Fantasy Football 2012: Debating Which Young QBs Are Worth Your While

Fantasy football is all about gaining an edge. It's about identifying unexpected performers, knowing when to reach for certain players and knowing when to avoid others altogether. It's about getting great value.

And this year, it will partly be about knowing which young quarterbacks are worth your while in fantasy and which you should avoid like LenDale White avoided the salad bar.

Is Cam Newton going to replicate his 2012 season? Should you bother drafting rookies this season? Will we see a breakthrough season from a second-year signal-caller?

We'll answer all these questions and more as we review the first- and second-year quarterbacks from a fantasy perspective.

The Cam Newton Question

Even if Newton improves as a passer in his second season, his fantasy value boils down to one simple question: Can he repeat his historical rushing performance from a season ago?

Newton rushed for 706 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns last season, which alone would have made him a pretty solid fantasy running back last season. And while his rookie-record 4,051 passing yards were a nice touch, it was his feet that made him such a fantasy stud last season.

And that makes him risky in 2012. I don't doubt Newton will rush for a lot of yards, but the odds of his scoring 14 rushing touchdowns again are pretty low.

I have doubts about those 4,000 passing yards, too—after throwing for 374 yards or more in three of the first four weeks of the season last year, Newton never passed for more than 290 yards in a game the rest of the way.

He's still a nice play. But you'll probably need to give up a second-round pick to secure his services, and that's way too high. Expect him to regress in 2012.

The 2nd-Year Options

Let's keep it quick and give one sentence for each of the remaining second-year guys in fantasy this season.

Andy Dalton should be a steady if unspectacular performer for your fantasy team this year, but I still like him as a very nice QB2.

Jake Locker is as intriguing and athletic as they come and could improve his stock with his running ability, but his inconsistency will ultimately keep him from being a major fantasy force this season.

If you draft Blaine Gabbert, I will call the fantasy police on you and ban you from the game for a year.

If you draft Christian Ponder, I will call the fantasy police on you and have you fined.

Debating the Value of Rookies

Newton's rookie season last year has people intrigued with Robert Griffin III from a fantasy standpoint this season. Don't get sucked into the hype—Griffin won't rush for 14 touchdowns, plain and simple. He's a great option in keeper leagues, but he won't be anything more than a QB2 this season.

I think Andrew Luck may have more fantasy value than Griffin this year, but not by much. The Indianapolis Colts aren't going to scare many defenses with their weapons this year, and like any rookie quarterback, Luck will probably struggle.

There's a chance Nick Foles might actually see the field this year, given how well he's played in the preseason and the fact that Michael Vick's bones are made of pasta, but he's a waiver-wire add for now.

And please, please, please don't draft Ryan Tannehill. Just don't do it. Please.

Remember, before Newton came around, relying on rookie quarterbacks for your fantasy team was riskier than trying to get Vick through a preseason game unscathed. Consider last year an aberration rather than a burgeoning trend.

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