Hello all. We are less 10 weeks away from the 2015 NFL Season and I couldn’t be more excited. Here is a list of my Qb rankings for the upcoming season. I will go more in depth in some cases than others and I use the traditional system of 1 pt per 25 yards passing, 4 pts per touchdown, -2 pts per interception, 1 pt per 10 yards rushing, 6 pts per rushing touchdown, and -2 pts per fumble.

1. Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts)- I drafted Andrew Luck last year in the 5th round in a league that gives bonuses for 300 yard games. 40 td’s, 10 300 yard games, and a #1 Fantasy Qb ranking later… Luck has arrived. Last year Luck threw A LOT mainly due to lack of running game. In comes Frank Gore and Andre Johnson, which should only help Luck. I think he reduces his interceptions quite a bit and still finishes on top this year. The only tricky thing is where to draft him? Most mock drafts point to him going in the 2nd Round. If you want him, get him. I wouldn’t argue with anybody that drafted Luck with the first pick of the 2nd round. Solidifying fantasy’s top scoring position is one less thing you have to worry about. But keep in mind in Player Value Rankings(PVR)-type rankings they don’t give as much value to Qb’s and they’ll say getting Russell Wilson in Round 3 is a much better deal and I’ll discuss later.

2. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers)- Rodgers finished #1 in standard ESPN scoring averaging 21.4 points per game to Luck’s 21.0. He’s got all the weapons back in Lacy, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, D. Adams, etc.  I gave Luck the slight edge due to the fact I think he has room to grow. Rodgers is at his peak and cruising. Another factor is Week 15 and 16 Rodgers faces @ Oakland and then @Arizona. I think Oakland’s defense is under appreciated and the Cardinals had the 4th best passing defense last season. Still, if Rodgers is on your team, you don’t have to worry about the Qb position.

3. Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)- Wilson didn’t have a single game last season where he threw for more than 2 touchdowns. Yet he still had 3 games with over 30 points. He’s got the wheels. 6 rushing touchdowns and 3-100 yard rushing games. Bring in Jimmy Graham and that can only help. It’s tough to think of all the wideouts and Jimmy going long, Wilson moving in the pocket, Lynch rolling out on for a screen pass. Who do you defend? Plus he could be a value as he is being drafted towards the end of the 3rd round right now.

***Drop Off***

4. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons)- I hate Matt Ryan. To me he’s a little weanie… sitting back in the pocket ready to be pushed over with a faint breeze of a blitzing linebacker, but alas he had a great year last year and this year he looks to keep it going. Kyle Shanahan is going to make Ryan to Julio sound sickening to Saints fans by seasons end. If you’re a PVR enthusiast getting Matt Ryan in Round 7 and Julio in Round 2 sounds a lot better than Luck in Round 2 and Andre Johnson in Round 6. Definitely something to think about.

5. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)- He’s short, he’s older, and they are focused on the run this year. How could he possibly finish as a Top 5 Fantasy Qb? Brees has always done better when he’s had the run to set up the pass. Last couple of seasons he was so obsessed with finding Jimmy Graham that he lost that distribution that made him so effective in the past. This season with an improved rushing attack and Jimmy gone, Brees can spread the ball between Spiller, Cooks, Hill, Colston, and some young wideouts with a lot of potential. Brees is currently getting drafted in the 4th Round.

6. Teddy Bridgewater (Minnesota Vikings)- Say what now? His average draft position is 126.1 right now. Adrian Peterson is going to solidify the rushing attack. C. Patterson will have a much better season this year and Charles Johnson will take the DeSean Jackson role and make some huge plays. Bridgewater can make plays with his feet too. Last season the coaches held him back a little bit, but this season if playoffs are within grasp they are going to open the gates and let Bridgewater fly.

7. Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins)- It’s time. Tannehill has steadily improved each of his last three seasons. Compared to 2013, last season he completed 6% more passes (66.4 vs. 60.4), threw for 132 more yards, 3 more touchdowns, and 5 less interceptions. It’s this progression that makes him a Top 10 Fantasy Qb that you can draft in later rounds. Imagine if you are able to draft Bridgewater and Tannehill in later rounds and use your 2nd or 3rd round picks to rack up on the quality Wideouts that are available.

