With the draft a couple of weeks behind us, and all of the fantasy gurus hard at work on their rankings for the upcoming season I thought I'd give my preliminary thoughts on who I think are the best quarterbacks to have on your fantasy team in 2009.
1) Drew Brees (NO) Despite various injuries to primary targets such as Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, and Reggie Bush Brees threw for a phenomenal 5,067 yards last year to go along with 34 touchdowns. WR Lance Moore had a breakout year as the second receiver with 928 yards and ten scores. Former first round pick Robert Meachem showed improvement and Devery Henderson continued to be the deep threat, averaging over 24 yards per catch. With so few changes in personnel in the offseason, there is no reason Brees can't exceed his TD totals while continuing to pass for a lot of yards. If Colston can stay healthy it's almost a guarantee.
2) Tom Brady (NE) When Brady collapsed to the turf just a few minutes into the first game of the year, it was the "Injury Felt Around The Fantasy World". (I was one of those that felt it.) And while yes, he's coming off of a major injury, he's still got an elite receiving duo in Randy Moss and Wes Welker. He's got a new deep threat in Joey Galloway and nice red zone target in TE Ben Watson. If he stays healthy I believe he can come close to the numbers he put up in 2007.
3) Kurt Warner (Ariz) This ranking will change if the Cardinals decide to trade WR Anquan Boldin. But with Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and slot receiver Steve Breaston, Warner put up huge numbers last year. Of course, the lack of a running game helped boost Warner's stats last year and that area is bound to improve with the coming of rookie RB Chris "Beanie" Wells, but I can still see 30+ touchdowns from the old man.
4) Donovan McNabb (Phil) I'm hoping to get some debate about this choice (agreement would be nice too). The Eagles went out and got some weapons for McNabb in the draft in WR Jeremy Maclin, RB LeSean McCoy, and TE Cornelius Ingram. Add them to the always dangerous Brian Westbrook, up and coming WR DeSean Jackson, reliable vet WR Kevin Curtis, and red zone TD threat TE Bret Celek you have the makings of a high scoring offense. Plus you have to figure McNabb is still fired up about his Week 12 benching against the Ravens last year and all of the talk of him being traded. I think he'll be out to prove to everyone he can still get the job done. I consider him a very viable starter on any fantasy squad.
5) Aaron Rodgers (GB) I for one was pleasantly surprised by how Rodgers performed under intense scrutiny (Thanks to the Bret Favre Retirement Saga)last year. He had his bad moments, but his production was pretty consistent. With 28 touchdowns through the air and 4 more on the ground, Rodgers ended up being a solid starter on many fantasy teams (including mine)last year. Now that he has a solid footing in the offense and a nice tandem in WRs Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, I can see him matching and maybe even exceeding those numbers in 2009.
6) Peyton Manning (Ind) Normally predicted as a Top 3 QB annually, I think he may slide a bit this year. Marvin Harrison is gone and there is no proven No. 3 receiver in Indy. The Colts drafted RB Donald Brown in the first round to pair with Joseph Addai in a more run oriented attack like that of Carolina and others. Manning still has WR Reggie Wayne and TE Dallas Clark so he will continue to be a solid starter, but the days of gargantuan numbers may be in the rear-view mirror.
7) Tony Romo (Dal) Some people feel he is a Top 5 QB this year, but I'm not so convinced. Say what you want about Terrell Owens being a distraction or how many balls he dropped, he was still a huge playmaker that is hard to replace. WR Roy Williams is a legitimate No. 1 receiever and TE Jason Witten is one of the best tight ends in the league. But who are the number two and three WRs? Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin? I'm not convinced they can replace the numbers T.O. has put up over the last three years. I like Romo as a starter, but not quite as high on him as other folks.
8) Matt Ryan (Atl) After quite possibly the most solid rookie season of any quarterback in recent NFL history, my expectations of Matt Ryan are quite high for his sophmore season. He already has a great connection with WR Roddy White and now has a legitimate red zone TD threat in TE Tony Gonzalez. And while RB Michael Turner's 17 touchdowns helped limit Ryan to only 16 passing TDs, I can't see Turner being able to repeat that total. I can see Ryan throwing around ten to twelve more touchdowns than last year.
9) Philip Rivers (SD) Rivers shocked everyone last year by putting up 4,000 passing yards with 34 touchdowns. WR Vincent Jackson finally emerged as a legitimate threat while TE Antonio Gates continued to be a solid go-to guy in the red zone. Add Chris Chambers, Darren Sproles, Malcolm Floyd, and of course LaDainian Tomlinson to the mix. I'm not convinced he can repeat those numbers ... but then I didn't think he'd even come close to them LAST year. So at least for now, I have to say he's a solid starter.
10) Eli Manning (NYG) While Eli had the lowest TD total of his career since his rookie season, that was due in part to the dominant running game of the Giants. With Derrick Ward gone to the Buccaneers, the passing game might just get a boost, especially with the drafting of WRs Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden plus TE Travis Beckham and RB Andre Brown, who was regarded as the best pass catching RB coming out of the draft. WRs Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon return as well as TE Kevin Boss. Eli should be a viable starter or at least a very solid backup.
Of course, things can change between now and August. With rumors of high profile WRs still being on the block, it's always possible that other QBs lose value ... or gain value as the weeks wear on.
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