2015 NFL Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings & Discussion

    

In a league where everything is set up to benefit the offense, you would think that QB would be the most important position. You would be correct when talking about the NFL, not so much in Fantasy Football. A lot of guys put up very similar stats on a week to week basis so there's only a few guys who deserve that first or second round pick.

Once you get past them it levels off a little bit. It's key to fill your position players before grabbing a QB right away. You can win your league without owning Andrew Luck or Aaron Rodgers, but having them will help. If you have one of them it will definitely help though. I sat down with our crew here at Fantasy JoneZ to discuss the QB field and ask what they thought about the upcoming season for the players behind center.

Alex	Mike	Mason	JoneZ Average
1. Andrew Luck	1. Aaron Rodgers	1. Andrew Luck	1. Andrew Luck
2. Aaron Rodgers	2. Andrew Luck	2. Aaron Rodgers	2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Peyton Manning	3. Peyton Manning	3. Russell Wilson	3. Peyton Manning
4. Russell Wilson	4. Ben Roethlisberger	4. Peyton Manning	4. Russell Wilson
5. Matt Ryan	5. Russell Wilson	5. Tony Romo	5. Ben Roethlisberger
6. Cam Newton	6. Drew Brees	6. Ben Roethlisberger	6. Tony Romo
7. Ben Roethlisberger	7. Matt Ryan	7. Matthew Stafford	7. Cam Newton
8. Tony Romo	8. Tony Romo	8. Tom Brady	8. Matt Ryan
9. Phillip Rivers	9. Cam Newton	9. Cam Newton	9. Matthew Stafford
10. Ryan Tannehill	10. Matthew Stafford	10. Ryan Tannehill	10. Phillip Rivers
11. Drew Brees	11. Tom Brady	11. Phillip Rivers	11. Ryan Tannehill
12. Matthew Stafford	12. Phillip Rivers	12. Matt Ryan	12. Drew Brees
13. Eli Manning	13. Ryan Tannehill	13. Nick Foles	13. Tom Brady
14. Carson Palmer	14. Joe Flacco	14. Jameis Winston	14. Eli Manning
15. Tom Brady	15. Eli Manning	15. Eli Manning	15. Joe Flacco

I want to thank you guys for joining me today. We're going to be discussing the quarterback position. I have all three of your top 15 QB's in front of me. It looks like you all have Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers on the top of your boards.

Mason - I like Luck over Rodgers. He threw 40 TD's last year, over 4,000 yards, and his offense has gotten better.

Mike D - Aaron Rodgers is the best player on the planet. You can say the same thing about his offense as you can about Luck's.

Alex - I like Luck as well. The fact that they added Frank Gore and Andre Johnson pushes him to #1.

A big question this year is Peyton Manning. Is this the year that he finally falls off?

Mike - I've got a bad feeling about that. The last game I saw him play his arm looked very, very weak. He missed more throws than I've ever seen him miss in one game.

Mason - He was throwing the ball on a torn quad.

Mike - His body is starting to break down.

Mason - He took that hit in week 12 and made it all the way through the season. If Jimmy Graham didn't go to Seattle I would've had him top 3.

Mike - If he can stay healthy I can see him absolutely rip it.

Something I noticed on all of your lists was the fall of Drew Brees. He's been one of, if not the most consistent QB of the last 5 years. What do you feel has changed?

Alex - Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills are both gone. They traded Graham for Max Unger at Center. Beefing up that offensive line, it just looks to me as if they're going to be running the ball a lot more and he doesn't have the weapons he had.

Mason - His number one receiver is Brandin Cooks. What is he, 5'2? Maybe I shouldn't have him as low as I do, but I'm not taking that risk on him this year. His name alone will have him drafted higher than I'm willing to pay so I'll avoid it all together. Unless he falls to the deeper rounds of course.

Mike - I still like him. He's been the most consistent over the past 3 years and Sean Payton is the best offensive mind in football. The running game will have them in the red zone a lot and he thrives there. He's still in my Top 6.

Mason, you have Russell Wilson in your Top 3 this year. Why do you think he makes that jump into the elite class of QB's?

Mason - First thing, it's a contract year. Second, what has he really lost? He still has a top RB behind him, they added Jimmy Graham, and he can mess around and get you 100 yards rushing the ball. He's the only true dual threat in the league. He gets those dirty points that nobody really thinks about. It's not a sexy thing for a QB to get but at the end of the day he'll average 25-30 points a week. Don't forget he gets 6 points for rushing TD's, and you only get 4 points for passing TD's in standard leagues.

Mike, you both have Ben Roethlisberger ahead of Wilson?

Mike - Yes. With them missing Le'Veon Bell for the first three weeks I think they're gonna have to take to the air a lot more. Even when he gets back that won't change much. That kids the best back out of the backfield. I think Ben comes out of the gate as the top QB for the first few weeks. I think he's one of the safest picks this year.

Mason - Let’s talk about Matt Ryan. Who has this guy in your top seven?

Mike - I actually have him right at seven.

Alex - I have him at five. Their defense was so garbage last year. He's got the biggest question mark in my top 5, but I think he's going to have to put up big numbers. He has to come from behind all the time. Although, the D coordinator they got from Seattle may turn them around.

Who do you guys think will make the biggest jump at QB this year?

ALL - Ryan Tannehill.

Alex - He got Kenny Stills from New Orleans, they get DeVante Parker in the first round of the draft, Jordan Cameron from Cleveland, and their defense will be better too. I actually think they as a team will be contending to win their division.

Closing thoughts?

Mike - There's somebody we have to talk about. What do you guys think of Tom Brady? He's currently facing that four game suspension.

Mason - I've never really been on the Tom Brady bandwagon. Other than that Randy Moss year. I'm just not big on Belichick players for FFB. You never know what the game plan would be. They may come out and run the ball all game or spread it out five wide. It's always a guessing game.

Alex - When he gets back from suspension though. That defense has been decimated. He may have to throw the ball a lot. We could be seeing a lot of shootouts with New England. I have him right at 15 because of the suspension.