Early Consensus Rankings: Quarterbacks

The end of the 2013 NFL regular season means the beginning of the dynasty fantasy football season. The off-season affects all active rosters in some way, from new free agent signings, to the rookies of the 2014 NFL draft. With the off-season in full swing we at DLF have taken time to overhaul the rankings system in order to better serve our wonderful followers of DLF.

The consensus top 20 quarterbacks were developed from the most recent rankings of eight of our DLF writers. These rankings reflect the way we see things heading into the 2014 season. It is never too early to get a start on 2014 so without further ado, I give you the DLF consensus top 20 quarterbacks.

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1)     Aaron Rodgers – Rodgers will be 30 heading into the 2014 season. With weapons around him like Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Eddie Lacy, it is easy to see why Rodgers is the top overall quarterback in the dynasty ranks.

2)     Andrew Luck – The 24 year old Stanford grad continues to build a legacy in Indianapolis. With back-to-back top ten finishes in fantasy football and plenty of young talent surrounding him, look for Luck to improve his production and become a staple in the top five among fantasy quarterbacks.

3)     Cam Newton – The former first overall pick finished outside of the top five for the first time in his career in 2013. Newton continues to mature and the team is posting more wins because of it. Newton was the top rushing quarterback with 587 rushing yards and added six rushing touchdowns. His ceiling is limited by the amount of offensive weapons in the Carolina aerial attack.

4)     Matt Stafford – Stafford was more efficient in 2013 and he finished in the top five among quarterbacks. He has been in the league for five years and will be 26 entering next season. Stafford could improve in some areas as a quarterback, but he also has some elite talent around him, namely Calvin Johnson.

5)     Drew Brees – In eight seasons in New Orleans, Brees has only finished outside of the top five on one occasion and has three finishes as the first or second fantasy quarterback. At age 35 Brees does not seem to be slowing down and with plenty of offensive weapons around him he will continue his run of top five finishes for many more years.

6)     Russell Wilson – Wilson had a great sophomore campaign finishing in the top ten among fantasy quarterbacks. Wilson is 25 and is in a great system for a young quarterback to grow and develop. The addition of Percy Harvin in 2014 should help his stock as a passer. Wilson finished as the third quarterback in rushing yards with 539 yards.

7)     Matt Ryan – Ryan finished in the top ten in 2013 without his top target, Julio Jones, for much of the season. Roddy White also had a slow start due to a high ankle sprain. Ryan has four consecutive 4,000+ yard seasons with 25+ touchdowns. At age 29 heading into 2014, Ryan has the ability and the weapons to be a top five quarterback.

8)     Nick Foles  – Extrapolating is fun. Foles would have finished third among quarterbacks over the course of the 2013 season if he had played in all 16 games. He is an intriguing quarterback playing in a new offensive system. Giving teams an offseason to prepare for the Chip Kelly offense may limit his production moving forward, but fantasy owners cannot deny the potential for Foles in this quick striking offense.

9)     Peyton Manning – Manning had a historically dominating 2013 season breaking records for passing yards and touchdowns. Manning could play into well into his forties and be productive with the weapons in Denver. The 2013 season showed us that he is showing no signs of slowing down.  Manning makes it to number nine on the list because he could retire as early as this season.

10)  Colin Kaepernick – Kaepernick was able to finish as a low end QB1 in 2013 and did it without Michael Crabtree. He is only 26 years old and continues to grow as a quarterback. With Kaepernick’s surrounding talent returning in 2014 expect a better season out of the young quarterback if everyone is healthy.

11)  Robert Griffin III – After a great rookie campaign Griffin III suffered a sophomore slump behind a putrid offensive line and a defense that gave up close to 30 points a game. He struggled coming off of knee surgery and did not look like a dual threat quarterback. The Redskins new Head Coach, Jay Gruden, made Andy Dalton a top five fantasy quarterback in 2013. It will be interesting to see what the 24 year old quarterback can do in 2014 in a new offense.

12)  Ryan Tannehill – Tannehill will be 26 heading into the 2014 season and is coming off of his best statistical season. After finishing his rookie season as the 25^th ranked fantasy quarterback, Tannehill finished 14^th (less than five fantasy points out of QB1 position). If Tannehill can get some consistency on the offensive line he could be a top ten quarterback in 2014.

