2012 QB Rankings

In preparation for this year's draft, I found a great resource in Fantasy Pro's Expert Consensus Rankings.  Like the ratings suggest, the list takes into account 86 expert rankings from across the interwebs- and puts them into a handy "super ranking" in the spirit of the BCS, the 2012 Presidential Election, and of course, Dancing with the Stars.

I don't like taking rankings as absolute, so this provides an opportunity to group players.

The Sure Things:

Best Rank	Worst Rank	Player Name	Team
1	2	Aaron Rodgers	GB
1	5	Tom Brady	NE
1	7	Drew Brees	NO
2	8	Matthew Stafford	DET

Like your high school prom date, these 4 are sure things...  No surprises here.  Rodgers, Brady, and Brees are consistently among the top scorers each week. Stafford's coming off a career year, and unless he suffers an injury should be an elite pick at QB.

The Contenders:

Best Rank	Worst Rank	Player Name	Team
2	15	Cam Newton	CAR
3	14	Michael Vick	PHI
3	15	Tony Romo	DAL
4	12	Eli Manning	NYG
4	12	Philip Rivers	SD
5	15	Peyton Manning	DEN
6	15	Matt Ryan	ATL
6	19	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT

Here we have the next tier- 8 QB's who could be considered elite, but have some downside.  Newton's breakout rookie year has him as high as 2nd in some rankings, but could fall victim to the sophomore slump. Vick, Romo, Peyton Manning, and Rothlisberger are all coming off injuries last season. I'd make sure I did my homework before drafting anyone on this list, and make sure you have a plan B- just in case.

The Longshots:

Best Rank	Worst Rank	Player Name	Team
6	20	Jay Cutler	CHI
10	22	Matt Schaub	HOU
8	24	Robert Griffin III	WAS
8	25	Josh Freeman	TB
12	27	Carson Palmer	OAK
11	29	Joe Flacco	BAL
14	26	Andy Dalton	CIN
12	25	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF
13	29	Andrew Luck	IND
13	31	Alex Smith	SF
12	29	Sam Bradford	STL

Could RG3 repeat Cam Newton's 2011 rookie campaign?  Will Josh Freeman find his way into the endzone on the ground? Can Jay Cutler grow a pair and play tough like we expect him to?  All questions that surround this middle group.  Who knows, maybe Joe Flacco has a career year and leads your fantasy team to the playoffs.  But then again, don't we say that every year?

The Rest:

Best Rank	Worst Rank	Player Name	Team
17	31	Matt Flynn	SEA
14	37	Jake Locker	TEN
15	32	Matt Cassel	KC
17	35	Mark Sanchez	NYJ
19	35	Christian Ponder	MIN
17	36	Kevin Kolb	ARI
16	35	Tim Tebow	NYJ
21	37	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN
22	36	Brandon Weeden	CLE
20	36	Matt Moore	MIA

Here's an interesting list of names- for some, this list is like the girls left at the bar during last call.  For others, these guys are lottery tickets.  For the most part, this group is inconsistent, and shouldn't be counted on to put up points week in and week out.  If you've got Kevin Kolb riding on your bench, pay attention to his matchup, and maybe you can sneak by your opponent that week.