2017 fantasy football QB profiles, projections (1-40)

Published: May 31, 2017 at 11:21 AM

2017 projections coming soon ... stay tuned.

What else can you say about the reigning king of fantasy football quarterbacks? Once again, Rodgers justified his lofty ranking as the first quarterback off the board by leading all players in fantasy scoring by a wide margin. Not much is expected to change this year with Rodgers or his group of pass-catchers. He'll be the QB1 until further notice.

Brady missed the first four games of the season with a suspension stemming from the Deflategate scandal. When he returned, he was the same Brady that fantasy enthusiasts have relied upon for so many years. Now he has an even deeper group of weapons with additions like Brandin Cooks and Rex Burkhead. It might be hard to figure out which Patriots skill position players are worth drafting but Brady continues to be a no-brainer.

Brees remains as steady as they come when talking about fantasy quarterbacks. The Saints veteran has finished in the top 10 at his position in 13 straight seasons. With a panoply of pass-catching weapons -- including new addition Ted Ginn -- Brees will once again be a strong contender to end the year as a top five option at his position.

Luck rebounded well from an injury-riddled 2015 season to be the QB4 in fantasy. The offense is still loaded with pass-catching weapons -- especially with Donte Moncrief healthy. It still would have been more encouraging if the Colts had done something to shore up an offensive line that again struggled to protect the quarterback in 2016. We know what Luck can do. It's just a matter of keeping him healthy and on the field. He'll be one of the first five quarterbacks off the board again this year.

2016 was the best season of Ryan's pro tenure, with the veteran posting career numbers nearly across the board. As the captain at the helm of the Falcons high-powered offense, Ryan used a wide array of weapons to finish as the QB2 last season. He'll enter the new campaign without his offensive coordinator, though, as Kyle Shanahan has taken over as the head coach of the 49ers. Nonetheless, Ryan still has a slew of talented receivers and should again be a solid top-10 fantasy signal-caller.

It's not a stretch to say that Prescott was one of the biggest surprises of the entire NFL season. He was projected to be Tony Romo's backup until an injury to the veteran quarterback thrust Prescott into a starting role. With diminished expectations, Prescott was mostly a waiver pickup but led the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC while propelling plenty of fantasy teams into their postseasons. This year, the draft price will be dramatically steeper for anyone pursuing Prescott but it could be worthwhile for a player who seems poised to be productive for a long time.

No matter how you slice it, 2016 wasn't a great season for Newton. Coming off an MVP run, the Panthers quarterback saw his yardage and touchdown totals fall while his turnovers rose. It didn't help that Newton might have been injured for a significant stretch of the season. Yet, it appears that things are changing in the Carolina offense. The team drafted Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel, adding dynamic weapons that the offense had been missing who could help Newton get the ball out of his hands quicker. Newton might not run as much this year, but could make up for it in passing yards. It's not crazy to think a rebound season is coming.

Wilson had the worst fantasy season of his career in 2016. It might have something to do with the Seahawks quarterback also posting the fewest rushing yards of his career as well. More often than not, Wilson was running for his life behind a sketchy offensive line. Seattle's offense is not the run-heavy attack it once was and it was encouraging to see Jimmy Graham come alive later in the year to supplement Doug Baldwin. If Wilson can find one more consistent pass-catcher, a return to being a top 10 fantasy quarterback is very likely.

Carr's season ended in heartbreaking fashion with a broken leg in Week 16. Overall, it was an up-and-down fantasy campaign (he had five starts with fewer than 12 points) but he still ended the year as the QB10. Having a whole offseason to get healthy means Carr will be back for another season leading one of the league's emerging offenses. Oakland has added more firepower with Marshawn Lynch, Jared Cook and Cordarrelle Patterson joining Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. A little more consistency would be great, but Carr should once again push to be a top 10 fantasy signal-caller.

