I cant really remember a year that QB seemed to be this deep. There are a lot of guys that I would trust to throw out there. There are certain points in the draft, if you wait, where you’ll see a group of pretty good QBs together that you’ll get to choose from.  If you haven’t done any mock drafting yet, you’ll be surprised as to how late you can get good QBs. Here are my official QB rankings for the 2012 fantasy football season.

1. Aaron Rodgers (GB)

2. Drew Brees (NO)

3. Tom Brady (NE)

4. Matthew Stafford (DET)

5. Cam Newton (CAR)

Rodgers, Brees, and Brady are in a league of their own. They are this year’s class of 1st round QB’s. I absolutely recommend taking Rodgers within the top 5 overall. Brees is a solid late round pick, as is Brady. Because of the QB depth however, I wouldn’t personally take one of these two guys in the first round. I would rather take elite RB’s, WR’s, and TE’s. If all of the guys that I wanted were gone, I’d grab Brees or Brady. If these guys fall to round 2, I would certainly take them. Other than that, I’d rather wait a little.

Stafford and Newton are your next group of guys. These guys go in round 2. Both of them have the potential to pass the top 3 guys, but they are more of a risk. Stafford has had a history of injuries.  Newton had a ridiculous season that he can not repeat. Both guys are very talented though and should be coveted. If your picking at the end of round 2 and one of these guys are available, I think I’d have to take them. It’s tough for me to take them at the top of the second, once again because of the depth at QB opposed to the depth of other positions.

See numbers 6 through 35 after the jump . . .

6. Matt Ryan (ATL)

7. Eli Manning (NYG)

8. Phillip Rivers (SD)

9. Michael Vick (PHI)

Ryan, Eli, Rivers, Vick are my next group of guys. This differs largely from where these guys are typically drafted. Ryan is going to have a huge season with two amazing WR’s to throw to. Eli Manning is solid. He is what he is.   Rivers has a lower ADP than the rest of these guys, but I have him ranked higher.  I see him having a pretty good bounce back season. He’s too talented to struggle like he did last year. Since my ranking for him is above his normal ADP, that makes him a good value guy. Vick has this same value, but he is extremely injury prone. Vick was a 1st round pick last year. He would be considered a steal in round 4 this year if he could be trusted. But he can’t be trusted. You can’t expect him to stay healthy. He’s already been carted off this year.  So he drops a little on my rankings as opposed to his ADP.

10. Matt Schaub (HOU)

Matt Schaub is a steal. He is being drafted much later than a lot of the guys I have ranked behind him. Schaub has an explosive offense with a lot of weapons to throw too. Take Schaub as your backup QB. He is a must draft in the late rounds. It’s really not fair that he is cheap enough to be selected as a backup this year. He is the perfect insurance plan to any QB question. Do you think Peyton will have a big year? Do you think Vick will have a big year? If so, take Schaub as your backup. Because if your wrong, you’re still fine.

11. Peyton Manning (DEN)

12. Robert Griffin III (WAS)

I don’t know what to think of Peyton. He’s too risky for me. So I dropped him to the end of this pack. Sure he could perform better than them all. But he could also play bad enough to be in the next pack. So I’d stay away.  I’d rather take a guy that I know will perform. Robert Griffin III has tons of value because of his running ability. If a running QB throws for 100 yds with a TD and runs for 60 yds with a TD, he puts up 17 points in a standard scoring league. That’s a pretty poor game statistically, but a pretty good fantasy score. There lies your difference in real life and fantasy.  Running QBs have more value than regular QBs. Which is why Newton is up there with Stafford. It’s also why Griffin is in the same position as these guys. RGIII is also an unknown, but I know he will put up rushing yards regardless.

13. Tony Romo (DAL)

14. Ben Roethlisberger (PIT)

Romo and Roethlisberger are next. Romo also has two pretty good targets to throw to. Roethlisberger is always a solid guy to own. All of these guys are capable of big weeks, but have no chance of being as consistent as the guys at the top of the list. They would all be excellent backup picks. I’m a big fan of drafting two QBs in the middle rounds and then playing your guys based on match-ups. A QB corps of Ryan and Romo is pretty awesome.

15. Andrew Luck (IND)

16. Jay Cutler (CHI)

17. Joe Flacco (BAL)

18. Josh Freeman (TB)

19. Andy Dalton (CIN)

Luck has unlimited potential so I had to move him up the board. Cutler is lower on my rankings than his ADP suggests. Flacco will probably throw the ball a little more this year than in previous years. He gets a few big games, a few terrible games, and a lot of mediocre games. He’s a little higher on my board than his actual rank. Freeman and Dalton are pretty good backups. None of the guys at this point are good starters.

20. Tim Tebow (NYJ)

Then comes Tebow. I have him way ahead of Mark Sanchez for a reason. When I do think Tebow will take over as the starter? Week 3. Refer back to my statements about Newton, Vick, and RGIII in reference in QB’s that can run. Tebow was one of the highest scoring QB’s in fantasy football at the end of the season. People were using him in their fantasy championships. He doesn’t have to do much in order to put up a decent fantasy total.  Draft him very late and let him sit on your bench. Those that did that last year were rewarded with 20+ point performances late in the season. Tebow is fantasy gold.

21. Jake Locker (TEN)

22. Sam Bradford (STL)

23. Christian Ponder (MIN)

24. Alex Smith (SF)

25. Carson Palmer (OAK)

26. Vince Young (BUF)

27. John Skelton (ARI)

Locker and Bradford should have decent seasons. I like them both. I don’t really like anyone after that.  Carson Palmer is being ranked way too high for whatever reason. I wouldn’t touch him. Most of the other situations are too messy to get involved with. I kinda like Vince Young once he’s the starter. But that’s because he’s one of those running QBs.  He put up decent numbers in the few games he started last year. He’s worth an add once the job is his. The Arizona situation intrigues me because I kinda like Skelton and Kolb. They both have put up decent numbers at some small stretch in their careers. Skelton was solid last year. Kolb was solid with Philly . . . for a couple of games at least.

28. Blaine Gabbert (JAC)

29. Mat Cassel (KC)

30. Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF)

31. Russell Wilson (SEA)

32. Kevin Kolb (ARI)

33. Mark Sanchez (NYJ)

34. Matt Hasselbeck (TEN)

35. Chad Henne (JAC)

That’s it for the QB rankings. Come back to BSR tomorrow for WR rankings.  Wednesday will be RB rankings, Thursday the TE rankings and Friday the Kicker/Defense rankings.