We have a three-way tie!
At the top of the quarterback rankings for Week 2 of the 2015 NFL season, there's a whole lot of the number one, as our consensus rankers couldn't decide who the best choice for the top quarterback of the week was. Every week of the season provides more information, so there will likely be more agreement as the season goes on, but for now, we have to wonder how much of what we saw in Week 1 was for real.
Is Peyton Manning done (or done-adjacent)? Is Tom Brady on his way to an all-time "I'll show you" year? Is Marcus Mariota the next big thing? We don't really know about any of those things yet,, but we'll find out.
As we look ahead to Week 2, let's look at the three quarterbacks who tied for first this week and see how we got here:
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints:: Brees was the No. 1 quarterback for three of our five rankers, with a home game against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that just made Mariota look amazing. I'm actually the holdout here, as I only had Brees sixth. My reasoning is the same as it was in the preseason: Brees wasn't as good as his standard last year, doesn't have the weaponry he used to and is on a team that seems like it wants to be more run-heavy. After a Week 1 that produced only 16 fantasy points, Brees will improve, but I can't dive all the way back in.
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: Ryan was fourth or better in all five rankings, though I was the lone person to have him No. 1. Ryan connected well with Julio Jones Monday night against what's supposed to be a decent Philadelphia Eagles defense; I imagine that will only get better against a New York Giants defense that let Tony Romo come back to win like it was nothing on Sunday. With Roddy White getting gradually healthier and Tevin Coleman getting his feet under him, better days are ahead for Ryan, starting Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers: The old standard, Rodgers was ranked third or better by everyone, with one first-place vote. The marks against him are obvious: No Jordy Nelson, game against Seattle, Eddie Lacy's strong running. But the mark in his favor is the biggest one of all: It's Aaron dang Rodgers.
That's the top of the list for Week 2. How did the rest shake out?
Quarterbacks, Week 2
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
1 | Drew Brees | NO | TB | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
1 | Matt Ryan | ATL | @NYG | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
1 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | SEA | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
4 | Andrew Luck | IND | NYJ | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
5 | Tony Romo | DAL | @PHI | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 14 |
6 | Russell Wilson | SEA | @GB | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 |
7 | Carson Palmer | ARI | @CHI | 9 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 8 |
8 | Eli Manning | NYG | ATL | 10 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
9 | Tom Brady | NE | @BUF | 5 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 13 |
9 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | SF | 11 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 7 |
11 | Ryan Tannehill | MIA | @JAC | 7 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
12 | Sam Bradford | PHI | DAL | 21 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 4 |
13 | Philip Rivers | SD | @CIN | 14 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
14 | Peyton Manning | DEN | @KC | 13 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 |
15 | Matthew Stafford | DET | @MIN | 18 | 15 | 14 | 20 | 11 |
16 | Cam Newton | CAR | HOU | 12 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 19 |
17 | Marcus Mariota | TEN | @CLE | 22 | 21 | 17 | 19 | 16 |
18 | Teddy Bridgewater | MIN | DET | 17 | 19 | 24 | 16 | 20 |
19 | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | NE | 15 | 16 | -- | 18 | 24 |
20 | Joe Flacco | BAL | @OAK | 19 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 |
21 | Andy Dalton | CIN | SD | 25 | 20 | 16 | 23 | 18 |
22 | Colin Kaepernick | SF | @PIT | 24 | 24 | 23 | 17 | 17 |
23 | Alex Smith | KC | DEN | 20 | 22 | 19 | 25 | 21 |
24 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | NYJ | @IND | 16 | -- | -- | 21 | -- |
25 | Jay Cutler | CHI | ARI | 23 | 25 | 21 | 24 | 23 |
-- | Jameis Winston | TB | @NO | -- | -- | 22 | -- | 25 |
-- | Nick Foles | STL | @WAS | -- | 23 | 25 | -- | -- |
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