Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks

With the season just days away from opening, it’s time to kick off our weekly rankings.

There certainly are some intriguing matchups to open the season, bringing a surprise name into the Top 10.  Darrelle Revis’ signing also causes a major change, with the Jets defense looking that much more formidable.

Let’s take a look at how things shake out:

1. Peyton Manning - Indianapolis Colts - at Houston
2. Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers - at Philadelphia
3. Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints - vs. Minnesota
4. Tony Romo - Dallas Cowboys - at Washington
5. Philip Rivers - San Diego Chargers - at Kansas City
6. Tom Brady - New England Patriots - vs. Cincinnati
7. Matt Schaub - Houston Texans - vs. Indianapolis
8. Jay Cutler - Chicago Bears - vs. Detroit
9. Eli Manning - New York Giants - vs. Carolina
10. Brett Favre - Minnesota Vikings - at New Orleans
11. Carson Palmer - Cincinnati Bengals - at New England
12. Joe Flacco - Baltimore Ravens - at New York Jets
13. Matt Ryan - Atlanta Falcons - at Pittsburgh
14. Donovan McNabb - Washington Redskins - vs. Dallas
15. Kevin Kolb - Philadelphia Eagles - vs. Green Bay
16. Kyle Orton - Denver Broncos - at Jacksonville
17. Vince Young - Tennessee Titans - vs. Oakland
18. Derek Anderson - Arizona Cardinals - at St. Louis
19. Alex Smith - San Francisco 49ers - at Seattle
20. David Garrard - Jacksonville Jaguars - vs. Denver
21. Matthew Stafford - Detroit Lions - at Chicago
22. Jason Campbell - Oakland Raiders - at Tennessee
23. Sam Bradford - St. Louis Rams - vs. Arizona
24. Josh Freeman - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - vs. Cleveland
25. Chad Henne - Miami Dolphins - at Buffalo

Thoughts:

• Darrelle Revis’ signing late Sunday night certainly throws a wrench into the Ravens' plans, doesn’t it?  It’s not to say that Joe Flacco won’t be productive, but things certainly got significantly more difficult with Revis trying to shut down Anquan Boldin.
• While Peyton Manning came in third for our overall preseason QB rankings (click here to view), he gets the No. 1 spot for the season’s first week.  He just has the best potential matchup of the top three QBs.
• I have concerns with Kevin Kolb this week.  He was not very impressive in the preseason, with a QB rating of 63.7.  He went 28-53 for just 324 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT.  Couple that with a tough Packers defense looming large, and if you have another option to start in one quarterback formats, you may want to consider using it.
• Still, it will be interesting to see how the offense comes together for Brett Favre without Sidney Rice (and only four receivers on the roster).  Hopefully, we get a good feel for things pretty quickly, but things certainly could turn into a shootout with the Saints this week.
• While Jason Campbell may have a favorable matchup, do we have any idea what he may get out of his receivers?  That certainly makes him a low-end option, at best.
• Sam Bradford is going to start for the Rams.  That’s potentially good news, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.
• Don’t get too used to Jay Cutler ranking in the Top 10 QBs, but with the Detroit Lions on the schedule how can you not like his potential upside this week?
• Donovan McNabb’s ankle injury is not expected to keep him off the field for Week 1.  Don’t shy away from him in two quarterback formats.

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 1 Rankings:

Make sure to also check out our Preseason Rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Kickers

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