Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings: Top 25 NFL Quarterbacks

Week 1 is mostly in the books, so let’s not hesitate in turning our attention to Week 2. 

There are a lot of questions surrounding quarterbacks, with names like Matthew Stafford and Kevin Kolb suffering injuries and others, like Matt Schaub and Brett Favre, struggling.

Let’s take a look at how things currently stand for the upcoming week (we will be updating these later in the week):

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

Thoughts:

• The Giants may try to grind the game out, limiting the touches for Peyton Manning, but will they be successful?  Probably not.  However, the Giants have the weapons to allow Eli Manning to throw the ball around the field, trying to match his brother pass for pass.  If that happens, Eli becomes a great option for Week 2.  He looked good in Week 1, throwing for three TDs.  I know it’s easy to point to the three interceptions, but most of them were on tipped balls.
• I know the Raiders have a weaker opponent, but does anyone trust their receivers?  That’s the biggest detriment for Jason Campbell and will likely plague him all year long.  He showed that he can use Zach Miller and Darren McFadden, but it’s going to be difficult to generate significant yardage that way.
• The Giants secondary certainly looked improved, with three interceptions of Matt Moore (the Jimmy Claussen era could be coming sooner then we think).  Still, Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning.  Of course he’s not going to throw the ball 57 times out often, but his 433-yard, three-TD performance in Week 1 is impressive nonetheless.
• Kyle Orton threw for 295 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  You have to like the chances of Philip Rivers putting up a strong game, wide receiver questions or not.
• Matthew Stafford’s shoulder injury is concerning, to say the least.  At this point, he’s going to be left off these rankings with the early word being that he’ll miss at least a few weeks, if not more.
• The Jets defense is going to downgrade any quarterback, even if it is Tom Brady.  That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t use him this week, however.
• I still have concerns over Kevin Kolb, with his performance against the Packers not doing anything to help that.  Still, he gets the Detroit Lions in Week 2, who allowed Jay Cutler to throw for 372 yards in the opening week.  A lot of that went to Matt Forte, so look for the Eagles to work their screens to LeSean McCoy, helping Kolb produce a big day.  Of course, this ranking is assuming that Kolb can return to the field after missing the second half with a concussion (early word is that if he is healthy, he will start despite Michael Vick’s performance).  His ranking is certainly subject to change.
• I know Carson Palmer exploited the Patriots secondary, but taking on the Ravens is a much bigger test.  I’d keep him as a QB2 for this week.

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 2 Rankings:

• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends 
• Top 15 Kickers (coming soon)
• Top 15 Defenses (coming soon)

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