Fantasy Football Rankings Week 3: Quarterbacks on the Rise

Just because you don’t have Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers doesn’t mean you don’t own one of the top QBs in the league.

There are multiple QBs on the rise that are fantasy gold.

I’m not here to give you the guys that have just played well in the last two weeks. That means you won’t be seeing anybody with the last name Newton or Henne on this list.

Here are five QBs that are more than just two-week wonders.

1. Kevin Kolb, Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have made it clear they plan on throwing the ball early and often, which means plenty of fantasy points for Kolb owners.

The summer work with WR Larry Fitzgerald has really paid off and the duo has already combined to put up 195 yards and one TD.

In two games he already has 57 pass attempts and completions of 70 and 73 yards.

With his defense in shambles, the Cardinals are going to be in shootouts all year long.

2. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

The Jets are finally taking the training wheels off the “Sanchize” and the results have been decent (517 yards, four TDs).

He has plenty of athleticism and an exceptional football IQ. His accuracy has improved every season and he’s currently completing 63 percent of his passes.

The turnovers can still be a problem, but with the lack of help in the run game (146 yards in two games), the offense is shifting to pass-first for the first time in Sanchez’s career.

Expect Sanchez to only get stronger as the year goes on and his fantasy numbers will be among the top 10 by season's end…especially with burners Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress on his side.

3. Rex Grossman, Washington Redskins

I think this is finally the year “Bad Rex” is a thing of the past. He’s not forcing throws and is allowing the game to come to him.

It sounds simple enough, but Grossman could never grasp the concept until now. With Santana Moss, Donte Stallworth, Anthony Armstrong and Fred Davis…Grossman quietly has an incredibly deep receiving corps.

With a solid running game to boot, the offense is incredibly balanced.

That keeps the defense honest and keeps the pressure off Grossman.

As the Redskins look to be one of the big surprises in the NFL, expect Grossman to keep putting up the big numbers against an NFC East that features two incredibly weak secondaries.

4. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals

The “red rifle” was spectacular in his first full game with the Bengals.

Despite dealing with an incredibly loud Mile High crowd, Dalton was poised and never panicked. He made all of the right reads and had a mistake-free game.

For a guy making his second career start, that’s high praise.

It’s clear that WR AJ Green is a stud and will be getting a ton of yards after the catch for Dalton. WR Jerome Simpson is a huge deep threat that can secure six fantasy points for Dalton in the span of one play.

The demise of the Bengals offense was very overblown and now is the time to grab Dalton and cash in on what is poised to be a highly successful fantasy season.

5. Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos

It’s hard to say how long it will take for Bronco fanatics to run him to the bench, but until then he’s still fantasy gold.

The ground game is less than stellar, despite head coach’s John Fox’s best efforts to pound the run. That means Orton will be throwing the ball between 35-50 times a game. That is quite possibly the most attempts any QB will be throwing over the next eight weeks.

The more attempts the more points.

Orton gets a bad rap in Denver, but remember…he was near the top of the leader board in passing yards last year before getting benched for that guy named Tebow.

Little has changed, which means you need to pick up Orton now and ride him to the ground until he makes way for a glorified fullback.