2013 Fantasy Football QB Rankings — Early Bird Version!

My first attempt at doing my 2013 Fantasy Football QB Rankings is interesting. There are several situations that have me a little unsure about locking in my 2013 quarterback rankings. If I were to draft in January, and then again in August, I have a pretty good feeling my rankings will be much different at that position. But that doesn’t stop me from starting to look at the position in depth, a good eight months away from Game 1 of 2013.

(UPDATE: Our latest 2013 QB Rankings are posted right here! We will be updating them throughout the summer and preseason!)

If you recall, the 2011 season saw THREE different quarterbacks throw for over 5,000 yards. Only two other QBs had done that in NFL history, yet we saw three do it in 2011. Heck, there were 10 different QBs that threw for over 4,000 yards in 2011. And there were 16 quarterbacks with over 500 pass attempts in 2011, which is also an NFL record.

We heard the term, “A Quarterback’s League” over and over this past season, but did that trend continue in 2012?

Short answer, “Yes, the trend toward passing games continued in 2012.”

Long answer, “HOLY CRAP! THE NFL HAS GONE CUCKOO OVER QB PASSES!” Let us count the ways.

1. Add one more quarterback (Drew Brees in 2012) to the 5,000-yard passer list, to push the club to six in NFL history.

2. Five different quarterbacks from the 2012 season posted efforts that now rank in the Top 16 in NFL history in yardage. Tom Brady, Brees, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford all threw for over Daunte Culpepper’s 4,717 yards in 2004. Five QBs from 2012 in the top 16 is the most of any year. (Peyton Manning threw for 4,659 yards, ranking 24th overall, giving this year six QBs in the top 25 ever, which is also a record.)

3. Six 2012 quarterbacks threw more than 600 pass attempts, led by Stafford (727), who now owns the NFL record. Before this season, there were only 25 QBs in NFL history to throw over 600 passes. The 2012 season now owns five of the top 14 spots, with rookie QB Andrew Luck coming in 14th with 627 passes.

4. Interestingly, led by Brees’ 43 scores, there were only five quarterbacks to throw 30 or more touchdown passes, which is the same as 2010 and 2011. Although, by comparison, only one QB threw 30 touchdown passes in each of 2005 and 2006.

So it’s true, we’re in a crazy passing era, and with youngsters like Stafford (24) and Luck (23) whipping the ball around, this type of game could be around for a long time.

Quick thoughts on my 2013 Fantasy Football QB Rankings

• I’m leery of ranking Tom Brady too high, knowing that Wes Welker could be wearing a different jersey in 2013. Is that fair? Doesn’t Brady usually play well, no matter who’s on the other end of his passes? That’s true.
• Life should settle back to normal for Brees and Saints head coach Sean Payton in 2013, and it could be really interesting to see if they react the same way Brady and Bill Belichick reacted in 2007, after the Patriots were ridiculed for cheating with Videogate. That’s when Brady came back and threw a record 50 touchdown passes.
• It doesn’t appear that there’s much help coming from the 2013 NFL Rookies, although someone like West Virginia’s Geno Smith could find himself starting for a team that needs much more than just a signal-caller.
• It’s interesting to note that Josh Freeman, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning, Carson Palmer and Matt Schaub ended up outside of the top 12 Fantasy QBs in Fantasy scoring. What does this mean for you? Follow J.J. Zachariason’s advice in LateRoundQB.com and wait a few rounds on your Fantasy QB starter. Remember that 2012 rookies Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Andy Dalton were all drafted as backups in 2012.
• Even with J.J.’s advice, we know people will still draft QBs early, which is partly the reason there are six QBs ranked in the Top 60 Overall 2013 Fantasy Football Rankings.
• Obviously, RG3’s knee injury and subsequent surgery makes him a HUGE question mark entering the 2013 season. Gambling on him with a late pick doesn’t sound like a horrible idea, though.
• I like Carson Palmer’s move to Arizona, but I don’t love it. In other words, I like it for Larry Fitzgerald, but I don’t love it enough for Palmer to make him a top-15 Fantasy quarterback. While Fitzgerald is a one-of-a-kind wide receiver, Palmer still needs this offensive line to improve drastically, and a running game to develop somehow before I ever think of starting him in standard leagues.

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2013 Fantasy Football QB Rankings

Top 60 Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DST | Rookies

 

2013 Mock Draft Round ONE – Round TWO

 
Hopefully, these 2013 Fantasy Football QB Rankings will help you get a head start on the new season. Are there some quarterbacks I’m not giving enough credit to? Am I giving certain Fantasy QBs too much credit? Let us know!