Empty the Bench

We’re three weeks in, and it’s already (finally?) time to downgrade Tom Brady.

It’s not that ‘ol Tom is having a terrible fantasy season: going into his Week 4 matchup at home against the Baltimore Ravens, the 32-year-old is ranked fifth overall amongst QBs in ETB’s fantasy scoring format. And that’s a fine, if not fantastic, start to his fantasy season, especially considering that whole knee surgery thing… but we’re still waiting for the prolific passing attack Brady’s comandeered for so many years in New England to return. Right now, he just looks average.

Brady’s fantasy production thus far has largely been nothing more than a byproduct of already attempting 142 passes, which is 20 more than the next-closest quarterback (Kurt Warner). He’s completed 87 of those attempts, also tops in the league ahead of Warner’s 80. Fine. He’s lagging in other key areas, though… namely TD passes with just 3 (24th overall) and just 6.1 yards per attempt. It’s called rust, and is manifested in the number of wide-open receivers and easy completions he’s missed. Or is it something more? Has the inevitable decline already begun? We’ll see. Again, he’s not been terrible–but he’s not been Brady.

And that, coupled with a so-so matchup against the Ravens, is enough for us to bump him down to #6 in our Week 4 QB ranks.

See also:
- Week 4 WR Rankings
- Week 4 RB Rankings
- Week 4 TE Ranks
- Week 4 DEF Ranks

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts @ SEA
2. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans vs. OAK
3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints vs. NYJ
4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers @ MIN
5. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers @ PIT
6. Tom Brady, New England Patriots vs. BAL
7. Eli Manning, New York Giants @ KC
8. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears vs. DET
9. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals @ CLE
10. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys @ DEN
11. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens @ NE
12. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. SD
13. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings vs. GB
14. Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills @ MIA
15. Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins vs. TB
16. Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos vs. DAL
17. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets @ NO
18. Shaun Hill, San Francisco 49ers vs. STL
19. David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. TEN
20. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs vs. NYG

Tom Brady Photo Credit: Icon SMI

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4. Fantasy Football – Week 2 QB Rankings


5. Fantasy Football – Week 13 QB Rankings