Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings: 2009 Early Version -- FanHouse

FanHouse's crack squad of savvy fantasy football personnel put our five heads together and amassed consensus rankings for non-keeper, standard scoring leagues. We'll update as the season gets closer, but this is our "incredibly early yet still fun" version.

Was last season the year of the quarterback or what? You still had the old reliables like Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb doing their thing, but a whole new crop of passers have elevated themselves. Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler led the way for the youth movement. You could have even waited toward the end of your draft and landed stud QBs in Matt Ryan and Tyler Thigpen (who would have been waiver-wire fodder). Team all that with Tom Brady's Week 1 injury, and we had a really interesting season. Let's see how they fall out presently for 2009.

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Player	Team
1. Drew Brees	Saints
The likelihood of him throwing for 5K again isn't great, but there's no reason to expect huge regression here. He'll hopefully have a full season of Marques Colston and Reggie Bush this time around, which will make it easier for Brees to adapt to any adjustments made by opposition.
2008: 5,069 yards, 34 TD, 17 INT
2. Tom Brady	Patriots
If reports are true that he's ahead of schedule on rehab, there's no reason to believe he won't get back to elite-level. With the weapons he has in house, not to mention the fire in his belly to come back, he'll be just fine.
2008: injured in Week 1, thus, irrelevant
3. Peyton Manning	Colts
He's pretty much already accustomed to life without Marvin Harrison. Anthony Gonzalez needs to step up his game, but the Colts offense won't be hurting for weapons. The question mark? How does he do without departed offensive coordinator Tom Moore?
2008: 4,002 yards, 27 TD, 12 INT
4. Kurt Warner	Cardinals
Anquan Boldin is going to be back, which means so will the high-octane passing attack. Warner, like Manning, also loses his offensive coordinator, but gaining a running attack should ease the burden on the passing game.
2008: 4,583 yards, 30 TD, 14 INT
5. Philip Rivers	Chargers
Six times a year he gets to face a brutal defense from a fellow AFC West team. He also threw for over 4,000 yards last year coming off ACL surgery (with tons less time to prepare than Brady has this year). He's primed for an even better year.
2008: 4,009 yards, 34 TD, 11 INT
6. Aaron Rodgers	Packers
Has a ridiculous arsenal of weapons at his disposal, and all the tools to get them the ball. The numbers he put up last season were especially staggering when you consider he hadn't started since 2004 -- in college. Expect improvement in 2009.
2008: 4.038 yards, 28 TD, 13 INT; 207 rush yds, 4 TD
7. Donovan McNabb	Eagles
I'll never understand why he's so maligned by so many Philly fans. He's consistent and plays in a pass-heavy offense. He's survived without quality receivers many a season. Now, his supporting cast is loaded.
2008: 3,916 yards, 23 TD, 11 INT, 2 rush TD
8. Tony Romo	Cowboys
It will be very interesting to see him without T.O. He doesn't have anyone who can remotely fill those shoes on the field, but the removal of the headache could actually make him more sharp. We like his chances to be a quality starting QB in fantasy.
2008: 3,448 yards, 26 TD, 14 INT (13 games)
9. Carson Palmer	Bengals
Losing Housh had to hurt, but they replaced him with Laveranues Coles. Not bad at all. Palmer's gotta be very anxious to prove he's still a premier passer, and we also expect his rapport with Chad Ochocinco to return.
2008: 731 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT (4 games)
10. Jay Cutler	Bears
He's without a legitimate WR1 in Chicago, but he'll find ways to succeed with Hester, Forte, Olsen and company.After all, look at the numbers of the Chargers' receiving corps before last season. Rivers still threw for 4,000. Good quarterbacks can make anyone work.
2008 (Denver): 4,526 yards, 25 TD, 18 INT, 2 rush TD
11. Matt Schaub	Texans
