We have nearly completed three weeks of the 2012 NFL regular season and have a pretty good idea where each team stands. As it relates to fantasy football, things are a little less clear. Some of the best quarterbacks in the league such as Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers have yet to get it going. Meanwhile, "lesser" signal-callers like Alex Smith and Sam Bradford seem ready to take that next step.
Let's take the top fantasy quarterbacks, 1-32, through nearly three weeks.
| 1. Matt Ryan | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2. Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers |
| 3. Tom Brady | New England Patriots |
| 4. Tony Romo | Dallas Cowboys |
| 5. Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints |
| 6. Philip Rivers | San Diego Chargers |
| 7. Robert Griffin III | Washington Redskins |
| 8. Eli Manning | New York Giants |
| 9. Matthew Stafford | Detroit Lions |
| 10. Peyton Manning | Denver Broncos |
| 11. Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 12. Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers |
| 13. Matt Schaub | Houston Texans |
| 14. Andy Dalton | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 15. Alex Smith | San Francisco 49ers |
| 16. Jay Cutler | Chicago Bears |
| 17. Joe Flacco | Baltimore Ravens |
| 18. Christian Ponder | Minnesota Vikings |
| 19. Ryan Fitzpatrick | Buffalo Bills |
| 20. Josh Freeman | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 21. Sam Bradford | St. Louis Rams |
| 22. Andrew Luck | Indianapolis Colts |
| 23.Michael Vick | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 24. Matt Cassel | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 25. Carson Palmer | Oakland Raiders |
| 26. Mark Sanchez | New York Jets |
| 27. Jake Locker | Tennessee Titans |
| 28. Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks |
| 29. Blaine Gabbert | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 30. Kevin Kolb | Arizona Cardinals |
| 31. Ryan Tannehill | Miami Dolphins |
| 32. Brandon Weeden | Cleveland Browns |
Michael Vick is deservingly low on this list. You simply cannot rely on a quarterback who turns the ball over that much to be a true QB1 option in standard fantasy football league. It will cost you week in and week out. While some may indicate that Vick deserves to be higher than someone like Andrew Luck or Sam Bradford, I just don't see it that way. More importantly, it doesn't seem as if Vick is going to turn it around anytime soon.
Cam Newton is still a QB1 option in standard 12-team leagues, but he could quickly get passed up by the likes of Matt Schaub, Andy Dalton, Alex Smith, Jay Cutler or Joe Flacco in relatively short order. It is going to be extremely important to see how those five quarterbacks perform within the next couple weeks.
Yes, Matt Ryan is my No. 1 fantasy quarterback through three weeks. Yes, I did make the mistake of predicting he would struggle against the San Diego Chargers yesterday. Listen, fantasy football rankings are extremely fluid so these promise to change before we get to the mid-point of the season.