Rankings are as of July 30, 2014.
The 2014 crop of QBs in the NFL Draft is much better than last year’s group — with upwards of seven QBs who may end up starting for NFL teams, and several more who will bounce around on practice squads.
At the top, we have what I consider — outside of Andrew Luck and MAYBE Cam Newton — to be the best QB prospect I’ve seen since I started seriously paying attention six years ago: Teddy Bridgewater. He, along with Manziel and Bortles, are all worth picking in the first two rounds of your dynasty rookie drafts.
The second tier of QBs includes Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr. Most are putting Carr ahead of Garoppolo but I’m less excited by Carr than I am by Garoppolo’s potential. Garoppolo is the most highly thought-of QB prospect to come out the FCS Division of college football since Joe Flacco. Not that he’s on Flacco’s level… yet. But he IS on the Patriots at the tail-end of Tom Brady’s career.
The next tier (I think the last of this group you need to consider in dynasty leagues right now) go from Aaron Murray through Tom Savage. These are the guys who could end up starting for their teams at some point. Expect varying levels of NFL success from them, with some getting starting opportunities and most being able to hold onto backup jobs.
In that third tier are two QBs you need to remember, for sure: Logan Thomas and Tom Savage. Even though I absolutely don’t think they’ll ever be worthy starting QBs in this league, it seems like their teams are a lot higher on them than I am — so they’ll get a chance to start in the next year.
The rest of the QBs on the list are guys you probably shouldn’t draft in dynasty leagues unless you’re in super-deep leagues or have taken over a bone-dry team. They’re worth keeping an eye on, but not worth wasting a draft pick on.
Good luck!
Here are my current rankings (and probably the last time I’ll rank the 2014 draft class).
- Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings
- Johnny Manziel, Browns
- Blake Bortles, Jaguars
- Jimmy Garoppolo, Patriots
- Derek Carr, Raiders
- Aaron Murray, Chiefs
- Logan Thomas, Cardinals
- AJ McCarron, Bengals
- Zach Mettenberger, Titans
- Garrett Gilbert, Rams
- Tom Savage, Texans
- Bryn Renner, Broncos
- Keith Wenning, Ravens
- Tajh Boyd, Jets
- Connor Shaw, Browns
- David Fales, Bears
- Stephen Morris, Jaguars
- Jeff Mathews, Falcons
- James Franklin, Lions
- Brock Jensen, Dolphins
- Brendon Kay, Steelers
- Dustin Vaughan, Cowboys
Here are my rankings from after the draft. Not much has changed:
- Teddy Bridgewater
- Johnny Manziel
- Blake Bortles
- Jimmy Garoppolo
- Derek Carr
- Aaron Murray
- Logan Thomas
- AJ McCarron
- Zach Mettenberger
- Garrett Gilbert
- Tom Savage
- Bryn Renner
- Keith Wenning
- Tajh Boyd
- Connor Shaw
- Brett Smith
- David Fales
- Stephen Morris
- Jeff Mathews
- James Franklin
- Brock Jensen
- Brendon Kay
- Dustin Vaughan
- Taylor Martinez
- Kolton Browning
For the record, these were my quarterback rankings just before the draft:
- Teddy Bridgewater
- Johnny Manziel
- Blake Bortles
- Jimmy Garoppolo
- Derek Carr
- AJ McCarron
- Tajh Boyd
- Aaron Murray
- Stephen Morris
- Connor Shaw
- Zach Mettenberger
- Keith Wenning
- Bryn Renner
- David Fales
- Jeff Mathews
- James Franklin
- Jordan Lynch
- Brock Jensen
- Garrett Gilbert
- Logan Thomas
- Nathan Scheelhaase
- Brendon Kay
- Sean Schroeder
- Taylor Martinez
- Tyler Tettleton
- Kenny Guiton
- Tommy Rees
- Dustin Vaughan
- Kolton Browning
- Joe Clancy
- Caleb Herring
- Keith Price