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Welcome to the next round of analyzing our 2016 fantasy football rankings here at RotoBaller, as our best and brightest have put their minds (and numbers) together to drop some serious knowledge on the world. The rankings come from Nathan Powell, Zach Wilkens, Bill Dubiel, Frankie Soler and myself, Nick Mariano.
This will be the first look at the overall PPR rankings, where we’ll analyze some tiers and check in on some polarizing names and trends as draft season descends upon us. More in-depth breakdowns by position will follow for both standard and PPR formats, so don’t touch that dial after this episode ends!
First order of business - for those that want to play along, you can also click here to access our rankings assistant page (for all types of formats). I've pasted the entire table in this article below, but it's a long list. Our handy rankings tool shows you all of our staff rankings, player news, ADPs, tiers, target rounds and more. You can easily filter, sort, and export all sorts of ranks – standard, half-PPR and PPR leagues, tiers, rookies, dynasty formats, keeper values and more. It's all in one place, and all free.
2016 Standard Quarterback Rankings Analysis (August)
Tier One kicks off with the MVP himself, Mr. Cam Newton. It’s pretty difficult to argue against given that the man can not only sling the pigskin, but is his own #1 goal-line rushing option. Oh, and he gets Kelvin Benjamin back as a receiver to complement Greg Olsen and the ever-present deep threat of Ted Ginn. That’ll do.
Aaron Rodgers also gets this wide receiver back, guy by the name of Jordy Nelson? Never heard of him. That’ll free up Randall Cobb to slide back into his usual role where he should thrive like seasons past, as the offense goes back to firing on all cylinders.
Russell Wilson showed that he’s more than capable of leading a pass-happy offense last season after Marshawn Lynch got hurt, as Russ and Doug Baldwin showed Seattle they didn't need Skittles to win. Oh, and he can still generate lots of value with his legs (553 rushing yards, third-most amongst QBs).
Andrew Luck is healthy! He averaged nearly 1.5 yards less per attempt last season, but having his arm strength back under him should allow for full utilization of burner T.Y. Hilton while Donte Moncrief and Philip Dorsett emerge as solid options.
Tier Two opens with the quarterback who gets to throw to the consensus #1 overall pick in Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger. Okay, so he won’t have Martavis Bryant this season, and Le’Veon Bell (who was a popular #2 overall pick) will likely miss the first four games, but Brown, Markus Wheaton, Ladarius Green and DeAngelo Williams should be more than enough in the early going.
If he doesn’t tickle your fancy, then Drew Brees is still lighting up box scores down in the Big Easy. In his age-36 season he missed a game and still led the league with 4,870 yards and was fifth in the league with a 7.26 ANY/A (Adjusted Net Yards per Pass Attempt).
You know who led the league in that metric? Carson Palmer, with a killer 8.41 ANY/A. He still has the steady Larry Fitzgerald, while Michael Floyd enters his prime window and youngsters like John Brown, J.J. Nelson and David Johnson look to take steps forward. He's a solid buy.
Rounding out the tier is Tom Brady, who should return from his four-game suspension with a huge chip on his shoulder. He’ll ideally come back to a team with Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Dion Lewis, so if one can survive early then the mid/late-season profits could be gigantic.
Tier Three yields some hurry-up slingers, headlined by the up and coming Blake Bortles. His growth, along with that of Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Julius Thomas and even Marqise Lee, makes him an enticing option when you also weigh in the addition of Chris Ivory to the backfield. Many expect last season’s 35:5 passing-to-rushing touchdown ratio to even out, but this is still a good get.
Speaking of that stat, the Giants had a 36:5 passing-to-rushing TD ratio last season. Eli Manning has one of the best in Odell Beckham Jr., a hot rookie in Sterling Shepard, a healthy Victor Cruz, Will Tye and Shane Vereen at his disposal. Look for Manning to pop off with another year of the McAdoo offense under his belt.
The only team that had fewer rushing touchdowns than those teams? The Philip Rivers-led San Diego Chargers. Much of this had to do with their patchwork offensive line and the struggles of Melvin Gordon, but Rivers has proven to be an effective gunslinger that will generate points through volume and sheer force of will (661 attempts, easily first in the NFL over Brees at 627).
