Fantasy Football Pre-Season Preview: Quarterbacks

By The Huddle | July 23, 2014 12:00 am ET

OTHER POSITIONS: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Receivers

We’re now a couple seasons removed from the Great Rookie Quarterback Influx of 2012, but that doesn’t mean the position’s productivity has slowed. In fact, it’s hard to find a team without a quarterback who puts up what used to be considered good fantasy numbers, to the point that you can wait and wait and wait and still snag a reasonably productive fantasy QB. Here’s a breakdown of the position’s productivity over the past few years, as well as each team’s performance over that span–and what’s in store for the upcoming campaign.

Position Totals by Year

Year	Passes	Comps	Pass Yards	YPC	Pass TD	Int	Runs	Rush Yards	Rush TD
2005	16,433	9,776	111,478	11.4	639	507	1,384	4,564	44
2006	16,350	9,786	112,038	11.4	643	516	1,425	5,221	44
2007	17,023	10,414	116,615	11.2	715	534	1,305	4,001	40
2008	16,486	10,060	114,456	11.4	638	463	1,316	4,435	48
2009	16,992	10,356	118,600	11.5	703	517	1,336	4,292	45
2010	17,236	10,476	120,755	11.5	746	510	1,420	5,659	46
2011	17,357	10,437	124,886	12.0	741	503	1,571	6,075	66
2012	17,766	10,823	125,687	11.6	753	466	1,587	6,577	66
2013	18,110	11,088	128,953	11.6	799	501	1,707	7,737	57

More, more, more… 2013 quarterbacks were all about the Andrea True Connection (ask your parents) as they established 10-year highs in rushing attempts and yardage as well as passing attempts, completions, yardage and touchdowns. Rushing touchdowns dipped from the two-season peak but still remained well above previous levels, suggesting quarterbacks were being reined in a little—but not so much as to blow previous positional marks in both attempts and yards out of the water. In short, the league is getting exactly what it wants: more offense, beginning at the top with the quarterback position.

Top Ten Quarterback Totals

Year	Passes	Comps	Pass Yards	Pass TD	Runs	Rush Yards	Rush TD	FF Pts
2004	5,169	3,261	41,259	302	401	1,388	14	3,192
2005	4,999	3,098	36,432	233	370	1,223	13	2,721
2006	5,161	3,118	36,985	222	451	2,123	18	2,474
2007	5,319	3,434	40,090	315	287	674	14	3,416
2008	5,490	3,505	40,904	263	417	1,289	13	3,305
2009	5,356	3,554	43,778	294	303	746	12	3,219
2010	5,487	3,547	40,917	290	392	1,399	14	3,431
2011	5,750	3,669	45,839	334	430	1,519	32	3,972
2012	5,937	3,753	44,990	295	522	2,427	33	3,741
2013	5,939	3,812	43,950	313	451	1,699	20	3,738

Being a top 10 fantasy quarterback in 2013 was all about volume, as no group of top-10 QBs had ever thrown (or completed) as many passes as last season. Rushing productivity was down a bit, supporting the theory espoused above that the more productive teams weren’t turning lose their valuable QBs on the ground. And the fact that the top 10 totals were for the most part on par with previous seasons despite overall high-water marks suggests that more than just the top 10 QBs are putting up helpful fantasy numbers… which is why waiting on a quarterback on fantasy draft day is so en vogue.

Arizona Cardinals

Year	Pass	Rank	Comp	Rank	Passing Yards	Rank	TDs	Rank	Int	Rank
2011	550	15	307	21	3,954	15	21	15	23	27
2012	608	9	337	14	3,383	27	11	31	21	32
2013	572	17	362	15	4,274	12	24	15	22	28

(Improving) Carson Palmer actually threw less than his predecessors, but more accurately and efficiently and productively. Bottom line, the Arizona passing game moved from bottom of the barrel to middle of the pack. Another big jump isn’t likely, but with quality targets and another season of Palmer there’s nothing wrong with the status quo here.

Atlanta Falcons

Year	Pass	Rank	Comp	Rank	Passing Yards	Rank	TDs	Rank	Int	Rank
2011	593	4	365	7	4,365	8	29	7	13	9
2012	615	8	422	4	4,719	5	32	5	14	13
2013	658	3	444	3	4,549	4	26	11	17	19

Matt Ryan’s productivity remained stable despite Julio Jones’ injury issues. Now Jones returns, though Ryan will have to adjust to not having the security blanket of Tony Gonzalez around. While Ryan remains outside the velvet ropes of the elite quarterbacks, he’s at least on the list to get into the club and mingle with the party people.

Baltimore Ravens

Year	Pass	Rank	Comp	Rank	Passing Yards	Rank	TDs	Rank	Int	Rank
2011	543	18	313	17	3,628	19	20	18	12	5
2012	560	15	334	15	3,996	14	22	20	11	6
2013	619	8	363	13	3,914	19	19	26	23	31

The falloff of Baltimore’s ground game forced Joe Flacco to throw more, but the results weren’t necessarily positive; in fact, passing yards and TDs declined while interceptions more than doubled. That’s probably not what the Ravens were looking for when they gave Flacco $120 million last season, and now he’ll be working in a different sort of offense that may not play to Flacco’s big arm. Few if any are buying Flacco as anything more than fantasy filler, and there’s little to suggest that’s the wrong approach.

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