Peyton Manning's Injury and Round 1 of Your Fantasy Football Draft

If you are in non-keeper fantasy football league, you may come to a crossroads in your draft.

That would be drafting Peyton Manning.

When your time comes up in the draft, and players like Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers and Chris Johnson are gone, I recommend you still select No. 18.

Peyton Manning has proven year after year that he is as consistent as they get, and no doubt will he be a positive force on your roster once he comes back into action.

"Red Shirt" Him

Taking Peyton Manning really has no risks involved.

He may not play Week 1 or 2, but down the line he will be playing. I expect a tight race down to the wire in the AFC South, so Manning will be most important towards the end of the fantasy season.

In the meantime, there are potential "back-ups" that you can use while Manning sits out.

The following rankings are based on ESPN's fantasy football quarterback rankings.

No. 22 Kyle Orton

People tend to forget just how good Denver Broncos QB Kyle Orton has done since leaving Chicago.

And that Tim Tebow guy, I wouldn't worry about him.

Kyle Orton will be the starter for the Broncos this season, and I just don't see him losing his job.

Orton has been a consistent machine in Denver. Last season he threw for 3652 yards with 20 TDs and only nine interceptions.

Orton will also be available in the last fourth or early fifth round due to his ranking and people's doubt in his playing time.

Also remember that Orton was pulled towards the end of last season due to a losing record and downward spiral with Coach Josh McDaniels.

Even if the Broncos fail once again and start to give Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow a run at the end of the season, Peyton Manning should be back in action anyways.

The Broncos will be playing both the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals in Weeks 1 and 2 at home. Orton is, in my opinion, your best bet.

No. 8 Matt Schaub

If you take Peyton Manning in the first round, you will likely be taking Matt Schaub in the second. This may seem ridiculous to some, but to others it may be a good move.

Chances are there will still be some high caliber running backs and wide receivers available, so it may be wise to take a different quarterback in a later round. To each their own though.

Schaub is destined to have another great season. He has Andre Johnson and a great receiving running back in Arian Foster. He also has Owen Daniels coming back this season, but his output will be questionable.

Schaub is a starter on any other team, so when Peyton comes back, well we will touch on that in a little.

The Houston Texans are looking at the Colts in Week 1 and a trip to South Beach to play the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. Either way, he will tear apart both defenses.

No. 13 Joe Flacco

I am a huge Joe Flacco fan.

With him sitting at No. 13 on the QB board, and No. 86 on the overall board, Flacco could fall to the late third or early fourth round.

The Baltimore Ravens QB would be an excellent replacement while Peyton Manning sits out.

With wide receivers Anquan Boldin and newly acquired Lee Evans, Joe Flacco has two wide receivers who are excellent deep threats and will likely score often. Running back Ray Rice doesn't have terrible hands either.

Joe Flacco has only been getting better every season, with his last consisting of 25 TD, 10 interceptions and 3,622 passing yards.

I expect him to only get better this season.

The only thing that holds me a little back on Flacco is that he plays the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in Week 1, but he does have an easier game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. Both games against the Steelers last year were low scoring and close, so be warned.

No. 18 Kevin Kolb

Kevin Kolb is finally a starter for sure in the NFL.

The Arizona Cardinals hope they finally got their guy, after many dismal seasons following Kurt Warner's retirement.

With a receiving corp that mostly just consists of Larry Fitzgerald, expect big things between these two. The addition of Todd Heap should also look to help Kolb in this new offense.

Kolb should also be a later round option. He will likely have much success, as he did before he had his concussions.

Kevin Kolb and the Arizona Cardinals should have an easy time with their pass offense when they face the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 and then a game in Washington against the Redskins in Week 2.

Kolb poses a great option to replace Manning while he is out. 

No. 14 Sam Bradford

I think Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams will be throwing up those touchdown arm signals a lot this year. 

With an aging back in Stephen Jackson and an excelling wide receiver in Donnie Avery, expect to perhaps see the Greatest Show on Turf 2.0. With the addition of Mike Sims-Walker as well, Sam Bradford is poised to only increase what the Rams were progressing towards last season.

We can only hope that Bradford won't have a sophomore slump while also bringing down the interception numbers from 15 a season ago.

Bradford will likely be available in the fourth or fifth round, so he won't be much of a waste of a pick.

Bradford stands a little tougher of a schedule the first two weeks facing the Eagles at home and Giants in the Meadow-lands.

When No. 18 Returns to the Field

When Peyton Manning is finally ready to play, your team is going to be in a good position.

You are going to have one of two options.

One, you can hold onto both players and have two choices going into every week.

The second option is now you can trade one of these guys for a piece you are missing. You can now grab a high skilled wide receiver or running back. This is where the Matt Schaub situation I was talking about will suit you best.

Since you used both your first and second-round picks on quarterbacks, you can now trade either one of them for a higher quality player.

Things will be even better if the player you pick to replace Manning gets off to a hot start.

Most likely, someone is your league is going to have a quarterback go down, and you are going to be holding a piece that they will really want.

Good luck to all.