Early QB Ranks 2017: 1-5 Breakdown
As the NFL draft is just around the corner, it is time to start thinking about your fantasy football leagues! Here are our Top 20 QB's headed into 2017 season*. Please note that no rookies will be added to the list until we know where they are playing this season.
1. Aaron Rodgers- Rodgers finished the 2017 season as the #1 scorer in all of fantasy football*. While it is impossible to say he will repeat that feat, the one thing we know about Rodgers is that he will be somewhere near the Top 5.
Rodgers is the perfect blend of safety and upside. He runs enough to get you 2 or 3 extra points a week with his legs, and rarely turns the ball over. The offense is perfectly tailored to his skill set, and his weapons are still premium grade. Do not overthink this.
2. Tom Brady- Despite missing the first 4 games of 2016 due to the Deflate Gate scandal, Brady still finished 12th at the position, and averaged 20.8 points per start the remainder of the season.
In PPG(points per game) Brady finished third, just behind Matt Ryan and a full point behind our #1 QB, Aaron Rodgers. The Patriots lose Martellus Bennett, but gain Dwayne Allen and Brandin Cooks. The addition of these weapons, plus the emergence of James White and Dion Lewis, give Brady plenty of weapons to make his case for the #1 QB in fantasy.
3. Drew Brees- Since 2011, Brees has averaged 5,141 yards and 39 TD passes a season. Why are you afraid? Yes he loses Brandin Cooks. But Michael Thomas is another year wiser and Brees has proven that losing his best weapon will not derail his fantasy production.
Brees has one of the highest floors in the the game, as he has thrown for at least 4,388 yards and 32 TD's every year since 2009. The aging QB still gets at least 10 games inside a dome stadium this season.
4. Matt Ryan- The 2016 MVP, Ryan had a career year, throwing for nearly 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. The question is; can Matt Ryan take another step forward? Or can he even repeat his 2016 season?
Perhaps the biggest loss of any QB this off-season came when the San Francisco 49ers hired Ryan's offensive coordinator, Kyle Shannahan to be its head coach. Steve Sarkisian has a great reputation as a play caller, but there is likely a learning curve which could hamper Ryan's production in 2017.
5. Russell Wilson- A surprise to most, but what takes Wilson over the likes of Andrew Luck, Kirk Cousins, and Dak Prescott is a better track record. Wilson has only missed 1 snap in his NFL career to injury and has finished as a Top 10 QB every year.
Wilson should see his rushing stats go up, as he played a majority of the 2016 season with a high ankle sprain and sprained MCL. The weapons are still solid as Doug Baldwin and Jimmy Graham are set to return. Paul Richardson and Tyler Lockett both enjoyed a late season surge.
If the offensive line shows any improvement (they can really only go up) Wilson is back to being a dangerous fantasy asset for the 2017 season.
6. Andrew Luck
7. Kirk Cousins
8. Derek Carr
9. Dak Prescott
10. Matthew Stafford
11. Cam Newton
12. Phillip Rivers
13. Ben Roethlisberger
14. Marcus Mariota
15. Andy Dalton
16. Jaemis Winston
17. Tyrod Taylor
18. Eli Manning
19. Carson Palmer
20. Blake Bortles