Derek Carr’s Oakland Raiders also rocked a 34:7 passing-to-rushing TD ratio, so you see a pattern here with these mid-range QBs. Leading offenses that can’t really overwhelm with their rushing attack pays off. Having Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree alongside Seth Roberts and Clive Walford isn’t so bad either.
Tony Romo’s durability concerns amidst a run-heavy, time-of-possession dominating approach hurts him. No bones about it. In four games Romo threw for 884 yards, 5 TDs and 7 INTs, but he was without Dez Bryant in one of those and faced Carolina in another (0 TDs in both games). The 36-year-old still has a decent chance at providing a high floor if his health holds in 2016.
Andy Dalton set career-highs in completion percentage (66.1%) and yards per attempt (8.42) while throwing only seven interceptions in 13 games. That’s lovely, but this season he’ll be without Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, while Tyler Eifert looks like he won’t be ready to suit up in Week 1. Gaining Brandon LaFell does little to offset those losses, but hopefully A.J. Green and company can still hold it down.
Tier Four calls for some quick hitters:
Tyrod Taylor had 568 rushing yards in only 14 games, second most out of all QBs, giving him a nice weekly floor.
Jameis Winston threw for over 4,000 yards in his rookie campaign and is surrounded by an offense . That said, the six rushing TDs are unlikely to repeat.
Marcus Mariota’s 234.8 yards per game was 26th in the league, and his 252 rushing yards (in 12 games) isn’t enough to really dazzle, but he should benefit from DeMarco Murray’s presence.
Matt Ryan’s 286.9 yards per game was sixth in the league, and hopefully his 21 TDs steps forward as Atlanta finally learns to utilize Julio Jones in the redzone.
Kirk Cousins won me (and many others) a championship last season with a strong stretch run and makes for a nice late-round QB, especially if Jordan Reed can stay healthy (big if).
Ryan Tannehill gets Adam Gase as a head coach, who will hopefully revitalize a Miami offense that has a ton of promising youngsters (and now Arian Foster!), giving Tanny a pretty high ceiling here.
Matthew Stafford lost Calvin Johnson, yes, but gains Marvin Jones and Anquan Boldin alongside Golden Tate, Eric Ebron and Theo Riddick as receiving options that should allow for Stafford to keep on producing.
The most exciting name outside of those tiers has to be Robert Griffin. He gets a fresh start with a Cleveland team that just drafted Corey Coleman to replace Travis Benjamin, and will hopefully get Josh Gordon back in Week 5. Gary Barnidge and Duke Johnson round out a decent pass-catching corps, but boy his ceiling really skyrockets if Gordon can reenter the picture.
| Tier | Player Name | Overall Rank |
| 1 | Cam Newton | 31 |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers | 33 |
| 1 | Russell Wilson | 40 |
| 1 | Andrew Luck | 44 |
| 2 | Ben Roethlisberger | 59 |
| 2 | Drew Brees | 63 |
| 2 | Carson Palmer | 77 |
| 2 | Tom Brady | 78 |
| 3 | Blake Bortles | 86 |
| 3 | Eli Manning | 89 |
| 3 | Philip Rivers | 98 |
| 3 | Derek Carr | 99 |
| 3 | Tony Romo | 101 |
| 3 | Andy Dalton | 103 |
| 4 | Tyrod Taylor | 117 |
| 4 | Jameis Winston | 126 |
| 4 | Marcus Mariota | 129 |
| 4 | Matt Ryan | 134 |
| 4 | Kirk Cousins | 135 |
| 4 | Ryan Tannehill | 137 |
| 4 | Matthew Stafford | 139 |
| 5 | Jay Cutler | 154 |
| 5 | Joe Flacco | 166 |
| 6 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 170 |
| 6 | Alex Smith | 187 |
| 6 | Brock Osweiler | 189 |
| 6 | Teddy Bridgewater | 200 |
| 6 | Sam Bradford | 211 |
| 6 | Mark Sanchez | 213 |
| 6 | Robert Griffin | 220 |
| 6 | Colin Kaepernick | 221 |
| 7 | Blaine Gabbert | 229 |
| 7 | Jared Goff | 234 |
| 7 | Paxton Lynch | 257 |
| 7 | Carson Wentz | 261 |
| 7 | Geno Smith | 268 |
| 7 | Josh McCown | 297 |
| 7 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 301 |
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
