Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: QBs

You should be good to go this week as far as QBs are concerned. If you're in a 10-team or 12-team league, you're likely looking to use your QB1, regardless of his matchup. However, if you play in a deep league and pride yourself on landing the best matchup players every week, then this is the place to be. Or, if you drafted two similarly-valued quarterbacks and need some help determining which one to start, I'm here to give you a little advice.

Below, you'll find the Week 1 fantasy football rankings for quarterbacks. Underneath the list, I'll provide a bit of commentary on a few key matchups that I think are worth your attention. Remember, when you're playing fantasy football, where one week can decide who reaches the playoffs and who doesn't, there's no such thing as being too prepared.

1. Drew Brees, NO vs DET
2. Peyton Manning, IND vs JAC
3. Tom Brady, NE vs BUF
4. Kurt Warner, ARI vs SF
5. Aaron Rodgers, GB vs CHI

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6. Carson Palmer, CIN, vs DEN
7. Matt Schaub, HOU vs NYJ
8. Donovan McNabb, PHI at CAR
9. Philip Rivers, SD at OAK
10. Joe Flacco, BAL vs KC
11. Matt Ryan, ATL vs MIA
12. Jay Cutler, CHI at GB
13. Shaun Hill, SF at ARI
14. Matt Hasselbeck, SEA vs STL
15. Eli Manning, NYG vs WAS
16. Tony Romo, DAL at TB
17. David Garrard, JAC at IND
18. Trent Edwards, BUF at NE
19. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT vs TEN
20. Chad Pennington, MIA at ATL
21. Byron Leftwich, TB vs DAL
22. Jason Campbell, WAS at NYG
23. Jake Delhomme, CAR vs PHI
24. Matthew Stafford, DET at NO
25. Marc Bulger, STL at SEA
26. JaMarcus Russell, OAK vs SD
27. Kerry Collins, TEN at PIT
28. Brett Favre, MIN at CLE
29. Brady Quinn, CLE vs MIN
30. Mark Sanchez, NYJ at HOU
31. Matt Cassel, KC at BAL
32. Kyle Orton, DEN at CIN
33. Chris Simms, DEN at CIN

• Carson Palmer has the best matchup of anyone outside the elite group of QBs. Denver was terrible against the pass last year, and you can't expect them to be much better this year. Unless you have one of the big three, I'd seriously consider rolling the dice with Palmer this week.

• Shaun Hill faces the defense that allowed the most passing TDs (by a wide margin) last year. He's an excellent QB2 if you have to start two guys. I wouldn't be shocked to see Hill get out to a hot start this year, becoming a hot commodity on waiver wires across the world.

• Dallas has promised to run a ton this year, and if Tampa Bay can do a decent job of containing Jason Witten, it's going to be a long day for Tony Romo. As you can see, I think Romo will be no better than average against the Buccaneers.

• Start neither of the Thursday night QBs if you can avoid it. I could easily see neither Kerry Collins or Ben Roethlisberger throwing a TD in the opener, as it should be a hotly-contested defensive battle. Unless your options are severely limited, pass on both.

• Even if he was healthy, Matt Cassel would be a big no-no against Baltimore. Sit him, as well as Kyle Orton, who won't be 100 percent if he's able to play. I'd also avoid Brett Favre until he looks healthy and capable of not being a turnover machine.