If you prorate his yardage last season to a full slate? 4,426. Wow. The Texans need to keep him on the field. If that happens, he's competing for the best value pick in the draft. Of course, he's missed 5 games in each of the past two seasons.
2008: 3,043 yards, 15 TD, 10 INT, 2 rush TD (11 games)
12. Matt Ryan	Falcons
Getting Tony Gonzalez just makes this offense that much more potent. He'll be handing off to Michael Turner plenty, but when he's not, the Falcons will be racking up passing stats. The sky is the limit.
2008: 3,440 yards, 16 TD, 11 INT
13. Trent Edwards	Bills
High risk, high reward here. He'll be going much earlier in drafts than his name should dictate, because Terrell Owens has been added to to the Bills. Along with Lee Evans, that's a pretty stout 1-2 punch. Edwards may not have enough talent to prevent a T.O. meltdown, though. If that happens, Bust City.
2008: 2,699 yards, 11 TD, 10 INT, 3 rush TD (14 games)
14. Matt Cassel	Chiefs
He's not in cushy New England anymore. The Chiefs had a good offense down the stretch last year, but we've only seen Cassel thrive in what was a record-setting offense before he took over. Be careful.
2008 (N.E.): 3,693 yards, 21 TD, 11 INT; 270 rush yds, 2 TD
15. Ben Roethlisberger	Steelers
Much better real player than fantasy. Don't pay for his Super Bowl rings or regular-season wins, especially with question marks in the slot.
2008: 3,301 yards, 17 TD, 15 INT; 2 rush TD
16. Eli Manning	Giants
See Ben Roethlisberger -- only less rings and wins. Now he'll be working without a bonafide WR1 for the full season. They'll move the ball, but he's not going to be racking up tons of fantasy points -- not this season at least.
2008: 3,238 yards, 21 TD, 10 INT
17. Matt Hasselbeck	Seahawks
Last season's stinkbomb was a combination of bad luck, bad health and injuries to wideouts. Still, there are so many quality quarterbacks around nowadays who put numbers up, it's hard to envision him as a QB1 -- even with a significant bounce-back and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
2008: 1,216 yards, 5 TD, 10 INT (7 games)
18. Jason Campbell	Redskins
He finally gets a second straight year with the same offensive scheme. That hasn't happened since high school. They've shuffled the line a bit and he has good weaponry. Good chances for a breakout campaign.
2008: 3,245 yards, 13 TD, 6 INT; 258 rush yds
19. Shaun Hill	49ers
Hill was incredibly productive last season after being thrown in the fire midway through. Now, the Niners have Michael Crabtree (and also added Brandon Jones). You worry that they will try to let Alex Smith have another shot at some point, but Hill is a very good QB2 in larger leagues as long as he's taking the snaps.
2008: 2,046 yards, 13 TD, 8 INT; 2 rush TD (only 8 starts)
20. Joe Flacco	Ravens
Don't let the playoff run as a rookie fool you into picking Flacco too high. This is fantasy football, where numbers matter. The Ravens are still a running and defense-oriented team. He can put numbers up, but they won't be consistent. He's a bye-week and/or injury replacement who is capable of a 20+ point game, or a less than 5-point game.
2008: 2,971 yards, 14 TD, 12 INT; 180 rush yds, 2 TD
21. David Garrard	Jaguars
The addition of Torry Holt should help, but the rest of the receivers suck. Garrard is a pretty unspectacular fantasy passer.
2008: 3,620 yards, 15 TD, 13 INT; 322 rush yds, 2 TD
22. Jake Delhomme	Panthers
You worry how much that awful playoff game will linger in the memory of Delhomme. He has potential for big numbers, considering the presence of Steve Smith, but the lifeblood is this offense is the dynamic duo in the backfield.
2008: 3,288 yards, 15 TD, 12 INT, 2 rush TD
23. Marc Bulger	Rams
The offensive line is improved and Steven Jackson will stay healthy. That should help, but Bulger's still not a very good option considering his lack of quality receivers and the fact that he's just not a great passer.
2008: 2,720 yards, 11 TD, 13 INT (15 games)
24. Chad Pennington	Dolphins
Put up great numbers last year, but he's facing Chad Henne as competition and Pat White as a great Wildcat option. He's a high-reward pick, just don't overpay for last season's stats.