Similar to Derek Carr, Mariota's season ended with a broken leg in Week 16. Also like Carr, Mariota sprinkled in some lackluster games along with his eye-popping ones. What made the Titans quarterback particularly deadly was his extreme efficiency in the red zone. This season, he'll have a new option in the passing game with first-round pick Corey Davis coming to Nashville. For those who prefer to wait on quarterbacks, Mariota will have plenty of draft appeal.

There is debate around whether Cousins is a great NFL quarterback (his own team doesn't even seem convinced), but in fantasy he's quickly becoming a very popular option. The Washington offense has become one of the higher-volume passing games in the league in recent years. While offensive coordinator Sean McVay is now coaching the Los Angeles Rams, not much is expected to change this season. The question is how quickly Cousins can gain a rapport with new receiver Terrelle Pryor. Nonetheless, there will be plenty of volume and Cousins will be a darling of the late-QB-drafting crowd.

Roethlisberger is still undoubtedly a quality quarterback but it might be fair to say his name value is boosting his draft stock. In reality, Big Ben has only thrown 30-plus touchdowns twice in his career despite being blessed with a plethora of talented playmakers in recent seasons. There's also the very real issue of Roethlisberger frequently missing games due to injury or playing hurt (which may have led to serious talk of retirement this offseason). As long as Antonio Brown can fulfill his duties, Roethlisberger will have intriguing fantasy value. But he may no longer be the no-brainer QB1 he was back in 2014.

Now that Tony Romo has left the NFL for a broadcasting gig, Stafford takes over as the poster boy for waiting on a quarterback. Over the past six seasons, you can find the Lions' signal-caller hanging somewhere around the top 10 scorers at his position -- landing squarely as a QB1 in many instances. Even as the Detroit offense has emphasized more short, high-percentage throws, Stafford has continued to remain productive. Nothing figures to change this year as the personnel in the offense has remained the same. It's still worth waiting on Stafford and picking up a quality fantasy quarterback in the late rounds.

Perhaps the best thing that happened to Rivers this offseason was the Chargers making moves to shore up an offensive line that has been riddled with injuries in the past few seasons. Those injuries could have a lot to do with Rivers' second-half fades over the past two years. There are no concerns about the veteran's talent or the quality of the weapons around him. If Rivers can stay healthy and productive for a full season, he will be a solid double-digit round pick with QB1 upside.

Taylor has been severely underrated as a fantasy quarterback over the past couple of years. While his yardage totals won't blow anyone away, the Bills quarterback has done a good job of not turning the ball over while supplementing his production by leading all quarterbacks in rushing yards last season. If Sammy Watkins could somehow stay healthy for a full season, Taylor's passing numbers could take an even bigger leap forward. Nonetheless, the veteran quarterback will continue to be a quiet and consistently productive fantasy option.

Bortles lives in the nexus between fantasy football and reality. The Jaguars quarterback had an objectively poor season in 2016 yet he finished as the QB9 in fantasy. The young quarterback has quality yardage and touchdown numbers -- including his rushing yards -- but continues to hurt himself and his team by being a turnover machine. If the new regime in Jacksonville can fix some of his issues, Bortles has the ability and the weapons to post a sneaky top-five finish -- although drafting him as such might be a tad optimistic.

Dalton returned in 2016 after suffering a fractured thumb late in the 2015 season but couldn't quite capture the same magic. Then again, the Bengals as a whole took a step back last year and it didn't help that A.J. Green was lost to an injury late in the year. By now, we know who Dalton is -- a solid (occasionally outstanding) quarterback who isn't going to be an every-week starter in most fantasy leagues. But with Green back and the additions of rookies Joe Mixon and John Ross, Dalton has a lot of late-round value.

Winston appears to be on the verge of becoming a coveted fantasy quarterback. Last season the biggest drawback to having the Florida State product on your fantasy roster was the 24 total turnovers he committed. It was always a concern dating back to his college career and continues to be something he'll need to rein in. The positive for Winston comes in the form of free agent wide receiver pickup DeSean Jackson and rookie tight end O.J. Howard to go along with Mike Evans and Cameron Brate. Combine Winston with Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr and there is a new group of fantasy young guns set to take over at quarterback.