8. Eli Manning (New York Giants)- ODB. Eli was on a tear at the end of last season and you could tell he became more and more comfortable in Ben McAdoo’s system. Sprinkle in Victor Cruz coming back and Shane Vereen catching balls out of the backfield and Eli is poised to have a Top 10 Fantasy Season.

9. Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos)- Yes he has a new coach, yes he lost Julius Thomas, and yes his offensive line woes are extremely terrifying. With that being said, last season Peyton was playing great until he got injured, lost faith in his offensive line, and played scared over the last 5 games of the season. He still finished 4th amongst Fantasy Qb’s. He still has Demaryius and Kubiak will find the running backs room to catch balls out of the backfield, so he can still get the job done at age 39.

10. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)- Last season he finished 5th amongst fantasy Qb’s and has all the same weapons returning. So why the drop off? Well he had 11 weeks under 20 fantasy points last season, but what drove up his stats were two weeks in the middle of the season when he had back to back games with 6 touchdown passes. In most leagues his owners didn’t start him.  And even if they started him in the first game he surely wasn’t going to do that the following week against the Ravens… yeah. Most Big Ben owners didn’t get rewarded for those two huge games and I’d choose others before settling for him this season.

11. Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers)- Cam Newton had a weird season last season. Rib injuries and his SUV flipping on a bridge… so he played conservatively and let his defense carry the team. He should be healthy this season and will be looking Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olsen’s way quite often. Sprinkling in youngster Devin Funchess should only help and he finished 15th last season.

12. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys)- If they are able to get the running game going and keep the pressure off of Romo then he’ll turn out his average season (3700 yards and 27 td’s), but if they can’t duplicate what they did last season sans Demarco Murray then Romo will struggle to stay healthy and back injuries/concerns are quite worrisome in this sport.

13. Colin Kaepernick (San Fransisco 49ers)- My thought here is that he can only get better. Last season was a rough one, but he still was a Top 20 Fantasy Qb and did okay averaging 14.6 points per game. I think the addition of Reggie Bush and Torrey Smith and a defense that will struggle, Kaepernick will be slinging it and running it late in ball games, which is good for fantasy.

14. Matt Stafford (Detroit Lions)- He’s just so inconsistent. He also struggled in 5 of his 6 divisional games with his best game coming against Chicago where he scored 21 points.

15. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens)- He’ll win you some games, but with 5 games with 10 or less points, he’s going to lose you some too.

16. Carson Palmer (Arizona Cardinals)- When healthy he was good for 250 yards and 2 td’s like clockwork. Expect more of the same this season. Averaging 15-18 points could get him in the Top 10.

17. Tom Brady (New England Patriots)- He finished 8th last season and he pretty much missed the first four weeks of the season any way because the Pats sucked to start the year. This is probably too low of a ranking, but even when he comes back from suspension, averaging 17 points per game will barely be top 10.

18. Eagles Starter (Philadelphia Eagles)- Whoever the Eagles start will get similar stats. 12-15 points per game.

19. Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay Bucs)- Don’t expect the Luck and RGIII emergence of a few years ago. I’m thinking Winston will have more of a Teddy Bridgewater type of rookie season.

20. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers)- He had a really good year last year, but man some of those games were UGLY. Missing Antonio Gates for 4 games doesn’t help.

21. Derek Carr (Oakland Raiders)- I’m very intrigued by this Raiders team. He averaged 11 points per game as a rookie and I think he got better and the Raiders got better in the offseason. Intrigued.

22. Geno Smith (New York Jets)- In Week 17 last season he showed poise, accuracy, a big arm, and found Eric Decker for both of their best performances of the season. Geno might be worth a flier as a backup or QB2 just to see what happens. New Head coach, new Red Zone threat in Brandon Marshall… this might just be crazy enough to work!

23. Everyone else- Not relevant.

Hope you enjoyed and I’ll be posting my Running Backs Rankings next week!