Keeper League Top Quarterbacks

This article will be the first of three on players available to draft after teams have designated who they are keeping for the year in fantasy football keeper leagues. Every season, there are some quarterbacks that are usually kept on teams, and every season there are articles showing them at the top of the list. Well, what happens if you are in a keeper league, and they are no longer available to draft? This articles goes out to you, the reader, who wants to know who to draft at 1.05 or 3.02.

Most Likely Kept In Most Leagues:

Drew Brees
Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
Philip Rivers
Aaron Rodgers
Tony Romo
Matt Ryan
Kurt Warner
Jay Cutler
Donovan McNabb

Quarterbacks Available In Most Leagues:

1. Matt Schaub (Hou) – Schaub is a player that comes with a big risk/big reward factor to him. When he is healthy, he is among the Top 10. He has Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels. With the emergence of Steve Slaton and Kevin Walter from 2008, Schaub has those weapons to throw to. The problem with him is staying healthy. In the two years since being traded from

Atlanta, Schaub has only started 22 of the 32 games. His upside is enough for me to place him as the top quarterback available.

2. Matt Hasselbeck (Sea) – Hasselbeck should be the happiest player in

Seattle these days. His team has acquired one of the best possession wide receivers in the game. With the acquisition of T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Hasselbeck now enters the Top 15 for 2009. He still has John Carlson to throw to, and hopefully, the rest of the wide receiving crew can stay healthy long enough to gather some chemistry. The injuries to the wideouts last season hurt this teams chances of making anything of themselves. Injuries to Nate Burleson and Deion Branch stopped them from competing last year. This year, everyone is healthy, and Hasselbeck can come back from injury without any worries of who to pass to.

3. Kyle Orton (Den) – Orton’s departure from

Chicago benefited him in the best possible way. Yes, he lost Matt Forte, but gained Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, Eddie Royal and now Knowshon Moreno.

Denver has a plethora of weapons to throw to. If he does not make a name for himself in

Denver, then he never will anywhere. Expect Orton to beat up on the Chiefs and Raiders this year to help pad his stats.

4. Ben Roethlisberger (Pit) – Big Ben is a great quarterback, but is not the best fantasy quarterback.

Pittsburgh is a run-first team, and will be for years to come. With Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall on the roster, Big Ben, Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward and Heath Miller are just decoys. However, when the run is not working, or the off-chance that they want to throw the ball …look out.

Pittsburgh‘s wideouts have a nose for the end zone.

5. Jake Delhomme (Car) – Delhomme is now a year removed from Tommy John surgery and is looking to prove something. He is looking to prove that he is worth his brand new contract extension. With DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart in the backfield, it will take off the pressure of the passing attack. Steve Smith is still in

Carolina and will not be missing the first two games due to suspension. Having one of the best offensive lines and wideouts in the game cannot hurt his chances to bounce back this year.

6. Eli Manning (NYG) – Manning will certainly miss Plaxico Burress, but the team has been trying to acquire the likes of Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin to replace Burress. If they fail to do so, this will leave Manning with a rag muffin assortment of wideouts like Amani Toomer, Domenik Hixon, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss and Derek Hagan. This does not scream Top 15 quarterback to me.

7. Trent Edwards (Buf) – Edwards was off to a great start last year before the concussion. He is healthy now and has one of the most explosive players in the history of the NFL. Terrell Owens and Lee Evans can become one of the best duos in the game. We cannot forget that the Buffalo Bills also have Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson to take some pressure of the passing attack. Look for Edwards to put up great numbers for you this year.

8. David Garrard (Jac) – Garrard has quietly put up fantasy relevant numbers for two years now. He may not have any great wideouts like a Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss or Steve Smith, but he has a great running back in Maurice Jones-Drew to take the pressure off of him.

Jacksonville added Torry Holt to the roster this year. This will help the passing attack in

Jacksonville, but not a lot. Look for another quiet year out of Garrard this season.

9. Carson Palmer (Cin) – Palmer, to me, has the most question marks to him entering the season. Is he healthy? Can he get over the loss of Houshmandzadeh? Is Chad Ochocinco going to return to form? Palmer may end up being one of the best sleepers in 2009. As I mentioned before, he has lost Houshmandzadeh, but gained Laveranues Coles. Palmer now has a possession tight end to throw to in Chase Coffman. Palmer is going to look to make a comeback this season, but may fall just short of it with the lack of a good running game.

10. Joe Flacco (Bal) – Flacco entered 2008 as a third-stringer, but ended up starting the season. He was quite productive last year, even though the running game was very shaky. Willis McGahee should be healthy this year. Le’Ron McClain has proven that he can spot start when injuries occur, and the Ravens were in the talks of acquiring Anquan Boldin before the draft. Whether they still will or not remains to be seen. Regardless, Flacco is entering his second season as a starter, and should give you some decent weeks … even if you just need him for a spot start to fill in bye weeks.

11. Matt Cassel (KC) –
Cassel, to me, has some question marks. Yes, he was one of the top quarterbacks last season … but who wouldn’t be when you have Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to? In
Kansas City, Cassel won’t have that anymore, and some say that he is just a product of the
New England system. The Chiefs traded away Tony Gonzalez to the Falcons. So that leaves Dwayne Bowe to carry the team. This team will be a pass-heavy offense, and will look to Bowe to get MVP numbers. I can see
Cassel putting up a 2,750/20 TD/15 INT season.

12. Jason Campbell (Was) –

Campbell started the year great in 2008, but fell off in the second half. He will look to prove to the team that he is the future of the team. With an aging Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, it will prove difficult to put up numbers on an every week basis. Use

Campbell as a bye week or injury fill in.

13. Chad Pennington (Mia) – Pennington is a player that I hate to draft. With the exception of last year, he has had trouble staying healthy. Out of his nine seasons, he has only played in every game twice. Pennington’s numbers were helped last year with the Wildcat offense being introduced, but teams are on the lookout for it now. Since

Miami has no true No. 1 wideout, look for a mediocre year out of Pennington.

14. Shaun Hill (SF) – Hill has alot of promise. With Mike Singletary as head coach,

San Francisco can become a lot of teams’ worst nightmares. With Frank Gore and Vernon Davis already on the roster, Hill can become fantasy relevant if a wideout or two were to step up and take the reigns. If Michael Crabtree can live up to expectations, this team can have a good year.

15. Marc Bulger (StL) – Bulger is another player that has constant trouble playing a full season … in fact, he has only done so once in his career. Entering the 2009 season, he has Donnie Avery as his No. 1 wideout. Look for Steven Jackson to carry this team on his shoulders before he eventually gets injured as well. Do not look for anything special out of Bulger or Avery.