2010 Fantasy Football: Ranking the Rookie Quarterbacks

With the fantasy football season slowly creeping toward us for yet another year of fantasy drafts, we’re tempted to take an early look at how this year’s NFL Draft class could have an impact.

Whether it’s in Dynasty, Keeper, or Standard fantasy football leagues, there are quite a few first-year players who have the talent and/or ideal situation that fantasy owners should be monitoring closely.

To start off our fantasy rookie position breakdown, here are the top five fantasy rookie quarterbacks for the 2010 fantasy football season:

1. Sam Bradford (St. Louis Rams)

Sam Bradford was the top overall pick, had an extremely productive and impressive college career, and has A.J. Feeley as his top competition. We like the rookie’s chances.

Bradford may not be so in love with starting right away, based off of the lack of elite offensive weapons and a still-questionable offensive line. However, he’s still the most likely to start in his first season, and easily has the top spot at the position for this rookie class.

2. Jimmy Clausen (Carolina Panthers)

Matt Moore is standing in Jimmy Clausen’s way for now, but a strong offseason and preseason showing could change that all very quickly.

Judging by the success Mark Sanchez, Joe Flacco, and Matt Ryan have had by starting year one with a powerful running game aiding them, Clausen winning the gig isn’t so far-fetched.

3. Tim Tebow (Denver Broncos )

Yes, Tebow has a lot of work to do, is a project, and is likely to be riding the pine as Denver’s third quarterback in 2010. At least, that’s how it looks right now .

Josh McDaniels drafted Tebow for a reason, and there have been quiet rumors that the two have already begun working hard towards the possibility of Tebow (gasp) starting in year one.

While that may be a lofty goal, Tebow should at least make some sort of an impact as a runner in special packages, so his value easily ranks him as the third best fantasy rookie quarterback.

4. Colt McCoy (Cleveland Browns)

The Cleveland Browns have flat-out told the media that they have no intentions of starting McCoy this season, and he will almost certainly enter the 2010 season third on the depth chart.

However, his athleticism and leadership can’t be denied. Neither can the fact that the only people between him and a starting job are Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace.

5. John Skelton (Arizona Cardinals)

Skelton is either in a great situation, or the worst situation imaginable. Supposed franchise passer Matt Leinart and newly acquire Derek Anderson will get every chance to compete for the starting job, and if either prove to be worthy, then Skelton will be a forgotten man.

On the other hand, if Anderson plays anything like he did in Cleveland, and Leinart continues his mediocre career, Skelton could be an extremely high-value pick that makes the Cardinals look like a bunch of geniuses.

Honorable Mentions:

Tony Pike (Carolina Panthers)

Pike is behind Matt Moore and the presume “quarterback of the future” in Jimmy Clausen, but it’s not like he’s a push-over, himself. Remember how seventh-rounder Matt Flynn out-played second-rounder Brian Brohm in Green Bay? While we don’t really see that happening, there’s no disputing Pike’s size and talent.

Mike Kafka (Philadelphia Eagles)

Kafka isn’t very likely to hit the field anytime soon, but if Michael Vick is traded and/or Kevin Kolb struggles or gets hurt, it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibilities.

Kafka has a decent arm and has solid athleticism and speed for a quarterback, so it’d be interesting to see what Andy Reid can get out of him in his pass-happy system.

Sean Canfield (New Orleans Saints)

Canfield is a bit of a pet project for Sean Payton, but with Drew Brees gracing the cover of Madden 2011 (curse alert!), you never know. Canfield could see the field five years earlier than the Saints had hoped.