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Over the past few days , William Frang (@WilliamFrang) have been delivering potential sleepers candidates. So today , I will give you my Top 5 Quarterbacks. As we draw closer to September , look for my official Quarterback rankings for the 2014 season. Expect it to be dramatically different though.
1. Peyton Manning- After missing the 2011 season , many questioned weather Manning would ever be the same. 3 years later , we are wondering how can anyone slow him down. Manning put on a unbelievable show for his owners. 55 TDs and 5000+ yards alone was just incredible. In 16 games , Manning was 450/659 (68.3%) , 5477 yards, 55 TDs (8.3 TD %) , and 10 Ints (1.5 Int %). 9 times in 2013 , Manning had 4 or more TDs in a game. While topping 400 yards 3 times (300 yards 12 times and 250 yards 15 times). Very few owners will pass up a chance to draft Peyton Manning. He is easily worth every penny of a 2nd round pick (if not 1st round).
2. Aaron Rodgers - Brees could have gotten the slot , but no quarterback have a TD / Int Ratio such as Rodgers does. His accuracy , decision making and surprising athleticism is above average. With an improved Defense, additional added talented to already explosive offense. He could have a tremendous 2014 , but staying healthy will be key. Rodgers have unlimited talent at his fingertips within the Packers offense.
3. Drew Brees - Brees doesn't have the talented offenses individual like Thomas , Nelson , Welker and Cobb at Wide Receiver. But Jimmy Graham is just as good. Drew have one of the better arms in the NFL. He been a 5000+ yards machine in the recent years. Few Quarterbacks in this era will ever reach that mark. He is worth his draft position and then some.
4. Andrew Luck - Andrew Luck was drafted No.1 overall in 2012. His numbers: 339/627 (54.1%) , 4374 yards , 23 TDs , and 18 Ints. 2 concerns I had was his relatively low completion % and his high Interception rate. In 2013 , Luck stats: 343/570 (60.2%) , 3822 yards, 23 TDs , and 9 Ints. Luck improved his completion % and lowered his Interceptions. Unfortunately dropped in yards (552 fewer yards) and passing attempts (52 fewer attempts). 552 yards seems like a lot , right? So lets do a quarterback experiment. In 2013 , Luck averaged 238 yards/g and 35 passing attempts/g. So that 357 yards in 52 attempts (238 + Half of that number which is 119). If those trends held , Luck would have ended with 4179 yards.
5. Matthew Stafford - Stafford may not be the right quarterback for everyone , but he knows how to get results year in and out. In 2013 , Stafford went 371/634 (58.5%) , 4650 yards , 29 TDs and 19 Ints. Not great overall numbers. Lets compare his first 8 vs last 8 games: 211/338 (62.4%) , 2617 yards , 16 TDs , and 6 Ints (First 8 games). 160/296 (54%) , 2033 yards , 13 TDs , and 13 Ints (Last 8 games). The purpose of that comparison was to show that Stafford significant dropped off in the second half. Was he a bad quarterback? No not at all. He was a nice bargain deal in the 8th round. Unfortunately , he cannot have a significant drop off like that based on his ADP of 51. I expect him to go in the 5th Round in most drafts though. Depending on your league format/setup. Ex: Some leagues rewards quarterbacks for X-amount of yards and/or X-amount of pass attempt/completions. Rather then zero-in on Tds/Ints.
Thanks for reading
Chase Edwards