The last set of tiered QB rankings for 2-QB fantasy football leagues that were presented to you on Sports Jerks occurred right after the 2013 NFL Draft. A lot has happened since then, and with that in mind, it was time to update the tiered QB rankings for 2-QB fantasy football leagues, which you can find below.
I went about things differently this time with the QB tiered rankings system, and have broken down the tiers into QB1, QB2, and QB3. The reasoning behind that is when you’re drafting quarterbacks in 2-QB leagues, even if there’s a difference between where you view a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, and one like Matthew Stafford finishing the season, they’re both going to more than likely be your 2-QB team’s QB1.
We’re in the heart of 2-QB drafting season, and you’re going to want to focus your attention on getting at least one QB1 to anchor your 2-QB team,. If you can get two, while the price might be heavy to pay, it could be beneficial.
It will all depend on your league’s scoring settings and league size though, and you won’t always be able to grab a couple of high end QB1s. If that’s the case, and you can only draft one QB1, you’re going to want to grab a QB2 that can potentially finish the season as a QB1.
Each of the quarterbacks ranked in their respective tiers means that I would have no problem with them either being my team’s QB1 or QB2, or that I’d prefer for them to be nothing more than a QB3, and see the starting line-up of my team as a bye week fill-in or injury replacement. The bracketed number in each tier signifies the number of quarterbacks ranked in that particular tier.
QB1 Tier (14)
Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Eli Manning
QB2 Tier (12)
Michael Vick, Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill, Jay Cutler, Josh Freeman, Sam Bradford, Carson Palmer, Matt Schaub, Joe Flacco, Alex Smith, E.J. Manuel, Brandon Weeden
QB3 Tier (10)
Philip Rivers, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Geno Smith, Matt Flynn, Nick Foles, Kevin Kolb, Drew Stanton, Terrelle Pryor, Mike Glennon
Honorable Mentions (9)
Kirk Cousins, Matt Moore, Matt Cassel, Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kyle Orton, Matt Scott
- Michael Vick is the biggest wildcard of the bunch, and really, I have no idea where to rank him. I was waiting until the Philadelphia Eagles were going to name a starting quarterback, but based on pre-season play and beat reports, Vick has distanced himself far and away from challenger Nick Foles, so much so that it’s Vick’s job to lose. Vick has been a top fantasy quarterback before, finishing the 2002 season as the third highest scoring fantasy quarterback, and in 2010, he was the top fantasy scoring quarterback. Vick’s potential, and upside, comes from playing in Chip Kelly’s offense, and if he can master it, and work within it, he could be the biggest upside QB2 option out there. But also the riskiest, with his injury history and a capable back-up in Foles ready to step in without hesitation, if need be.
- Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne are two quarterbacks I’m not really interested in ranking, or drafting. Until there’s a starter named in Jacksonville, we won’t have a definitive answer as to which one of the two will be worth rostering in 2-QB leagues. If you’re thinking about drafting either of the two, for now, take whichever one of the two is available later. If you’re looking for a positive in regards to Gabbert, it was mentioned on the Mike and Taz Show PFF Podcast that Gabbert had the highest completion percentage jump from rookie to sophomore season within the past five years. So there’s that. Monitor the situation, and watch out for undrafted rookie quarterback Matt Scott.
- Oh, Philip Rivers. How the mighty have fallen. It’s been nothing but a downward trend for Rivers in terms of fantasy scoring as he went from QB3 in 2008 to QB8 in 2009 to QB5 in 2010 to QB9 in 2011 to QB21 in 2012. That’s quite the steep fall. There was hope that Rivers could provide a sneaky QB2 option in 2-QB leagues this year, but with the way his offensive line pass blocks, and the loss of Danario Alexander, things aren’t looking good for Rivers this year. It might be one of those situations where you’re better off letting somebody else draft him.
- You might be surprised that a total of 14 quarterbacks made it into my QB1 tier, and while Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger might not be considered consensus QB1s this year, in either 1-QB or 2-QB leagues, they’ve performed at that level before. I’ve become flexible in the way I view the QB1 position in 2-QB leagues this year, that if it came down to it, I would feel comfortable with any one of the 14 quarterbacks listed in the QB1 range.
- The QB2 tier is the one you need to pay much attention to, because if you aren’t able to land at least one of the top QB1 options, you’re going to have to tread carefully within the wild terrains of the QB2 tier. My QB2 tier has it all: rookies (E.J. Manuel), reclamation projects (Jay Cutler/Alex Smith), youth and upside (Andy Dalton/Ryan Tannehill), wildcards (Vick/Josh Freeman), and a Super Bowl MVP (Joe Flacco). If you try out a ‘Studs+Streaming’ approach to your 2-QB draft, you’re going to want to look towards drafting a couple of quarterbacks from this tier.
- Other than maybe Geno Smith, if he gets the starting nod in New York, there aren’t any quarterbacks in the QB3 tier that I would feel comfortable with turning to for a spot start here and there in 2013. I would much rather prefer that my QB1 and QB2 combo come from the QB1 and QB2 tiers, and that my QB3 resides in the QB2 tier. The Honorable Mentions tier is just there to remind you that any and all quarterbacks in 2-QB fantasy football leagues need to be monitored, as you never know when you might have to turn to a Matt Cassel or Ryan Fitzpatrick to save your 2-QB team.
