Fantasy Football: Who to draft at quarterback

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Nov 3, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) drops back to pass against the Indianapolis Colts during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Second Tier

This group can make you look like a genius if you draft correctly in the earlier rounds. Instead of wasting a high draft choice on the aforementioned “core four” you can take a later flyer on one of the guys, and fill the more important needs at running back and wide receiver early in the draft. This group includes:

For the longest time, Drew Brees was one of the more coveted quarterbacks in fantasy football. The loss of Jimmy Graham, and the age of Marques Colston, have all of a sudden changed that ideology. Plus, retaining Mark Ingram and signing C.J. Spiller, leads many to believe that Brees airing it out 40+ times a game is no longer the key to success. Expect a more run oriented New Orleans Saints team in 2015, and a less productive Brees.

Stepping into a more elite conversation in fantasy circles is Ben Roethlisberger. Last season, he fell a tick shy of 5,000 passing yards, and helped propel fantasy’s best running back and wide receiver duo, in Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. He looks great in Todd Haley’s offense, and the pieces are there for a repeat performance.

Now you start getting into the Rivers, Manning, Newton, Romo, and Ryan territory. All five are solid starters, but will put up less consistent numbers than the aforementioned. Expect Manning in his second year in Ben McAdoo’s offense to be a bit more comfortable, and be the standout in this group.

With the addition of Shane Vereen, James Jones, and a healthy Victor Cruz, to go along with Odell Beckham Jr., you can expect a lot out of the New York Giants offense. Manning came off a career year in 2014, where he threw 30 touchdowns to just 14 interceptions, without Cruz for most of the season and Beckham Jr. for only 12 games. He’s is a real sleeper this season; keep a keen eye out for him.

While I see Manning as a big-time sleeper, the same could be said for Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill, over every year of his career, has improved his game and has really started to feel comfortable in Joe Philbin’s offense. He could very well be better than the likes of Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Philip Rivers and others by the end of his fourth season (fantasy wise).

What to do with Tom Brady? Well, he’ll most likely fall late in many drafts because of his four-game suspension, and the mirky future that holds. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a late-round flyer on him, but even last season Brady had a poor start to the year that made many wonder how valuable he was in fantasy circles anymore. If he wasn’t suspended, I’m sure you’d see him mixed right in the middle of this pack, but right now he looks very much like one of the last picks in many leagues to stash away.

Like I said before, instead of drafting a Luck or Rodgers early in the draft, another strategy could be to select someone in this tier. This would allow you to draft a more elite skill position player with your second, third, and fourth round picks.

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