2014 Rankings Retrospective: Quarterbacks

As I touched on in the Way-Too-Early 2015 Rankings, we’ll be using Razzball’s 2014 Rankings as context to sorta-kinda make sense of where the value has gone, who surpassed expectations, and who didn’t. It should be an interesting exercise, if only to talk about something football related until the preseason starts taking shape, which should be in about 18 years, or what it seems like. Good news is, I guess it’s legal? Today we’ll be going over Quarterbacks and how the landscape has changed. True, 95% of that landscape is Peyton Manning’s forehead, but there are some interesting things going on with the other 5%.

I don’t really have a set uniform way of organizing my commentary, so we’ll just do it in chunks. Just like how I eat ice cream…

Not much has changed here, sans Cam Newton‘s disappearance and Tom Brady finding himself as one of the top quarterbacks in fantasy football… again. I remember making the argument that Newton had always been a top-five producer at the position, mainly because of his legs, and that he could find someway to will himself there again, despite having an entirely new receiving corps. Of course, all of that was predicated on a healthy season, and while he missed just two games, I don’t think I saw a time when he wasn’t visibly ailing from something.

Andrew Luck‘s top-five status last season received some flak, but if you owned him, and his Hodor-like face, your fantasy team most likely made the playoffs. I have no trouble ranking him this high, but if you want to argue that Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning are somewhat interchangeable, I probably wouldn’t put up much of a fight. With this group, it seems more of a personal preference thing. The picture will get a bit clearer as we move closer to the season, at least in terms of Peyton Manning and his future with the Broncos, retirement, or the Jets. Haha, just kidding. But whatever happens, it will most likely affect the top-five in certain but mysterious ways. Much like my lovemaking.

I pushed the next five to the next seven, seeing as how the standard size of leagues is 12. At first thought, it’s interesting to see Matt Ryan exactly where I left him from a season ago. He seems consistent at this point (I was always a believer that 2013 was just an anomaly), but still makes some costly errors and has a noticeable home/road, dome/no dome split which will probably hold him back from ever being in the top-five. But I still like the weapons he has, and the running game has no where to go but up. Though, even sea level would be acceptable based on what was there previously.

Robert Griffin III obviously didn’t pan out, but he was a high-risk/high-reward option, and still probably is to some extent. However, the cost does not meet the potential value, so his absence allows Russell Wilson to make a huge jump. I ranked him lower than he should have been, but I wasn’t a huge believer in his system. Obviously, if teams are going to let him rush for 2,895,458 yards every game, he’s a great fantasy asset.

Tony Romo also makes a jump, and if it was for certain that DeMarco Murray was coming back AND would have another healthy season, Romo would have been even higher. But there are still somethings to like here. More time removed from his back surgery, and Jerry Jones has managed to have created a competent and stout line. While a lot of people will point to Murray leaving (if he does) as a warning sign, I think there’s still enough there to keep him ranked this high.

This group represents a good pool to fish from when streaming or perhaps even a prospective bench add. While I normally don’t agree holding onto an extra Quarterback, if I own someone like Matthew Stafford or Ben Roethlisberger (guys on the fringe), I don’t mind holding on to one of these guys as a backup.

Teddy Bridgewater… I haven’t quite figured out what the Vikings have, but he looked really competent at times. There are some weapons there, and I like the fact that Norv Turner is part of the system.

Ryan Tannehill is also an interesting name. He had a quietly good year, and could build on that a little. I don’t think his ceiling is crazy high, but there could be an argument made here that he’s viable as a starter in a 12-team league.

And I’m sorry. Joe Flacco is just way too elite to stay in the top-20…