As you can tell, we have quarterbacks lower (or higher, which is it?) than other sites. This is an age old tradition of the perts that we are upholding while others seem to be going away from. I’ve seen some perts say that since this has become a quarterback’s league they are worth more and you need to grab them earlier. Hrmm? With ten 4,000 yard passers last season there were plenty to go around in a 12 team, single QB league. I’m not saying you should wait until Daunte Culpepper is the only QB left on the board, but you can wait. With 2-3 RB’s and 3-4 WR’s needed in most leagues, grabbing a Rodgers/Manning/Brees in the first/second round is a waste. Much will depend on your individual leagues and next season’s ADP, but 9 out of the top 10 point leaders last season were QB’s and that won’t change this year. If you grab that ninth placed QB while getting a couple top 10 RB’s you will be sitting pretty and that’ll be true even if you ugly, u-g-l-y, you ain’t got no alibi, you ugly, eh hey, you ugly. Check out our top 20 behind this word.
21. Drew Brees: You probably won’t see Brees go this late, but I wouldn’t take him any earlier for the reasons above. But he is probably a little more predictable than even Rodgers who is above him. Much of Rodgers’ lead in fantasy points comes from his rushing TD’s which can vary, even though he keeps scoring them, the bastard. The Saints offense can function with a bunch of no-names as long as Brees is at the helm. Projection: 4500/36/14 — 30/2
22. DeAngelo Williams: He is just too good to let fall far in the draft. If you owned DWilly last season you have a bit of bad taste still in your mouth after watching Jon Stewart go crazy while he was on the sidelines toward the end of the season, but that doesn’t mean Stewart has overtaken him. It could give Stewart more work than Delo owners will want, but he is still going to be the starter in a run first system that is able to produce two 1,000 yard runners. Projection: 1200/8 — 35/250/1
23. Knowshon Moreno: His situation is good even though he did slow down a bit toward the end of the season. I think he’ll be better conditioned this season and Buckhalter will continue to get injured and old. With no backup waiting to take him down he will get plenty of opportunities. Projection: 1200/8 — 30/200/2
24. Calvin Johnson: Last season Megatron had a down year due to injuries and inconsistent quarterbacking. He is of course a bounce back candidate, but I doubt his ADP will drop too much because he is a magical creature from the land of Narnia. I do think he got a little frustrated last season and didn’t play as well as he could so I’m not 100% sold he can return to top 5 form with a young Stafford, but I do believe he will return to top 10 form without much trouble. Projection: 80/1200/9
25: Roddy White: Roddy finished as the 7th best fantasy wide receiver last season even though he was hurting toward the end. We’ve got him as the 6th receiver this year, but I think he could move up a smidge. Matt Ryan was injured and had a bit of a sophomore slump. He should rebound well this year and give White plenty of opportunities. Projection: 90/1200/10
26: Peyton Manning: He’s as solid as they get, but I doubt I’ll own him. He will anchor your team, but so will a lot of QB’s you can grab later. Projection: 4300/33/13 — 15/1
27: Brandon Marshall: He will continue to do his thing in Miami. Chad Henne showed he can put the ball in the air when needed and there really is nobody to take Marshall’s targets away. Projection: 100/1175/9
28: Pierre Thomas: Reggie Bush caused P.T. a lot of grief last season and there is no reason to think he won’t do the same again, but with Mike Bell gone there is a chance P.T. will get more TDs. If Thomas stays healthy and takes some incriminating photos of Sean Payton, he may get the bulk of the goal line touches and move into second round value. Projection: 1050/7 — 40/325/2
29: Lesean McCoy: As things are, Shady is the main man in Philadelphia right now, even with the vaunted Mike Bell signing. Bell and Weaver will get goal line carries, but McCoy is the best back and will get the most looks. Projection: 1000/6 — 50/450/2
30. Matt Schaub: Schaub was very good to all those fantasy players who had high expectations for him last season. He went from injury risk to leading the NFL in passing yards. I’m not going to factor in injury risk with quarterbacks. They get hit and lose consciousness, them’s the breaks. If he plays all 16 games, he will easily be worth a 3rd round pick. Projection: 4550/31/16 — 35/100/0
