Fantasy Football Week 6 Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks

It seems like all of the top NFL quarterbacks will take the field this week, outside of the San Diego Chargers and Philip Rivers.  So how do things stack up for Week 6?  Let’s take a look at our current rankings:

1. Drew Brees—New Orleans Saints—at Tampa Bay
2. Aaron Rodgers—Green Bay Packers—vs. St. Louis
3. Tom Brady—New England Patriots—vs. Dallas
4. Michael Vick—Philadelphia Eagles—at Washington
5. Tony Romo—Dallas Cowboys—at New England
6. Matthew Stafford—Detroit Lions—vs. San Francisco
7. Cam Newton—Carolina Panthers—at Atlanta
8. Eli Manning—New York Giants —vs. Buffalo
9. Ryan Fitzpatrick—Buffalo Bills—at New York Giants
10. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons—vs. Carolina
11. Ben Roethlisberger—Pittsburgh Steelers—vs. Jacksonville
12. Matt Schaub—Houston Texans—at Baltimore
13. Joe Flacco—Baltimore Ravens—vs. Houston
14. Sam Bradford—St. Louis Rams—at Green Bay
15. Jay Cutler—Chicago Bears—vs. Minnesota
16. Mark Sanchez—New York Jets—vs. Miami
17. Josh Freeman—Tampa Bay Buccaneers—vs. New Orleans
18. Colt McCoy—Cleveland Browns—at Oakland
19. Andy Dalton—Cincinnati Bengals—vs. Indianapolis
20. Jason Campbell—Oakland Raiders—vs. Cleveland
21. Rex Grossman—Washington Redskins—vs. Philadelphia
22. Curtis Painter—Indianapolis Colts—at Cincinnati
23. Alex Smith—San Francisco 49ers—at Detroit
24. Donovan McNabb—Minnesota Vikings—at Chicago
25. Blaine Gabbert—Jacksonville Jaguars—at Pittsburgh

Thoughts:

There are quite a few quarterbacks posting impressive seasons in 2011, aren’t there?  It’s hard to pick against Drew Brees for the top spot for the coming week, however.  Not only has he thrown for 1,769 yards, 12 TD and five INT through his first five games, he gets to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have been among the worst passing defenses in the league (267.0 passing yards/game).  Among the performances against them have been Matthew Stafford (305 yards and three TD) and Matt Ryan (330 yards and one TD).  Look for Brees to have a big day.

With the Jets vowing to go with a ground and pound attack in Week 5 the Patriots defense managed to hold Mark Sanchez to 166 passing yards.  Does anyone believe that they are going to be able to do the same thing to Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys?  The game should be a shootout making Romo a solid play in all formats.

Speaking of the Jets ground and pound attack, they did appear to get Shonn Greene going in Week 5 (21 carries for 83 yards and one TD).  Even taking on a Miami Dolphins defense that has struggled against the pass (307.0 yards/game, nine TD, two INT), you are going to want to be careful with Mark Sanchez.  You just don’t know if they are going to continue to try and run the ball or not.

Cam Newton was at it again in Week 5, not only throwing for 224 yards, two TD and one INT, but also running for 27 yards and a touchdown.  We all know that the Falcons are going to look to open up the passing game, meaning this one can easily fall into a high-scoring affair.  While the Panthers have been finding a running game of late (DeAngelo Williams had nine rushes for 115 yards and one TD), the Falcons passing defense has been poor to date.  Look for Newton to shine once again.

Eli Manning continues to produce.  Granted, he did throw three INT in Week 5, but he also threw for 420 yards and three TD.  He now has 11 TD over his past four games and three straight of at least 250 yards (and back-to-back games over 320).  He gets a Bills defense that has been prone to be taken down by the pass this season, meaning Manning is going to be a viable option in all formats.

Despite being banged up Ben Roethlisberger went out for Week 5 and threw for 228 yards and five TD.  Does anyone want to doubt him again?  While the Jaguars have defended the pass well thus far (215.4 passing yards/game), the best quarterback they’ve faced has been Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Outside of that, they haven’t really taken on someone that is going to scare anyone.  Look for Roethlisberger to continue to produce, especially if Rashard Mendenhall is not ready to return.

Matt Schaub has been solid this season, throwing for 1,377 yards and nine TD, but does anyone trust him against the Baltimore Ravens defense?  Consider him a viable QB2 this week, but a low-end option in one-quarterback formats.

So far it looks like Curtis Painter could be a productive option, doesn’t it?  Since stepping in during Week 3 he has thrown for 618 yards, four TD and zero INT.  In his two starts he has thrown for two TDs each.  He does take on a Bengals team that has allowed just 191.0 passing yards per game thus far this season, so he’s going to be a low-end option.  However, if he puts up a strong performance once again his stock is going to increase dramatically.

Make sure to check out the rest of Rotoprofessor’s Week 6 information:

• Top 40 Running Backs
• Waiver Worthy