Fantasy football player rankings

QUARTERBACKS

1. Tom Brady, New England: 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 2 TDs rushing, eight 300-yard games. Could he really go for record-tying 50 scores again? Maybe he'll hit 60.

2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis: 4,040 yards, 31 TDs, 14 INTs, 3 TDs rushing, 3 300-yard games. Unlike every other year, he's no longer the top QB. But he's still a pretty close second, even with routine surgery that could make him miss big chunk of camp.

3. Tony Romo, Dallas: 4,211 yards, 36 TDs, 19 INTs, 2 TDs rushing, 7 300-yard games. Depending on the distraction factor of whoever's his Hollywood girlfriend at the time, should lock up your fantasy playoff spot before his annual end-of-season statistical meltdown.

4. Drew Brees, New Orleans: 4,423 yards, 28 TDs, 18 INTs, 1 TD rushing, 5 300-yard games. No big changes to offense that's been humming along nicely for two years now.

5. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati: 4,131 yards, 26 TDs, 20 INTs, 5 300-yard games. Turned into an interception machine for a dysfunctional offense that didn't score 20 points in four of the last five games. Big potential's still there, though.

6. Derek Anderson, Cleveland: 3,787, 29 TDs, 19 INTs, 3 300-yard games. Top fantasy free agent of 2007 should only get better, especially with speedy target Donte' Stallworth added to offense.

7. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle: 3,966 yards, 28 TDs, 12 INTs, 3 300-yard games. Question here is whether Seahawks continue their 2007 strategy of ignoring the running game. (Their new backfield's sort of built to be ignored.)

8. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh: 3,154 yards, 32 TDs, 11 INTs, 2 TDs rushing, 0 300-yard games. Won't get you many yards, but those occasional 4-TD games sure are nice. Lumbering, slow-motion scrambles are fun to watch, too.

9. Eli Manning, NY Giants: 3,336 yards, 23 TDs, 20 INTs, 1 TD rushing, 2 300-yard games. That whole Super Bowl MVP thing should keep the media from making too much fun of him and the fans from cruelly taunting him - at least until September.

10. Jay Cutler, Denver: 3,497 yards, 20 TDs, 14 INTs, 2 300-yard games. Was pretty decent after he realized how easy it is to just throw to Brandon Marshall 20 times a game.

11. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia: 3,324 yards, 19 TDs, 7 INTs, 3 300-yard games. Please, kids, learn from my mistakes and don't get suckered into drafting him too early.

12. Jake Delhomme, Carolina: 624 yards, 8 TDs, 1 INT, 1 300-yard game. Was off to a great start last year before injury cost him 13 games, and overhaul of last year's laughable offense should help. Numbers have gotten worse for three straight seasons, though.