2008: 3,653 yards, 19 TD, 7 INT
25. Sage Rosenfels	Vikings
Deep sleeper here. He's obviously no more than a QB3 in shallow leagues or QB2 in deep ones, but Rosenfels has enough ability to have a few big games with all the Vikings' explosive weapons. We expect him to win the job and do so.
2008: 1,431 yards, 6 TD, 10 INT (6 games)
26. Brady Quinn	Browns
He looks good for keeper leagues, now that they drafted two solid receivers. For this year, well, it's gonna be a bit long -- unless Braylon Edwards has solved his butterfinger woes.
2008: 518 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT (3 games)
27. Kyle Orton	Broncos
Captain Checkdown is going to be throwing to Knowshon Moreno and Tony Scheffler a lot more than Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. The latter two won't be happy to know how awful Orton is at completing deep passes, either.
2008 (Chicago): 2,972 yards, 18 TD, 12 INT, 3 rush TD (15 games)
28. Kerry Collins	Titans
They did add Kenny Britt and Nate Washington, but it's not like they are Boldin/Fitzgerald. The Titans will still win games with running, defense and taking care of the football. That's great unless Collins is your fantasy QB.
2008: 2,676 yards, 12 TD, 7 INT
29. JaMarcus Russell	Raiders
Lotta upside, still need to see more growth. Plus, the presence of Jeff Garcia doesn't bode well for this season.
2008: 2,423 yards, 13 TD, 8 INT (15 games)
30. Daunte Culpepper	Lions
As long as he is in the lineup, he'll be able to throw some touchdowns to Megatron. Of course, Mr. Stafford is in Detroit with him.
2008: 786 yards, 4 TD, 6 INT (5 games)
31. Mark Sanchez	Jets
Consider 2009 his learning experience.
2008 (college -- USC): 3,207 yards, 34 TD, 10 INT
32. Jeff Garcia	Raiders
He'll either push or overtake Russell.
2008: 2,712 yards, 12 TD, 6 INT (11 starts)
33. Derek Anderson	Browns
It's hard to see Cleveland backtracking at this point. It's now Brady Quinn's team, barring injury.
2008: 1,615 yards, 9 TD, 8 INT (9 starts)
34. Byron Leftwich	Buccaneers
Tampa has to start somebody. Whoever it is will be handing off a lot.
2008: 303 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT (5 games, no starts)
35. Josh Freeman	Buccaneers
Probably won't even see the field this year, but the upside can't be ignored.
2008 (college -- Kansas St.): 2,945 yds, 20 TD, 8 INT; 404 rush yds, 14 TD
36. Chris Simms	Broncos
For some reason, the Broncos seem to want to start over.
2008: 1-2, 7 yards (guess he was better than McCown)
37. Matthew Stafford	Lions
It's going to be a rough situation for Stafford. He does have good skill positions around him, but the line is still pretty suspect.
2008 (college -- Georgia): 3,459 yards, 25 TD, 10 INT
38. Seneca Wallace	Seahawks
No reason to draft Hasselbeck's insurance. There's a reason for the waiver wire.
2008: 1,532 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT (8 starts)
39. Tarvaris Jackson	Vikings
If he wins the job he'll have more value. We just don't believe he will.
2008: 1,056 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT, 5 fumbles (5 starts)
40. Dan Orlovsky	Texans
If Schaub goes down, he'll reminisce about Megatron by throwing to Andre Johnson. So there's that.
2008: 1,616 yards, 8 TD, 8 INT, 1 hilariously embarrassing safety

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-07-2009 @ 12:52PM

tom said...

Really? Trent Edwards over Eli Manning? Manning threw for 21 TDs and only 10INTs last year. Edwards had only 11 TDs to 10 INTs. He also threw fro fewer yards.

6-07-2009 @ 11:29PM

Matt Snyder said...

Edwards now has T.O. to throw to. Going off just his 2008 stats neglects to factor the huge difference in.

6-08-2009 @ 9:26PM

Kasey said...

You also have to take into account that Eli is now completely without Plax.

6-08-2009 @ 11:10AM

rgavaletz said...

Surprise this year will be Chad Pennington. Last year he played like the seasoned veteran he is, he showed poise under pressure, he has a beefed up offensive line, he has decent wide receivers & tight ends and receiving backs that do a great job in Brown and Williams. Look for Brees like numbers this year in a break-out year for Pennington.