Written by: Matthew Blunk
1) Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
The best player in the game still has a ridiculous group of receivers to make sweet music with.
2) Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady proved he still had his postseason mojo last season, and will always produce big-time numbers until the day he retires.
3) Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Lengthy holdouts and suspended coaches be damned, Brees is going to carve up secondaries with the best of them in 2012.
4) Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
This
is somewhat of a do-or-die season for Vick and the Andy Reid regime,
but the weapons are there and Reid has an obsession with pass plays.
5) Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
The follow-up to an electric rookie season could be the birth of a fantasy football legend.
6) Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Romo has always been a great performer in the regular season, which makes him a perennial top-line fantasy QB.
7) Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
Once the darling of both the
NFL and fantasy football, Manning makes his return after a year off from
neck surgery - and questions still linger.
8) Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
The young Lions signal-caller managed to stay healthy for 16 games and it led to 41 touchdown passes.
9) Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
The stubborn
insistence of the Rooneys on running the football (when Rashard
Mendenhall is on the shelf) is baffling, considering the elite passing
attack headed by Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace.
10) Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Rivers is due for a bounce-back year after an uncharacteristically-abysmal 2011, especially if Norv Turner's job is on the line.
11) Matt Schaub, Houston Texans
Schaub will be motivated to step his game up even further after helping
the Texans to their first division title in franchise history in 2011.
12) Eli Manning, New York Giants
The newly-two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback is coming off his finest regular season as a pro
13) Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
An
unceremonious thumb injury brought an early end to Cutler's terrific
2011 campaign, which should only motivate him to finish 2012 stronger.
14) Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Another candidate for a
bounce-back, Freeman has much more help (Vincent Jackson, Doug Martin,
and Dallas Clark) around him than he did a season ago.
15) Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
Flacco took a huge step in the playoffs last year, and one can only hope that progress translates to this season.
16) Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills
Bills coach Chan Gailey is an aggressive play-caller and Fitzpatrick is still a great fit in his system.
17) Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
"Matty Ice" has yet to approach the upper echelon of quarterbacks, fantasy or reality.
18) Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals
Dalton had a memorable rookie
campaign, teaming with playmaker A. J. Green to form a go-to fantasy
duo that could be around for a while.
19) Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
Griffin 3.0 is just the kind of athletic passer that could come into D.
C. and change the Redskins' fortunes, as Cam Newton did in Carolina last
year.
20) Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders
The un-retirement of the
former Bengals QB has yet to pan out for the Raiders, but Palmer throws a
good deep ball and Oakland has plenty of speedy wideouts.
21) Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers
The former no. 1 overall pick won't ever be a no. 1 pick in fantasy
drafts, but he could be more valuable than ever this season, with the
additions of Randy Moss and Mario Manningham to the 49ers.
22) Matt Flynn or Tarvaris Jackson, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks
actually have some talent at their skill positions, so much so that
either Flynn or Jackson could become dependable QB2s.
23) Matt Moore, Miami Dolphins
Moore was a big part of the transformation of the Dolphins last season,
from completely awful to kinda tough to beat; should Miami prematurely
force rookie Ryan Tannehill into action, this ranking will be moot.
24) Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Luck may be a rookie, but he's an
astronomically-touted rookie, and he has Reggie Wayne and college
teammate Coby Fleener as his main targets.
25) Matt Hasselbeck or Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans
A healthy Kenny Britt could be the central focus here; Locker would be
the ideal winner of the camp battle, as he has a much higher ceiling
than the limited veteran Hasselbeck.
26) Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs
Cassel was a decent fantasy QB two years ago, but 2011 was a lost year
for him as he battled injuries (to himself and those around him) and
inconsistency.
27) Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
"The Sanchize"
has never been a valuable fantasy player and 2012 will be a
pressure-filled year with Tim Tebow now breathing down his neck; could
it bring out Sanchez's best, or worst?
28) Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings
The second-year reach quarterback out of Florida State has one season of pro
football under his belt now, though the Vikings still lack the pieces
around him to make him draftable.
29) Tim Tebow, New York Jets
Some speculate that Tebow will
eventually supplant Mark Sanchez as the starter in New York, but
regardless, Tebow will get some playing time and could be a factor in
red zone situations.
30) Kevin Kolb or John Skelton, Arizona Cardinals
OK, so the
Cardinals' quarterback situation is pretty depressing, but they have
Larry Fitzgerald and just added Michael Floyd in the draft.
31) Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
The last of the ridiculously over-the-top rookie contracts, Bradford has
to really show something this season, or the Rams would be wise to move
on.
32) Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns
Colt McCoy's uncle heir apparent is old enough to be a QB in his prime, but the
reality is that he is still a rookie in an offense without much talent.
33) Blaine Gabbert or Chad Henne, Jacksonville Jaguars
It doesn't
much matter who comes out on top in the Jacksonville QB derby, for the
Jaguars boast very little talent at wide receiver (especially if rookie
savior Justin Blackmon turns out to be a bonehead).
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