For years, Manning was a fringe QB1 that fantasy managers could count on being around after the ninth round. That last part is still accurate but it's getting a lot harder to count on Manning's fantasy production. Last season, he finished as the QB21 in standard scoring despite having Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard as his top options. There is some hope that veteran free agent Brandon Marshall and rookie tight end Evan Engram can inject a little more life into the offense but Manning is likely to be left to the waiver wire in a growing number of fantasy leagues this year.

Father Time is knocking on Palmer's door, but fantasy enthusiasts have to hope that the end is still at least a year away. The Cardinals have a talented pass-catching corps that includes fellow oldster Larry Fitzgerald along with a rejuvenated John Brown. The bigger concern for Palmer is that he turns 38 late in the season and is playing behind an offensive line that was in the bottom half of the league in pass protection last season. It would be fun to see Palmer and the Cardinals rebound offensively this year but using anything more than a double-digit pick on the veteran quarterback is wildly ambitious.

Few quarterbacks have been as consistently mediocre as Tannehill. His first four seasons were filled with hope that he'd blossom into a quality, productive dual-threat quarterback. A lot of that optimism disappeared last season and Tannehill eventually posted his most underwhelming statistical season yet despite being as efficient as he's ever been. Tannehill has done nothing to spur any real belief that he should be anything more than a bye-week replacement in most leagues.

The Wentz Wagon started quickly in 2016 before running out of gas midway through the year. Part of the problem could be in the hands of the Eagles receivers (insert Nelson Agholor drop joke here). To that end, Philadelphia went out and added Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith to give Wentz more options to complement Jordan Matthews. It will be interesting to see what improvements Wentz has made heading into his second season (especially in his throwing mechanics), but there's no reason to consider him as anything more than a QB2.

Jokes about eliteness aside, Flacco continued his tenure as an underwhelming fantasy quarterback in 2016. The Ravens veteran was passable in some weeks and unstartable in plenty of others. His path to success in 2017 got harder with the retirement of Steve Smith Sr. and no real candidates to absorb those targets. In the best case scenario, Breshad Perriman fulfills his destiny but until we know for sure it's hard to believe in Flacco's fantasy fortunes.

Fun fact: Alex Smith has never thrown more than 23 touchdowns in a season. OK, that fact isn't all that fun if you've tried to ride with the veteran in your fantasy lineup. For all of Smith's efficiency on the field (he's had single-digit interceptions for six straight seasons), he doesn't do enough offensively to warrant spending a draft pick on him. There's no reason to think any part of that will change this year.

The Vikings acquired Bradford in a trade just before the start of the season after Teddy Bridgewater went down with a serious leg injury. The veteran acquitted himself well within the confines of the Minnesota offense but with just two 20-point games (in Weeks 16 and 17), few fantasy managers were particularly eager to roll with Bradford. The prospect of another season throwing to Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen is certainly intriguing. Yet after six seasons of being a middling fantasy quarterback, why would you expect more from Bradford this year?

McCown enters the 2017 season as the expected starter for the Jets but it's hard to mention him without bringing up Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg. That's not very inspiring but it's also not unreasonable when talking about a quarterback who has made double-digit starts in a season just once since 2005. McCown might have some value as a bye week option but that would be the extent of it.

Siemian is the answer to the trivia question "who was the Broncos starter the season after Peyton Manning retired?" and from a football standpoint, he was good enough to keep the team in games. His fantasy production, however, left much to be desired. The young quarterback was a little boom (two really huge games) and a lot of bust (nine with fewer than 15 points). This year, he'll have to compete with Paxton Lynch for the starting job which will add even more uncertainty to his already fragile fantasy draft value.

Savage found himself on the field late in the season after Brock Osweiler fell out of favor with the Texans coaching staff. Heading into 2017, Savage appears to be in line to be Houston's starter. With a total of five appearances in two NFL seasons, we don't really know the full range of what Savage offers. But we know he could be helming an offense that features DeAndre Hopkins, Lamar Miller and Will Fuller. He also could end up losing his gig to rookie Deshaun Watson. Approach with caution here.

