Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

With the 2010 NFL Draft in the books it’s time to start making an assessment of how your favorite team drafted. Hopefully you are happy with the way your favorite team attacked the 2010 NFL Draft. If not, there is always next year to address the needs of the team. One position which will improve next season (especially in the early rounds) in the draft will be at quarterback, where guys like Jake Locker (Washington), Ryan Mallett (Arkansas), and Andrew Luck (Stanford) could be among the first round draft picks. However, for this year there was some excellent signal callers drafted and while they may not make a big fantasy football impact in year one, they do have the talent to be worth a look in keeper or dynasty leagues.

With that being said, it’s time to take a look at the 2010 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings at the quarterback position. Continue to check back in throughout the off-season as we will make edits to these rankings up until Week 1 of the 2010 NFL Regular Season.

1. Jimmy Clausen, QB, Carolina Panthers: Yes the man who was talked about for most of the draft, from where he will go in the first round to what team may try to get him in the second round, Clausen was no doubt a steal at where he was drafted! He goes to a Carolina Panthers team in which Clausen will get the opportunity to compete for a starting position from mini camp. The Panthers offense is very similar to one Clausen ran at Notre Dame and Matt Moore has not been very effective as the starter in the past.

Another great thing is that Clausen will have a great running game beside him with Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams plus one of the best wide receivers in the game in Steve Smith. He has shown in college that he can make the big throws and play in a shootout mentality (something which may be needed with a subpar defense in Carolina). It’s doubtful Clausen will have the kind of numbers worth starting fantasy wise in year one, but he will likely have the best numbers for any rookie quarterback and should be in for a very good career.

2. Sam Bradford, QB, St. Louis Rams: The number one overall pick has the potential to be the best quarterback and player in the entire 2010 NFL Draft, but he is a long shot from being fantasy worthy in his rookie season. He will likely have the same career path as a fellow number one overall pick (Matthew Stafford) in his rookie year. Bradford will challenge (and possibly succeed) to be the starter from day one for the Rams, but will either get hurt or make some big time mistakes to bring his value down.

What you have to like about Bradford is his prototypical frame to go along with a strong arm and football mentality. He will work extremely hard to try and make something happen but the talent around him won’t help him much. Running back Steven Jackson can only do so much, especially with the wide receivers leaving quite a bit to be desired. Add that the offensive line is a mess in St. Louis and (yes here is the correlation to Stafford) Bradford may be in for a long year with injuries due to running for his life! Fantasy football is strictly the numbers on the field and if he can’t stay on the field for an entire game, the numbers won’t be there. However, his talent makes him a great grab in keeper leagues!

3. Tim Tebow, QB, Denver Broncos: Could there be anyone who was criticized more than Tim Tebow? He got drafted in the first round but even if he went in the seventh round the analysts would have found some way to criticize this guy. The facts are that the man is a winner, plain and simple. Count me in as one of the few who believes Tebow can be turned into a good NFL quarterback someday due to his hard work, dedication to the game and his teammates, his skill set, and winners mentality.

Now the first thing we need to point out is that he may not ever be a great fantasy quarterback, but instead a guy you want on your football team to win games. However, he will likely have the most fantasy impact this year out of the rest of the signal callers listed below. The main reason is due to him finding the field in some way, whether it is to be the actual quarterback or to score some touchdowns and make plays in the wildcat. The only way to have true fantasy potential though is for Tebow to become a true quarterback and develop his accuracy in making the perfect throw. The skills are there though for Tebow to have success in the NFL.

4. Colt McCoy, QB, Cleveland Browns: Word out of Cleveland is that the third round draft pick will be sitting on the bench for the entire 2010 season (per Mike Holmgren). This is terrible news for us fantasy owners but then again, if McCoy was inserted in the lineup, there is no reason to believe he would have any kind of success in his first season. Don’t expect for McCoy to sit the entire year (Cleveland may play him at the end of the season to get some real game action in) but him sitting the bench is likely the best thing for his career.

All draft the one thing you heard is that Cleveland is the best place for him to go and play. As long as Holmgren implements his west coast offense, there is no reason to think McCoy wouldn’t have success. His two biggest weaknesses were his arm strength and height. Both of those problems can be masked in this style offense. As long as the Browns can develop some playmakers around him, there is no reason McCoy shouldn’t have success in the NFL. In fact, due to his accuracy and quick release (to go along with his great character and leadership), there is potential for McCoy to possibly be the best fantasy quarterback option out of this draft class. The biggest problem though will be that this year he is only good in keeper leagues, because it’s doubtful McCoy will find the field much as a rookie.

5. Dan LeFevour, QB, Chicago Bears: You may wonder why list a guy who will be behind Jay Cutler in the top five. But one thing to know is that LeFevour has talent that can be coached up by offensive coordinator Mike Martz over the next couple years. From there Chicago may be able to deal LeFevour and get some value from this pick or if Cutler continues to throw to the wrong team he could be forced into action down the road.

6. Mike Kafka, QB, Philadelphia Eagles: Another good value pick, as Kafka can play the Kevin Kolb role, learning from a good coach and not ever having to see the field. Kafka will mature and will be the Kolb fail-safe or trade bait that winds up in a good situation.

7. Tony Pike, QB, Carolina Panthers: Interesting Carolina chose Pike when they already selected Jimmy Clausen but if the Notre Dame star becomes a bust like many other Irish quarterbacks have before, Pike has the chance to step in and be a major player. Pike will not be rushed onto the field like Clausen, giving him the opportunity to learn the NFL style of play and possibly develop more than his rookie teammate.

8. Jarrett Brown, QB, San Francisco 49ers: Strange to put an un-drafted quarterback here? Well the West Virginia product will step into a good situation in San Francisco, where two former top overall draft picks (Alex Smith and David Carr) sit in front of him. However, both guys have not played to their potential and if both guys struggle Brown could see playing time sooner than later in the city by the bay.

9. Jevan Snead, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Another guy who went un-drafted and this one was really surprising. Snead showed his talent level as a sophomore, as he came back last year as a Heisman trophy candidate. A sub-par junior year led to Snead not getting drafted, but the talent is there. Being behind Josh Freeman, who Tampa Bay selected in Round 1 of the 2009 NFL Draft means he might not get a shot to produce right away; however, Snead was a Round 1 talent before his mediocre ‘09. Don’t be surprised if he makes an impact in the NFL someday.

10. Jonathan Crompton, QB, San Diego Chargers: Is this the next Charlie Whitehurst? Let Crompton develop behind Philip Rivers for a couple years and teams may be trying to trade for the Tennessee Volunteer. If Crompton can learn to make better decisions with the football, the physical skills are there to be a solid quarterback.

Keep in mind, quarterbacks have a tough learning curve and tend to struggle in their rookie seasons unless their drafted on a good team with a strong running game (which even then doesn’t allow them to be fantasy worthy due to low numbers despite wins). Many of these guys probably will not work out, with there only being 32 openings at quarterback to start and roughly half of those putting up good fantasy numbers. These are the names though to keep in mind when not only drafting this fall, but also watching from Week 1 to Week 17!

2010 Rookie Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR |  TE

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