The 2012 NFL Preseason is now halfway complete. While you can’t trust everything you see in the preseason (look at Colt McCoy last year), there are things you can pick up on. Here are a few quarterbacks that have impressed us so far and who’s fantasy football arrow is pointing up.
Matt Ryan
Ryan has been my favorite quarterback outside the “Big 6 “(Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Newton, Stafford, Vick) for quite some time now and his preseason performance has only confirmed that. The Falcons seemed committed to running a high tempo offense that is predicated on throwing the ball deep. The emergence of Julio Jones could propel Ryan even higher. A lot of people are on the Matt Ryan bandwagon now, so it’s going to be as easy to get him but don’t let that stop you. The same thing happened to Matthew Stafford last season and he was well worth it.
Andrew Luck
The #1 overall pick got lost a bit during the offseason due to RGIII mania, but he reminded everyone why he was the biggest slam-dunk #1 pick in the past decade with two very good performances in the preseason. He looked like a seasoned veteran in his debut against the St. Louis Rams and even though he threw 2 interceptions against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he still threw the ball very well. Luck is a solid QB2 with sneaky QB1 upside.
Jay Cutler
After sitting out the Chicago Bears’ preseason opener, Cutler looked very good last week against the Washington Redskins. He opened the game hooking up with his old friend from Denver, Bandon Marshall, on a 41-yard gain, and led the Bears on two scoring drives in just four series played. With rookie Alshon Jeffery also looking impressive, Cutler has the best set of weapons in his four seasons as a Bear.
Sam Bradford
After a disastrous sophomore season in which many proclaimed Bradford regressed, the former #1 pick faces a make-or-break year. With a new coaching staff and some new faces at receiver, Bradford looks like the promising quarterback we saw during his rookie season with a 136.1 passer rating in the preseason. While he won’t be a factor in many fantasy football leagues, if your in a 2 QB league then Bradford could be a nice low end option or at least, a very good backup.