13)  Tom Brady – The lack of consistent offensive weapons hurt Brady’s value as a passer in 2013. He needs Aaron Dobson to mature and Rob Gronkowski to get healthy. Julian Edelman was a nice surprise, but the rest of the offense looked out of synch for much of 2013 including Danny Amendola. The 37 year old Brady is an elite talent but needs help from his offensive weapons to be a top five quarterback.

14)  Tony Romo – Romo heads into the offseason recovering from back surgery. The 34 year old Romo said he felt immediate relief from the surgery and he should be ready for the preseason. Romo has many weapons including Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, and Terrance Williams. Miles Austin is also a solid target but he may be a roster casualty when the 2014 NFL league season begins. Romo can put up big fantasy points, but how much longer will the Cowboys stick with him?

15)  Andy Dalton – Seems like a relatively low rank for Dalton after finishing the season as a top five fantasy quarterback. His inconsistent play and the departure of Jay Gruden have fantasy owners feeling hesitant about his value moving forward. The Bengals offense will be a juggernaut again in 2014 with the emergence of Marvin Jones, elite play from AJ Green, and young playmakers in Giovani Bernard and Tyler Eifert. Dalton will be 26 and has plenty of weapons and his low rank may make him a value draft pick or trade target heading into 2014.

16)  Jay Cutler – In Trestman we trust. Between Cutler and McCown 4,400+ passing yards, 32 touchdowns in addition 362.1 fantasy points. That would have been third among all quarterbacks in fantasy points (even ahead of Nick Foles extrapolated). Cutler will be 31, and has only played one 16 game season since landing in Chicago. He is a gamble to play a full season, but with the Monsters of the Midway (Marshall, Jeffery, Bennett) the potential is there for big production under Trestman.

17)  Philip Rivers – Mike McCoy reinvented Philip Rivers and the Chargers and made them a playoff team in 2013. The emergence of Keenan Allen and Ladarius Green help the future value of Rivers. The 32 year old Rivers can build on his “Comeback Player of the Year” honors and potentially finish as a top five quarterback once again in 2014.

18)  Ben Roethlisberger – Roethlisberger played in all 16 games for the first time in five years and had his second best fantasy season to date finishing as a top ten quarterback. The 32 year old Roethlisberger has some great offensive weapons around him including Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Emmanuel Sanders may be hitting free agency, but that opens the door for second year wide receiver Markus Wheaton to add to Roethlisberger’s aerial attack.

19)  EJ Manuel – After an injury riddled rookie campaign, Manuel enter his second season with some very talented offensive weapons around him. The 24 year old Manuel has veteran Stevie Johnson and CJ Spiller coupled with young wide receivers Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin. The future looks bright on the offensive side of the ball for Manuel and the Buffalo Bills.

20)  Sam Bradford – Bradford was on pace to finish as a QB1 for the first time in his NFL career. The addition of Tavon Austin and Jared Cook added much needed offensive weapons in St. Louis. Zac Stacy adds balance to an offense that struggled in the NFC West. Bradford could be a QB1 in 2014, but strong defenses in the NFC West will keep Bradford’s stats in check for six games a year.

The consensus top 20 did not go without other players being named that did not make the cut. In the order that they missed the cut but were nominated by one of our writers (age in parentheses):

Eli Manning (33) – Manning had his worst statistical season to date in 2013. I expect him to bounce back in 2014, but I will still have a hard time drafting him due to his inconsistent play.

Alex Smith (30) – Smith had a great statistical season in Kansas City and could have many more with an offensive minded coach like Andy Reid.

Ryan Mallett (26) – With Tom Brady as a mentor, Ryan Mallett continues to develop with great coaching in New England.

Joe Flacco (29) – After getting paid last offseason, Flacco struggled in 2013 behind an inconsistent offensive line. Hopefully we see a better Flacco in 2014.

Brock Osweiler (23) – Like Mallett, Osweiler has a great mentor in Peyton Manning. He has plenty of young offensive weapons around him when he becomes the signal caller in Denver.

Did we leave someone off the list that you think should be on there? Let us know in the comments