Here we have two of the youngest and most talented quarterback in the National Football League. Cam Newton, despite issues with maturity and consistency last season, was still a top-three fantasy quarterback. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson put up huge numbers in the second half of the season to lead the Seattle Seahawks into the postseason.
Let's take a look at what each has to offer in 2013.
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson finished his rookie campaign as the 10th-best fantasy quarterback in the league. He did this despite only averaging 9.6 points per outing in his first five starts. Once Seattle started to open up the offense for Wilson, he picked it up a great deal. Postseason included, Wilson tallied an average of 24.9 points per game over his final eight outings.
To contrast for a second, Drew Brees (the No. 1 fantasy quarterback in 2012), averaged 20.76 points per outing.
During those final eight games, Wilson scored a total of 21 touchdowns with just three turnovers. That seven-to-one TD/TO ratio is something to really look at, especially when drawing a comparison to Cam Newton.
The addition of Percy Harvin at wide receiver promises to help Wilson out a great deal as he looks to expand off what was a great rookie campaign. If Seattle decides to really open it up with a deep wide receiver group, there is no reason to believe that Wilson cannot jump up a few spots from 10 to the top five in quarterback rankings.
Projected 2013 Statistics: 63.2 completion %, 4,000 passing yards, 550 rushing yards, 38 total touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
As most of my readers know, I am nowhere near as high on Newton as I am on other young quarterbacks. A combination of immaturity and inconsistency really impacted Newton's advanced statistics. As I have mentioned in previous articles, Newton was great against lackluster pass defenses, but struggled a great deal against those who ranked among the top pass defenses in the NFL. While this can usually be said for most quarterbacks, Newton's struggles against some of the best that the league had to offer last season really stood out to me.
Newton averaged less than 12 points against the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos; all of whom finished in the top 12 of the NFL in pass defense. Meanwhile, he put up over 25 points per outing against the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons; all of whom ranked in the bottom 12 of the NFL in that category.
The young quarterback still did put up over 4,600 total yards with 27 touchdowns. Those really aren't numbers to really turn your back on. If Newton can become more consistent, he'll always rank among the top-five fantasy quarterbacks in the league. It's now up to him to show he can do that.
Projected 2013 Statistics: 58.5 completion %, 3,950 passing yards, 700 rushing yards, 32 total touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Comparison
It might be pretty close here, but my suggestion is that you go with Wilson. His ADP in standard leagues is 66.21, while Newton's stands at 40.69. Not only can you go out there and get Wilson two rounds later, he might actually put up better fantasy numbers when all is said and done.
Overall, both are solid QB1 options. There is no doubt in my mind that they will put up the necessary numbers to help your fantasy team throughout the duration of the season. The issue here is that Newton has shown he'll struggle a great deal against better defenses, while Wilson actually performed well against them as a rookie in 2012.