Draft the Quarterback, Win the Championship

     With most fantasy football drafts rapidly approaching, team owners should be starting to plan their attack.  With so many different draft strategies, it is crucial to have players ranked at their respective positions.  Regardless of draft order, getting the best player available at a given position could make the difference between a championship and not even contending.  Here I offer top five player rankings for the quarterback position.   

      The highest ranked quarterback in fantasy football is easily Drew Brees of New Orleans.  Brees is the best option to captain your fantasy team.  It is unreal to expect him to repeat his phenomenal statistics of last year, but it is also unreal to expect a huge drop-off.  Brees’ number one receiver, Marques Colston, is expected to be healthy.  Colston and Brees is a dangerous combination in the fantasy football world.  Reggie Bush will still catch plenty of passes, whether out of the backfield or from the slot position.  Lance Moore, Devery Henderson, and the rest of the Saints receiving corps may not be among the NFL’s elite, but they are solid enough to help Brees get the job done.

     The second best fantasy option at quarterback is also a fairly easy choice.  New England’s Tom Brady has every tool a fantasy team owner could want.  For starters, he has Randy Moss, an elite player at the wide receiver position.  You should expect the two of them to connect on big plays on a regular basis this year.  The Patriot’s addition of Joey Galloway to play opposite of Moss adds a lot of speed for defenses to account for.  Brady shouldn’t have too many problems finding an open receiver on passing plays.  The quarterback in head coach Bill Belichick’s offensive system puts up big passing numbers year in and year out, as evidenced by Matt Cassel’s performance last year in Brady’s absence. 

     After the top two, it gets a little tougher to distinguish fantasy quarterbacks.  Peyton Manning probably deserves the nod at number three, but that is largely based on his past performances.  Manning has consistently produced at a high level regardless of the talent around him.  The coaching changes that Indianapolis has made might concern some, but the new coaches are actually just in new positions.  All were on the Colts’ coaching staff last year, so the team shouldn’t really lose much continuity.

     The quarterback that I have ranked fourth might be a little bit of a surprise.  Most other ranking lists have Tony Romo of Dallas a little lower.  I expect wide receiver Roy E. Williams to fully grasp the Cowboys’ offensive scheme and to return from his minor injuries of last year.  Felix Jones is expected to be fully healthy this year.  He should help Romo in a way similar to the way Reggie Bush helps Drew Brees.  Jason Witten should have a monster season and Romo’s numbers will reflect that.  If Romo’s young wide receivers are able to take the next step, Romo should put up better than solid statistics for fantasy owners.

     Houston’s Matt Schaub is the fifth quarterback on the list.  The Texan’s offense is much-improved and Schaub has the talent and tools surrounding him to lead the team.  Andre Johnson had a career season last year and is expected to pick up right where he left off.  Steve Slaton is very effective catching passes out of the backfield and with the emergence of tight end Owen Daniels, Schaub should put up solid passing statistics.

     Every list is bound to differ some.  These are my top five fantasy quarterbacks for the 2009 season.  Good luck in your draft.