Well it’s that time of year again everyone; time for some fantasy football rankings and advice!
Below you will find the Start/Sit rankings for all 32 fantasy football quarterbacks for Week 1 play. I’ll start with the Top 5 “must start” quarterbacks, then the remaining quarterback rankings followed by the Top 5 Sit candidates.
If you have any league specific questions you would like to ask, feel free to leave your question below and I’ll answer them for you.
Good luck, everyone!
TOP 5 STARTS
1. Tom Brady @ Miami: Brady and company open up the week against a suspect Miami secondary that has always had trouble with Brady. The Patriots enter this contest better than the previous years with the addition of OchoCinco, and a crop of tight ends that dominated late last season. Brady should be money all day, above all other quarterbacks
2. Philip Rivers vs. Minnesota: The Vikings weren’t all that bad in coverage in 2010, but struggled heavily against teams that offered multiple offensive threats through the air like San Diego. I just can’t see how Minnesota’s going to account for Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd AND Vincent Jackson while trying their best to get to Rivers.
3. Michael Vick @ St. Louis: Vick is a solid Top five play at St. Louis this week not just because of his three offensive weapons through the air, but also due to the fact that he has supplemental weapons in the backfield on top of his stellar mobility. The Rams are just not equipped to handle every aspect of the Eagles offense for four downs.
4. Aaron Rodgers vs. New Orleans: This game has all the makings of a good old fashion shoot out with two of the league’s top quarterbacks in Rodgers and Brees. Rodgers has more weapons to play with than most quarterbacks even dream of, and the Packers will also open this game with Ryan Grant and James Starks in a time-share, leaving the field wide open for play action heaven. With two solid deep threats, two pass-catching running backs and a slot position that can be manned by anyone, the possibilities are endless.
5. Drew Brees @ Green Bay: Similarly to Green Bay, the Saints have a ton of weapons at their disposal. But what makes Brees’ situation all the more better, is he faces a Green Bay defense that should have some early trouble covering all the receivers in the field. To be honest, Drew Brees has proven that it doesn’t matter who he faces because the guy is money every time he takes the field.
|
Rank |
Player |
Information |
| 6. | Tony Romo – DAL | @ NYJ: Romo will still shine against the Jets’ corners. |
| 7. | Matt Ryan – ATL | @ CHI: Let the White and Jones show begin! |
| 8. | Matt Schaub – HOU | vs. IND: Always does well against the Colts. |
| 9. | Eli Manning – NYG | @WSH: Lots of weapons to play with, love the matchup. |
| 10. | Matthew Stafford – DET | @TB: Too many player to cover, Stafford should excel. |
| 11. | Big Ben – PIT | @BAL: Always a tight game, look for Wallace and Brown to shine. |
| 12. | Ryan Fitzpatrick – BUF | @KC: You could do worse. |
| 13. | Kevin Kolb – ARI | vs. CAR: The Panthers D isn’t that good. |
| 14. | Jay Cutler – CHI | vs. ATL: The Falcons are tough at home, but the Bears are a sneaky pick this week. |
| 15. | Joe Flacco – BAL | vs. PIT: Flacco should be airing it out this week against a suspect Steelers secondary. |
| 16. | Kyle Orton – DEN | @OAK: More focus on the run, less on the pass equals diminutive points. |
| 17. | Josh Freeman – TB | vs. DET: Looked good in preseason but should struggle against Detroit's improved D |
| 18. | Kerry Collins – IND | @HOU: Not enough time when facing a much improved Houston D. |
| 19. | Alex Smith – SF | vs. SEA: A new offense, a new slate against a terrible D. |
| 20. | Sam Bradford – STL | vs. PHI: The Eagles top trio should make things difficult for Bradford. |
| 21. | Rex Grossman – WSH | vs. NYG: Don't underestimate the Giants defensive backups. |
| 22. | Matt Cassel – KC | vs. BUF: May not last the entire game with his fractured rib. |
| 23. | Donovan McNabb – MIN | @ SD: High risk/ Medium reward. |
| 24. | Jason Campbell – OAK | @DEN: Only good for about 18 passes. |
| 25. | Luke McCown - JAX |
vs. TEN: Yup you're reading this correct, Garrard is out in Jacksonville. Hey Seattle, are YOU reading this? |
| 26. | Chad Henne – MIA | vs. NE: Why not? |
The last five remaining quarterbacks (Colt McCoy, Tarvaris Jackson, Andy Dalton, Cam Newton and Mark Sanchez) are not worthy of their week one starts if you own any of the above QBs.
The only player some may argue is Mark Sanchez, but I can’t recommend a historically mediocre quarterback against an underrated Dallas D. Sanchez did VERY little to suggest he is up to speed with his underneath passes and accuracy on the deep ball.
The Jets are expected to run heavily in this contest in an effort to hopefully keep the Cowboys high powered offense off the field, which spells fantasy disaster for a quarterback.
Also, the odd man out of this piece I didn't recognize earlier was Matt Hasselbeck (my apologies). While Jacksonville isn't the greatest defense around, I would call Matt Hasselbeck a WK1 starter either, unless someone actually drafted him as such. If you are one of those folks who curiously did, though, then you have no choice but to start him. I wouldn't place him any higher than 20th tied with Bradford.
It's easier to make the correction and addition here than re-work the entire table, trust me.
Hope this helps, and again, feel free to leave your questions below.
