Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks

The impressive quarterback play continues throughout the league.  Who could have imagined some of the gaudy numbers, and it’s not just coming from the elite in the league.  Ryan Fitzpatrick?  Cam Newton?  Let’s take a look at how it all shakes out for Week 4:

1. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – at Oakland
2. Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers – vs. Miami
3. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – vs. Denver
4. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – at Jacksonville
5. Michael Vick – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. San Francisco
6. Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions – at Dallas
7. Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Detroit
8. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Houston
9. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – at Seattle
10. Eli Manning – New York Giants – at Arizona
11. Ryan Fitzpatrick – Buffalo Bills – at Cincinnati
12. Kyle Orton – Denver Broncos – at Green Bay
13. Kevin Kolb – Arizona Cardinals – vs. New York Giants
14. Matt Schaub – Houston Texans – vs. Pittsburgh
15. Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears – vs. Carolina
16. Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – at Chicago
17. Jason Campbell – Oakland Raiders – vs. New England
18. Mark Sanchez – New York Jets – at Baltimore
19. Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens – vs. New York Jets
20. Sam Bradford – St. Louis Rams – vs. Washington
21. Rex Grossman – Washington Redskins – at St. Louis
22. Josh Freeman – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Indianapolis
23. Matt Hasselbeck – Tennessee Titans – at Cleveland
24. Donovan McNabb – Minnesota Vikings – at Kansas City
25. Matt Cassel – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Minnesota

Thoughts:

• It wasn’t a huge day for Philip Rivers in Week 3, though it wasn’t a poor one either, throwing for 266 yards and no TD.  Through three games he’s thrown for 979 yards and gets a Dolphins’ defense that is allowing 311.0 passing yards/game, as well as a whopping eight TDs.  Obviously, we’d feel a lot better about him if Antonio Gates was healthy, but it’s hard to argue against his potential to post a big day.
• As it turns out, Michael Vick did not break his hand, but instead just bruised it.  Is he going to be able to play through the pain?  At this point he has to be included in the rankings, though he’s a rather risky proposition.  When healthy he’s among the best plays in the league, so make sure to monitor the news and adjust accordingly.
• Will the Lions vs. Cowboys game breakdown into a shootout?  At this point it is impossible to pick against Matthew Stafford, who continues to shine.  Over the first three weeks he has thrown for 977 yards and trails just Tom Brady (11), with nine TDs thrown.  We are finally seeing what is possible if he can stay healthy and he should be considered a must use option in all formats.
• No one thought Eli Manning could post good numbers against the Philadelphia Eagles.  All he ended up doing was throwing for 254 yards, four TDs and no INT.  Now, he gets an Arizona Cardinals defense that struggled in the first two weeks (they were better in Week 3, but that was against Tarvaris Jackson).  Look for Manning to post strong numbers again and be a borderline QB1 in all formats.
• Josh Freeman has not gotten his year off to a good start, averaging 227.3 yards/game.  He’s also thrown just two TDs, while being intercepted four times.  That includes games against the Vikings and Falcons, both of whom are in the bottom third of the league in pass defense (the Vikings have allowed 299.3 passing yards/game).  It doesn’t matter who he’d be facing, he’s only going to be a viable option in two-quarterback formats.
• We all know that the Raiders are more of a running team, focused around Darren McFadden.  However, in order to keep up with the Patriots, they are going to have to take to the air more than they are accustomed to.  With the Patriots giving up a lot of big plays (23 passes of 20-plus yards, by far the most in the league), Jason Campbell should be a nice sleeper pick in two-quarterback formats.
• Matt Schaub and the Texans may be a good passing attack, but they draw a Steelers defense who is the best at defending the pass (164.0 passing yards/game).  Do you trust him as anything more than a QB2?
• How will Matt Hasselbeck fare without Kenny Britt?  He still managed to throw for 311 yards and two TDs, putting him at 932 yards and five TDs over the first three weeks of the season.  It’s tough to consider him more than a QB2, though, as he faces a Browns’ defense that has been among the best against the run (187.3 passing yards/game).  If Britt were healthy maybe it will be different, but at this point he’s a bit too big of a risk.
• Kyle Orton has a great matchup with the Packers, but if Brandon Lloyd doesn’t play again, can we expect big numbers?  It’s hard to imagine, so keep expectations in check for the coming week.

Make sure to check out the rest of Rotoprofessor’s Week 4 information:

• Top 40 Running Backs
• Waiver Worthy