Tiered Quarterback Rankings: Top 32 in Fantasy Football

Last week, we looked at the top 10 quarterbacks in our 2014 fantasy fantasy football QB rankings. Tiers 1-2 included QB studs like Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Cam Newton and our #1 QB for 2014 fantasy football: Drew Brees.  We followed that up with QBs 11-21 here.  In this article,we’ll look at the next 11 QBs, representing tiers 5-6 in our quarterback rankings.

Tier 5 Quarterback Rankings: Draft At Your Own Risk

These quarterbacks probably should go undrafted, unless you're in a very deep league.

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22. Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins

2013 stats: 3,913 pass yds, 24 TD, 17 INT

The Good: I almost want to put Ryan Tannehill ahead of Andy Dalton, but I’m just not ready to do so yet. I think Tannehill has a tremendous amount of upside, and the Dolphins new offensive coordinator is set to make it a point to get Mike Wallace the ball often.

The Bad: Tannehill plays for the Dolphins, and until that team proves otherwise, I’m considering them a train wreck.

Baller Move: There is upside here, and I think that Tannehill will have a shot to put up some monster games. I’m not sold that the consistency will be there, or that the Dolphins will be any good.

23. Sam Bradford, Rams

2013 stats: 1,687 pass yds, 14 TD, 4 INT

The Good: Sam Bradford seemed finally to be putting it all together last year before an injury limited him to only seven games. In fact, he was one of the higher-ranked fantasy quarterbacks in the early going of 2013. He’s playing on a young team that’s full of talent, and he still has plenty of upside.

The Bad: Despite looking like he was finally putting it all together last season, the bottom line is that Bradford still hasn’t. It’s like watching the guy take a step forward only to take two steps back. He’s also an injury risk, having missed significant time in two of his four NFL seasons.

Baller Move: Bradford probably shouldn’t be drafted unless you’re in a really deep league, but he’s someone to keep an eye on in the early going because of his upside.

24. Joe Flacco, Ravens

2013 stats: 3,912 pass yds, 19 TD, 22 INT

The Good: Flacco has a big arm that can air it out, as proven by his 11.9 vertical pass attempts last season (9th in the NFL).

The Bad: As good as Flacco is in throwing the deep ball, there isn’t much else here. He’s never thrown for 4,000 yards or 30 scores in an era that is extremely QB-friendly, and he’s coming off a poor season that saw him throw more picks than touchdowns. He has zero upside, meaning what you see is what you get with Flacco.

Baller Move: Flacco is at best a bye week replacement.

25. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Texans

2013 stats: 2,454 pass yds, 14 TD, 12 INT

The Good: Ryan Fitzpatrick has shown signs of being a solid fantasy QB in the past, and he'll now play with more offensive weapons than he ever has.

The Bad: Honestly, I think Matt Schaub is the more talented QB, and he was terrible last season. Fitzpatrick has shown that he’s capable of making bad throws and turning the ball over, too-- something that killed Houston a year ago.

Baller Move: Leave Fitzpatrick on waivers. Maybe he performs well with new surroundings and offensive weapons, but I think at this point in his career, he is what he is.

26. EJ Manuel, Bills

2013 stats: PASSING: 1,972 yds, 11 TD, 9 INT, RUSHING: 186 yds, 2 TD

The Good: I love the possible upside of an EJ Manuel / Sammy Watkins combo for the future of the Bills. Manuel has the coveted big-play capability you want in a fantasy QB, and an above-average running game. He has a ton of upside.

The Bad: The recurring injuries this early in his career are a huge red flag, especially for a mobile quarterback. While I do love the Manuel / Watkins combo, there may be some growing pains as they develop together.

Baller Move: I like EJ Manuel going forward in future years more than I do for 2014. If you play in a dynasty league, give Manuel a healthy bump in your rankings.  In redraft leagues, though, I need to see what Manuel has and whether he can stay healthy for a full season before I draft him. If you want to take a late-round flier on him this year, it’s certainly not the craziest idea in the world.

27. Jake Locker, Titans

2013 stats: 1,256 pass yds, 8 TD, 4 INT

The Good: Locker looked good when he was on the field last year, averaging over 13 fantasy points per game.

The Bad: Locker is brittle, and has played in only 18 games the past two years. I expect that he will be playing on one of the worst squads in the NFL. It’s a make-or-break year for Locker, but I think he has little to offer fantasy owners.

Baller Move: I’m not touching Jake Locker at all.

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Tier 6: The Two-Headed QB Monsters

The old saying is that if you have two starting quarterbacks, you really have none. Who knows who will end up winning out in these matchups?  I never like drafting a quarterback who has a backup who can take his job. As a whole, these are guys to avoid, but if you absolutely must draft any of these guys, here is how it should play out.

28. Geno Smith & Michael Vick, Jets

Draft Vick: The Jets insist that Geno Smith is the future, but as long as Michael Vick has that big arm and running back speed, coaches are going to be enticed to put him in. The players the Jets added in the offseason play right into Vick’s skill set, as Chris Johnson’s speed will keep defenses from keying on Vick when he runs, and Eric Decker will provide a big target who can get deep and find the end zone.

I like Smith, and think he will be a solid QB one day, but I don't think New York is the place for him. He showed signs of brilliance last season, but he also threw plenty of games away by turning the ball over too much. Last year, he was given enough leash to play through the inconsistency because the only other option was Mark Sanchez. This year, if Smith starts slow or shows to be prone to throwing picks, the fans and media will be screaming for Vick.

29. Chad Henne & Blake Bortles, Jaguars

Draft Bortles: I actually like Chad Henne as a quarterback, and he has had a limited amount of success in the NFL as a starter. The Jaguars were not as bad as people thought last year, but that’s still not saying much. Bottom line is, the Jaguars have nothing to play for again this year, so it’s only a matter of time before they decide that their best option is to let Bortles learn on the job and take his lumps. I’d be willing to bet  that Bortles gets a start by Week Five.

30. Brian Hoyer & Johnny Manziel, Browns

Draft Manzeil: Brian Hoyer had a nice little run as a starter last season, and the Browns looked very good at times last year. The Browns obviously weren’t sold on Hoyer, and now that it looks like they’ll be without Josh Gordon for a while, there is little reason to let Hoyer be a lame duck. The Johnny Football phenomenon will rival that of Tebowmania, and once the Browns start losing, people will be screaming from the rooftops for Manziel to get a crack at the starting job. If you play in a dynasty league, I’d give consideration to drafting Manziel ahead of guys with no upside, like Joe Flacco.

31. Matt Schaub & Derek Carr, Raiders

Draft Schaub: Matt Schaub was terrible last year, to the point that fans were showing up on his doorstep. He’s not great, but he is not as bad as he performed last year. Carr is no doubt the future of the franchise, and though there isn't really anything about last year that should make me think this, but Schaub should have enough left in the tank to hold of Carr at least for this year.

32. Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder, Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings

Draft Bridgewater: Seeing rookie Teddy Bridgewater behind both Cassel and Ponder leads me to believe that they are dead set against him starting. With that said, he’s obviously the most talented of the bunch, and is the only guy worth taking a shot on in drafts this year. He still shouldn’t be drafted in redraft leagues, but he's worth a flier in dynasty formats for his upside.

Be sure to take a look at QBs 1-10 and QBs 11-21 to round out the top 32!