in
Chicago. The situation has to be
better, but it’s unclear by how much.
Cutler has always been a gunslinger, but the 26 interceptions last year
are completely unacceptable.
Unfortunately, he’s still behind a porous offensive line and Martz’s
system isn’t necessarily contusive to avoiding picks, so he faces a similar
challenge this year. On the bright
side, Cutler has the arm needed to excel in a pass-happy offense, and if
everything starts to click, he’ll justify the top-10 ranking.
10 Joe Flacco
BAL (BYE: 8)
Flacco displayed across the board improvement during his
second full season. Virtually every category saw an increase, while he kept the
interception total at 12 despite 71 more pass attempts. The Ravens boast one of the best offensive
lines in the NFL and they added some receiving talent in Anquan Boldin, so
there’s even more reason to think that he can take another leap forward this
season.