There's no easy way to say this: Brock Osweiler did not play well last season, no matter how you slice it. In 2016, Osweiler averaged fewer than 200 passing yards per game, had more interceptions than touchdowns and eventually found himself traded to the Browns. Despite a hefty contract, there's no guarantee Osweiler will be given the starting job and even less of a guarantee that he'll have enough fantasy value to get drafted.

Watson is one of three rookie quarterbacks who will have a chance to compete for a starting job. The former Clemson star will likely start training camp behind Tom Savage but there are expectations that he could eventually take over the starting job by the end of the year. Until we have a clearer idea of what Watson's role on the roster will be, it's best to avoid drafting him outside of dynasty formats.

Lynch saw a little work last season, making two starts when Trevor Siemian went down with an injury. Entering 2017 there is serious talk that Lynch could win the starting job in training camp. With a pair of weapons like Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders on the outside, Lynch could have deep sleeper value if he is indeed the starter. But for now fantasy managers would be wise to hold off on drafting Lynch until we learn more.

Kessler was pressed into service after the Browns suffered a slew of injuries to the quarterback position. The rookie performed admirably under the circumstances but was really no one's idea of a quality fantasy starter. This year, Kessler is in a crowded competition with Brock Osweiler and rookie DeShone Kizer. It's hard to envision a scenario in which the USC product is draftable.

Just when you think you've forgotten about Brian Hoyer, he pops up in a new location. This year, the journeyman has made his way to the Bay Area where he's slated to start for the 49ers. While that might seem underwhelming, keep in mind that the Niners have a new offensive-minded head coach in Kyle Shanahan and a new WR1 in Pierre Garcon. That doesn't mean Hoyer is automatically worthy of a draft pick but considering his history as an underrated fantasy asset means he's a name worth remembering when looking on the waiver wire.

Glennon lands in Chicago with a hefty new contract and a chance to once again be a starting quarterback. His stint as a starter in Tampa wasn't extremely exciting and now he joins a roster that is still trying to find out what it has at the receiver position. Beyond Cameron Meredith, it's uncertain where the targets will go. Glennon is too much of an unknown quantity to spend a draft pick on.

Kizer will certainly be given an opportunity to compete for the Browns starting quarterback job alongside Brock Osweiler and Cody Kessler. Cleveland still has some things to work out at the offensive skill positions but earning the top gig will give Kizer's fantasy draft value a boost. Regardless, he should see some love in dynasty rookie drafts as the player who is ostensibly the future under center for the Browns.

The Bears surprised everyone by trading up to make Trubisky the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. It was an even more interesting move when you consider the team spent big to bring in Mike Glennon as a free agent. Nonetheless, Trubisky could see the field before the end of the season. Even as a starter, the rookie's value could be pretty limited outside of dynasty leagues.

There was a point this offseason when Garoppolo was rumored to be traded to (and starting for) about half of the teams in the NFL. Instead, he's sticking with the Patriots. Garoppolo played very well while subbing for the suspended Tom Brady at the start of last season but now that Brady's back, Garoppolo will be back on the New England bench and on the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues.

Petty will be part of what could end up being one of the more cringe-inducing quarterback competitions we've seen in recent years. The winner of this contest will have minimal fantasy value. The rest will have ... significantly less value than that.

Mahomes is a very talented young quarterback but he lands with a team that seems content with its situation at the position. Alex Smith might not be a stud fantasy signal-caller but he's done well for the Chiefs offense and is likely to keep Mahomes on the bench for the foreseeable future, barring injury.

Smith makes the move from the Jets to the Giants, following teammate Brandon Marshall. Unlike Marshall, Smith's path to getting on the field is much more difficult considering Manning hasn't missed a start since his rookie season. Smith isn't a fantasy draft consideration at all in 2017.

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