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Fantasy Football 2016: QB Rankings, Projections and Top Team Names
August 11, 2016
It's August, which means two things: Summer will be over before you know it, and fantasy football drafts are in full swing.
When you start considering which quarterbacks to draft this year in fantasy—and being an astute owner, you wouldn't even think about looking at one prior to Round 2, right?—it would be helpful to study the 2016 quarterback rankings and scoring projections prior to your draft.
Let's break down which quarterbacks are primed to take your team all the way to the championship this year as well as the most topical and clever team names to engrave on the trophy that's sure to be yours.
Quarterback Rankings
| 2016 Fantasy QB Rankings | |||
| Ranking | Player | Team | Bye |
| 1 | Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers | 7 |
| 2 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 4 |
| 3 | Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks | 5 |
| 4 | Andrew Luck | Indianapolis Colts | 10 |
| 5 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | 5 |
| 6 | Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 |
| 7 | Carson Palmer | Arizona Cardinals | 9 |
| 8 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 9 |
| 9 | Eli Manning | New York Giants | 8 |
| 10 | Blake Bortles | Jacksonville Jaguars | 5 |
| 11 | Philip Rivers | San Diego Chargers | 11 |
| 12 | Tyrod Taylor | Buffalo Bills | 10 |
| ESPN.com | |||
The Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton is shaping up to have the best season of his career now that he'll be getting top weapon Kelvin Benjamin back.
This fantasy powerhouse is just as deadly on the ground as he is through the air when it comes to scoring, making him a no-brainer for the first quarterback to be taken off the board in nearly every fantasy league format.
The majority of the top 12 fantasy quarterbacks are the usual suspects, but there are a couple of surprising names in the mix.
The Jacksonville Jaguars' Blake Bortles and Buffalo Bills' Tyrod Taylor round out the rankings of the top 12 quarterbacks in fantasy, which means that in 12-team leagues, those two players look to be starting quarterbacks.
Of course, there are those owners who will eschew the logic surrounding the two young passers in favor of more known commodities who don't appear in the top 12, such as the Chicago Bears' Jay Cutler or Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford.
But take a look at the scoring projections below. A little risk in investing in a young, unproven signal-caller could pay off down the line.
Quarterback Scoring Projections
| 2016 QB Scoring Projections | ||||
| Player | Team | Proj. Yards | Proj. TDs | Proj. Points |
| Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 4,314 | 34 | 328.26 |
| Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers | 3,748 | 26 | 308.32 |
| Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | 4,974 | 32 | 303.86 |
| Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks | 3,966 | 25 | 288.94 |
| Andrew Luck | Indianapolis Colts | 4,281 | 28 | 288.14 |
| Philip Rivers | San Diego Chargers | 4,429 | 32 | 281.66 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4,409 | 30 | 275.26 |
| Carson Palmer | Arizona Cardinals | 4,471 | 32 | 273.44 |
| Blake Bortles | Jacksonville Jaguars | 3,987 | 27 | 272.98 |
| Jameis Winston | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4,044 | 26 | 265.46 |
| Alex Smith | Kansas City Chiefs | 3,733 | 22 | 264.42 |
| Kirk Cousins | Washington Redskins | 4,180 | 27 | 264.20 |
| Fantasy.NFL.com | ||||
Team Names
What's the use of drafting a championship-caliber fantasy team if you have an awful team name inscribed on your trophy for all to see for all time?
You have to come up with a team name that's worthy of the shrewd choices you make as a fantasy owner when it comes time to draft. Here are some of the best names out there this season.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Bortles
Considering Bortles is a top-12 quarterback option this year, you may be seeing this name pop up in your league.
Gotta Catch Jamaal
This one isn't quarterback-centered, but given the world's continued fixation on Pokemon Go, this name is sure to remain topical through the holidays.
Le'Veon Bellsprout
In the same vein as "Gotta Catch Jamaal," here's another Pokemon-themed team name for anyone who ends up with Le'Veon Bell on their team. Of course, wait for the results of Bell's suspension appeal before drafting him high.
Golden Tate Warriors
If you're an NBA fan still hurting that your Bay Area team missed taking home the championship in the NBA Finals this year, you can at least honor the Golden State Warriors with your fantasy football team name.
Purple Reign
Pay tribute to the Minnesota Vikings and Prince with this classy and clever team name.
Rankings via ESPN.com. Scoring projections via Fantasy.NFL.com.