We are finally back to football after last night's NFL action (albeit preseason) and we are celebrating by rolling out the first installment of our 2011 Fantasy Football rankings. In our first position ratings, we are naturally taking a look at quarterbacks.
While the position is often referred to as the most important position in football, it may just be the most important in fantasy football as well. Running backs and wide receivers will still rule the early rounds, but it's important to get a good QB early (we recommend making sure to get a guy in the first tier).
Without further ado, our 2011 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings:
Tier 1
1. Michael Vick
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Phillip Rivers
5. Tom Brady
6. Peyton Manning
7. Tony Romo
Tier 2
8. Matt Schaub
9. Matt Ryan
10. Ben Roethlisberger
11. Eli Manning
12. Joe Flacco
Tier 3
13. Matt Stafford
14. Josh Freeman
15. Sam Bradford
16. Jay Cutler
17. Kevin Kolb
18. Kyle Orton
19. Ryan Fitzpatrick
20. Donovan McNabb
21. Mark Sanchez
22. Matt Cassell
Tier 4
23. Colt McCoy
24. Cam Newton
As you see, we've broken the quarterbacks into convenient tiers. As we mentioned above, if you see some of the top quarterbacks flying off the board early, make sure to get one of the top seven (Romo is a controversial pick for the top tier that some might not feel comfortable with, so in that case, grab one of the top six).
Fantasy Football players are just starting to truly realize the importance of a consistent, reliable quarterback. Get one early and don't worry about it for the rest of the year.
After that, Tier 2 is mostly dependable starters who we feel will maintain their current production with no dropoff. There is a little more potential in Tier 3, along with a few players who we do, in fact, think have a dropoff coming (Josh Freeman, namely).
Finally, our last tier is just two deep: McCoy and Newton. If you're drafting a quarterback this late into the talent pool, go for the boom or bust guys who could break out rather than the consistently mediocre options such as Matt Hasselbeck or David Garrard.
Now that you have your signal-caller picked out, we'll continue with our series of 2011 Fantasy Football Rankings to help you fill out the rest of your fictional squad. Next up: Running backs.
