Diving into the Helm--Quarterbacks

Brandon Funston is famous on Yahoo! for comprising his "Big Board" of fantasy football players. I think this method, while entertaining, is relatively useless. It's hard to just come up with a ranking scheme for all positions grouped together. That is why I just go by position rankings, and then learn the relative value of players compared to different positions, and also why mock drafting is important to success. Mock drafts allow you to target your players and find out where you will need to draft your targets in order to ensure that no one else snags them from you.

I will start by ranking my top quarterbacks, both into tiers and by consecutive order in which I would draft them

Tier #1

1. Aaron Rodgers

2. Drew Brees

3. Peyton Manning

Tier #2

4. Tony Romo

5. Tom Brady

6. Matt Schaub

7. Philip Rivers

8. Brett Favre

Tier #3

9. Eli Manning

Tier #4

10. Matt Ryan

11. Carson Palmer

12. Kevin Kolb

13. Joe Flacco

Tier #5

14. Donovan McNabb

15. Jay Cutler

Notable Others:

Ben Roethlisberger--Aside from the fact that he is a complete moron and no one likes him, he lost one of his favorite targets in the off-season, Santonio Holmes. Although I think Mike Wallace will emerge in Pittsburgh to be a legitimate #3 WR this year because of that, I am still skeptical of Big Ben this year, even after the first four games. The Steelers want to return to their championship form of pounding the ball and wearing down teams with physical play. The odds are that the team will extend significant trust to Rashard Mendenhall, and Big Ben's production will end up being dependent on how effective Mendenhall is. Furthermore, Pittburgh's cryptically shady offensive line puts doubt on both Big Ben and Mendenhall, and the Steelers in general for that matter. I also believe the first four games they play without their leader at helm will be crucial, as it will put them in panic mode or Mendenhall-is-our-Savior mode. Overall, too many worries here for me to take, and I will pick up potential elsewhere.

Alex Smith--That's right, he is under Notable Players. Alex Smith is my deep sleeper quarterback this year, as crazy as it makes me sound. It is definitely hard to put faith into his failed NFL career, but last year he showed some improvement, and things on the offense are shaping up nice for him. The 49ers vastly improved their offensive line in the off-season, adding 2 mammoths to an already subsisting blocking scheme. Smith has no competition this year for the starting gig, so he can focus on improving both individually and collectively. Crabtree will understand the offense better, as this year he is actually with the team in the pre-season, making him a viable option for Smith. He has two players who have proved their abilities in getting open and catching the football, Frank Gore and Vernon Davis. No, I'm not saying Smith will turn into a top 5 QB this year, but if you get anyone outside the top 8 QB he is a good #2 to have to protect the sketchiness of your first QB, because he has plenty of upside and talent around him on a team that is on the rise.