Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Brees led the league in passing yards with 5,177 and now has three of the top five single-season marks. He led the league in touchdown passes (43) for the fourth time in five seasons. Brees’s only negative – he tied for the league lead in interceptions with 19.
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers’ 4,295 passing yards gave him four 4,000-yard seasons in the last five. He was second in 2012 with 39 TD passes after leading the league with 45 in 2011. Rodgers’ eight INTs was the third time in four seasons he had fewer than ten, so if your league penalizes heavily for INTs, you may want to move Rodgers ahead of Brees.
Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
After multiple neck surgeries resulted in Manning sitting out 2011, he joined Denver and had 4,659 passing yards (sixth-best in the league) and 37 TDs (third-best). Manning did not miss a start. In 2013, Manning’s weapons get even better with the addition of Wes Welker.
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
Newton’s eight rushing TDs gives him 22 over his first two seasons. He had 3,869 passing yards, averaging 8.0 yards per attempt, second-best in the league. Newton had 19 TD passes, 13 of which came in the second half of the season.
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan’s 4,719 passing yards and 32 TD passes were both career highs and each total was fifth-best in the league. His 68.8% completion rate tied for best.
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady’s 4,827 passing yards and 34 TD passes were both fourth-best. Brady now has five 4,000-yard seasons and three straight years with at 34 TD passes. But Brady will no longer be throwing to Wes Welker (signed with Denver), Aaron Hernandez (released after his arrest and then charged with murder) and Rob Gronkowski continues to recover from several surgeries.
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Stafford was second in the league with 4,967 passing yards after throwing for 5,038 in 2011. But Stafford had only 20 TD passes after throwing for 41 in 2011. He also had 17 INTs. Picking him may not help you much when it comes to winning fantasy football prizes.
Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers
Kaepernick took over from Alex Smith midway through the season, finishing with 1,814 passing yards, 10 TD and three INTs, while running for 415 yards and five TDs. Kaepernick set a new NFL record for a quarterback in a playoff game against Green Bay when he ran for 181 yards. In that game, he had four TDs, two passing and two rushing.
Did you know?
Peyton Manning’s 4,659 passing yards in 2012 was the second-highest total in his career.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MannPe00.htm
Jon Lewin writes for a variety of business and sports websites.
