The first two weeks of preseason football have come and gone giving us a much better idea of where the quarterbacks of the league currently sit. Who is on the rise? Who is dropping down our draft board? Let’s take a look at how performances, injuries and team decisions have impacted our rankings:
- Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers (1)
- Tom Brady – New England Patriots (2)
- Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints (3)
- Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions (4)
- Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers (5)
- Eli Manning – New York Giants (6)
- Michael Vick – Philadelphia Eagles (7)
- Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons (9)
- Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys (8)
- Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers (10)
- Peyton Manning – Denver Broncos (11)
- Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers (12)
- Matt Schaub – Houston Texans (13)
- Robert Griffin III – Washington Redskins (14)
- Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears (15)
- Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens (17)
- Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals (19)
- Carson Palmer – Oakland Raiders (18)
- Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts (20)
- Josh Freeman – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (16)
- Sam Bradford – St. Louis Rams (21)
- Ryan Fitzpatrick – Buffalo Bills (22)
- Christian Ponder – Minnesota Vikings (25)
- Matt Cassel – Kansas City Chiefs (24)
- Alex Smith – San Francisco 49ers (27)
- Matt Flynn – Seattle Seahawks (23)
- Jake Locker – Tennessee Titans (29)
- Mark Sanchez – New York Jets (28)
- Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins (30)
- Brandon Weeden – Cleveland Browns (NR)
Dropped off the rankings – Kevin Kolb
Thoughts:
- Andrew Luck continues to put up impressive numbers, throwing for 363 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT through the first two preseason games. Granted, it is preseason, but he has been completing over 60% of his passes. There are going to be struggles along the way, but as a QB2 he is looking like he has plenty of potential.
- The Jets aren’t showing their entire offense, but the parts they are holding back revolve around Tim Tebow. At this point their passing game has been pathetic, with an offensive line that looks incapable of protecting Mark Sanchez. Yes, there are injuries to the receiving corps, but I wouldn’t be very hopeful that Sanchez can perform to a high level.
- Matt Flynn has struggled this preseason but, according to Danny O’Neil of The Seattle Times (click here for the article) coach Pete Carroll said, “It was really hard on him. We didn’t protect very well. We held a little bit. We got some long-yardage situations. He couldn’t even get started, I didn’t really feel. At this point, it’s really hard to evaluate the quarterback because I need to see all that happened.” They are talking about a competition between Flynn and Russell Wilson (if you want to believe that), so time will tell. However, until the situation sorts itself out we have to bring Flynn down a few spots.
- As expected, Jake Locker and Ryan Tannehill have won their team’s starting quarterback jobs. Since we were already valuing that way, there is no movement in their ranking.
- According to Mike Jurecki (via Twitter), “John Skelton will srt against the Titans, I believe that was the plan all along, both QB’s rotating starts, who starts the Denver game?” It remains to be seen who will actually win the job, but at this point neither Skelton or Kevin Kolb are worth drafting.
- Tony Romo is a good option, but he needs someone to throw the ball to doesn’t he? With Jason Witten, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant all currently banged up, exactly who does he have?! It’s possible they are all healthy for Week 1, but right now that appears doubtful (Bryant appears to be the most likely one to be on the field for opening night). I’m moving him down one spot, temporarily, but I wouldn’t blame you if you kept him up on the rankings. Right now, things are just looking tough in Dallas.
Make sure to check out our 2012 fantasy football rankings:
