The NFL released its All-Decade Team a few days back, and I was surprised when Drew Brees wasn’t mentioned. Instead, they went with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers as their two quarterbacks.
I guess that makes sense. Brees has won only one Super Bowl, and it came prior to the just-completed decade. Brady has piled up a bunch of Super Bowls and played in a remarkable eight AFC Championship games in a row. He needed to get one of the spots. And Rodgers has also been very deserving.
But weird to see a quarterback average over 300 passing yards and 2 TD passes for a decade and not get in.
A few months back, Brees was not one of the 10 quarterbacks chosen for the league’s century team. I think he’s getting a little shorted in the grand scheme of things.
So let me instead take a brief stab at identifying the best fantasy quarterbacks of the last decade. I think it’s Brees and Rodgers, and with Brees definitely as the first-team choice.
I think for this, you’re looking at some combination of effectiveness and total production. So you look at per-game stats, and also how many games were played.
Among quarterbacks who started at least half the time, Brees put up the best per-game numbers of the decade. And prior to missing five games last year, Brees had missed only two games in nine years.
Rodgers gets the nod as the No. 2 guy. He put up similar per-game numbers as Andrew Luck, and with 56 more starts.
FANTASY QUARTERBACKS OF THE DECADE | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | St | Pass | Run | TDP | TDR | Pts |
Drew Brees | 153 | 306 | 2 | 2.25 | .10 | 25.1 |
Aaron Rodgers | 142 | 269 | 18 | 2.15 | .13 | 24.8 |
Andrew Luck | 86 | 275 | 18 | 1.99 | .16 | 24.8 |
Cam Newton | 125 | 232 | 38 | 1.46 | .46 | 24.2 |
Tom Brady | 156 | 280 | 3 | 2.03 | .10 | 23.1 |
Russell Wilson | 128 | 232 | 31 | 1.77 | .16 | 22.8 |
Ben Roethlisberger | 130 | 284 | 5 | 1.79 | .05 | 22.5 |
Matt Ryan | 159 | 282 | 7 | 1.78 | .05 | 22.4 |
Matthew Stafford | 139 | 279 | 7 | 1.75 | .09 | 22.3 |
Kirk Cousins | 88 | 268 | 6 | 1.72 | .17 | 22.1 |
Philip Rivers | 160 | 277 | 2 | 1.82 | .01 | 21.5 |
Carson Palmer | 100 | 274 | 2 | 1.66 | .03 | 20.8 |
Ryan Fitzpatrick | 116 | 236 | 16 | 1.53 | .11 | 20.3 |
Andy Dalton | 133 | 238 | 9 | 1.53 | .17 | 20.0 |
Eli Manning | 147 | 261 | 2 | 1.64 | .03 | 20.0 |
Ryan Tannehill | 98 | 235 | 14 | 1.48 | .11 | 19.9 |
Derek Carr | 94 | 242 | 5 | 1.52 | .03 | 19.1 |
Alex Smith | 121 | 222 | 18 | 1.29 | .11 | 18.9 |
Jay Cutler | 100 | 224 | 11 | 1.46 | .05 | 18.6 |
Joe Flacco | 139 | 241 | 4 | 1.32 | .10 | 18.5 |
Sam Bradford | 83 | 234 | 4 | 1.24 | .02 | 17.4 |
If you want to look at the guys with fewer than 80 starts, they are as follows …
NON-QUALIFIERS (fewer than 80 starts) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | St | Pass | Run | TDP | TDR | Pts |
Peyton Manning | 73 | 299 | -1 | 2.37 | .01 | 24.5 |
Blake Bortles | 73 | 238 | 24 | 1.38 | .12 | 20.7 |
Tony Romo | 72 | 265 | 3 | 1.94 | .03 | 21.7 |
Jameis Winston | 70 | 277 | 15 | 1.69 | .14 | 23.2 |
Dak Prescott | 64 | 247 | 19 | 1.52 | .33 | 22.4 |
Case Keenum | 62 | 226 | 7 | 1.18 | .08 | 17.2 |
Marcus Mariota | 61 | 214 | 22 | 1.25 | .20 | 19.2 |
Mark Sanchez | 58 | 215 | 6 | 1.26 | .17 | 17.4 |
Colin Kaepernick | 58 | 207 | 37 | 1.24 | .17 | 20.1 |
Carson Wentz | 56 | 253 | 14 | 1.73 | .05 | 21.6 |
Jared Goff | 54 | 263 | 4 | 1.61 | .11 | 20.8 |
Matt Schaub | 53 | 261 | 1 | 1.40 | .04 | 19.0 |
Josh Freeman | 52 | 231 | 15 | 1.37 | .08 | 19.1 |
Matt Cassel | 50 | 195 | 10 | 1.20 | .04 | 15.7 |
Nick Foles | 48 | 232 | 8 | 1.35 | .10 | 18.6 |
Blaine Gabbert | 48 | 179 | 13 | .94 | .06 | 14.5 |
Michael Vick | 46 | 227 | 43 | 1.30 | .28 | 22.6 |
Tyrod Taylor | 46 | 199 | 36 | 1.13 | .30 | 20.0 |
Josh McCown | 45 | 237 | 11 | 1.33 | .22 | 19.8 |
Matt Hasselbeck | 43 | 219 | 4 | 1.02 | .07 | 15.9 |
Robert Griffin III | 41 | 215 | 41 | 1.00 | .24 | 20.4 |
Mitchell Trubisky | 41 | 209 | 21 | 1.17 | .17 | 18.5 |
Chad Henne | 40 | 226 | 8 | .98 | .05 | 16.3 |
Brian Hoyer | 39 | 236 | 2 | 1.15 | .03 | 16.8 |
Deshaun Watson | 37 | 260 | 33 | 1.89 | .41 | 26.4 |
Christian Ponder | 36 | 172 | 18 | 1.00 | .19 | 15.6 |
Kyle Orton | 34 | 258 | 4 | 1.44 | .03 | 19.3 |
Teddy Bridgewater | 34 | 215 | 12 | 1.12 | .12 | 17.4 |
Jacoby Brissett | 32 | 197 | 17 | .97 | .28 | 17.2 |
Patrick Mahomes | 31 | 304 | 16 | 2.45 | .13 | 27.5 |
Geno Smith | 31 | 188 | 20 | .87 | .23 | 16.2 |
Brock Osweiler | 30 | 220 | 8 | 1.03 | .07 | 16.5 |
Baker Mayfield | 29 | 253 | 9 | 1.69 | .10 | 21.1 |
Colt McCoy | 28 | 202 | 16 | .89 | .07 | 15.7 |
Jason Campbell | 27 | 204 | 15 | 1.11 | .11 | 16.8 |
Josh Allen | 27 | 188 | 41 | 1.11 | .63 | 22.1 |
Jimmy Garoppolo | 26 | 259 | 4 | 1.62 | .08 | 20.5 |
Sam Darnold | 26 | 227 | 8 | 1.38 | .12 | 18.6 |
Brandon Weeden | 25 | 238 | 8 | 1.04 | .04 | 17.1 |
Trevor Siemian | 25 | 222 | 7 | 1.12 | .04 | 16.6 |
Matt Moore | 24 | 199 | 4 | 1.46 | .08 | 16.7 |
Jake Locker | 23 | 185 | 24 | .96 | .17 | 16.6 |
Mike Glennon | 22 | 215 | 3 | 1.45 | .00 | 16.9 |
Lamar Jackson | 22 | 193 | 80 | 1.86 | .50 | 28.1 |
Shaun Hill | 19 | 236 | 8 | 1.26 | .05 | 18.1 |
Donovan McNabb | 19 | 232 | 11 | .95 | .05 | 16.8 |
Kevin Kolb | 19 | 213 | 11 | 1.16 | .05 | 16.7 |
EJ Manuel | 18 | 201 | 18 | 1.11 | .22 | 17.8 |
John Skelton | 17 | 196 | 9 | .71 | .00 | 13.6 |
Rex Grossman | 16 | 249 | 1 | 1.44 | .06 | 19.0 |
Kyler Murray | 16 | 233 | 34 | 1.25 | .25 | 21.9 |
Drew Stanton | 16 | 195 | 9 | 1.06 | .06 | 15.4 |
Josh Rosen | 16 | 169 | 9 | .75 | .00 | 12.5 |
DeShone Kizer | 15 | 193 | 28 | .73 | .33 | 17.4 |
Tarvaris Jackson | 15 | 192 | 8 | .93 | .07 | 14.5 |
Derek Anderson | 14 | 213 | 4 | .64 | .00 | 13.6 |
David Garrard | 14 | 195 | 20 | 1.64 | .36 | 20.5 |
Tim Tebow | 14 | 164 | 59 | 1.07 | .57 | 22.1 |
Jimmy Clausen | 14 | 164 | 8 | .50 | .00 | 11.0 |
Kyle Allen | 13 | 250 | 9 | 1.46 | .23 | 20.7 |
Brett Favre | 13 | 193 | 1 | .85 | .00 | 13.1 |
Daniel Jones | 12 | 251 | 23 | 2.00 | .17 | 24.2 |
Gardner Minshew | 12 | 237 | 28 | 1.50 | .00 | 21.0 |
Kellen Clemens | 12 | 183 | 8 | .83 | .08 | 14.0 |
Cody Kessler | 12 | 160 | 11 | .58 | .00 | 11.6 |
Vince Young | 11 | 184 | 17 | 1.18 | .00 | 15.7 |
C.J. Beathard | 10 | 244 | 19 | 1.10 | .40 | 20.9 |
Austin Davis | 10 | 228 | 6 | 1.20 | .00 | 16.8 |
Zach Mettenberger | 10 | 203 | 1 | 1.00 | .10 | 14.8 |
Kerry Collins | 10 | 199 | 0 | 1.40 | .00 | 15.6 |
Terrelle Pryor | 10 | 192 | 60 | .90 | .30 | 21.0 |
T.J. Yates | 10 | 153 | 8 | .70 | .00 | 11.3 |
Jon Kitna | 9 | 242 | 16 | 1.56 | .11 | 20.8 |
Brett Hundley | 9 | 204 | 30 | 1.00 | .22 | 18.8 |
Tom Savage | 9 | 179 | 2 | .56 | .00 | 11.3 |
Charlie Whitehurst | 9 | 154 | 13 | .78 | .00 | 12.1 |
Nick Mullens | 8 | 285 | -2 | 1.63 | .00 | 20.8 |
Mason Rudolph | 8 | 191 | 4 | 1.25 | .00 | 15.0 |
Curtis Painter | 8 | 185 | 13 | .75 | .00 | 13.6 |
Jeff Driskel | 8 | 181 | 29 | 1.13 | .13 | 17.5 |
Johnny Manziel | 8 | 174 | 26 | .75 | .00 | 14.3 |
Seneca Wallace | 8 | 161 | 10 | .75 | .00 | 12.0 |
Brady Quinn | 8 | 127 | 7 | .25 | .00 | 8.1 |
Matt Flynn | 7 | 269 | 8 | 2.29 | .00 | 23.4 |
Matt Barkley | 7 | 252 | 0 | 1.43 | .14 | 19.2 |
Ryan Mallett | 7 | 234 | 1 | .86 | .14 | 16.1 |
Matt McGloin | 7 | 212 | 4 | 1.14 | .00 | 15.5 |
Dwayne Haskins | 7 | 175 | 11 | 1.00 | .00 | 14.2 |
Bryce Petty | 7 | 169 | 10 | .43 | .00 | 11.4 |
Thad Lewis | 6 | 216 | 9 | .83 | .17 | 16.1 |
Ryan Lindley | 6 | 203 | 1 | .33 | .00 | 11.6 |
Troy Smith | 6 | 196 | 20 | .83 | .17 | 16.2 |
Devlin Hodges | 6 | 146 | 8 | .67 | .00 | 10.8 |
Chase Daniel | 5 | 221 | 17 | 1.20 | .00 | 17.5 |
Dan Orlovsky | 5 | 216 | 1 | 1.20 | .00 | 15.7 |
Landry Jones | 5 | 206 | -2 | 1.20 | .00 | 14.9 |
Drew Lock | 5 | 204 | 14 | 1.40 | .00 | 17.2 |
Charlie Batch | 5 | 202 | 6 | .80 | .00 | 13.9 |
David Blough | 5 | 197 | 6 | .80 | .20 | 14.9 |
Bruce Gradkowski | 4 | 200 | 7 | 1.00 | .00 | 14.7 |
AJ McCarron | 4 | 194 | 16 | 1.00 | .25 | 16.8 |
Jake Delhomme | 4 | 194 | -1 | .50 | .00 | 11.6 |
Scott Tolzien | 4 | 193 | 11 | .25 | .25 | 13.2 |
Tyler Palko | 4 | 187 | 2 | .50 | .00 | 11.5 |
Josh Johnson | 4 | 156 | 30 | .75 | .00 | 13.8 |
Paxton Lynch | 4 | 156 | 15 | .75 | .00 | 12.3 |
Caleb Hanie | 4 | 153 | 25 | .75 | .00 | 13.1 |
Nathan Peterman | 4 | 84 | 16 | .25 | .25 | 8.2 |
John Beck | 3 | 247 | 10 | .67 | .33 | 18.7 |
Luke McCown | 3 | 181 | 5 | .00 | .00 | 9.5 |
A.J. Feeley | 3 | 176 | 1 | .33 | .00 | 10.3 |
Brandon Allen | 3 | 172 | 13 | 1.00 | .00 | 13.9 |
Ryan Finley | 3 | 158 | 26 | .67 | .00 | 13.1 |
Trent Edwards | 3 | 127 | 14 | .67 | .00 | 10.4 |
Max Hall | 3 | 92 | -2 | .33 | .00 | 5.8 |
Kellen Moore | 2 | 311 | -1 | 1.50 | .00 | 21.5 |
Joe Webb | 2 | 170 | 33 | .00 | .50 | 14.8 |
Sean Mannion | 2 | 148 | 2 | .00 | .00 | 7.6 |
Dennis Dixon | 2 | 127 | 16 | .00 | .00 | 8.0 |
Will Grier | 2 | 114 | 11 | .00 | .00 | 6.8 |
Luke Falk | 2 | 109 | 0 | .00 | .00 | 5.5 |
Taylor Heinicke | 1 | 274 | 33 | 1.00 | .00 | 21.0 |
Jeff Tuel | 1 | 229 | 17 | 1.00 | .00 | 17.2 |
Todd Bouman | 1 | 222 | 8 | 2.00 | .00 | 19.9 |
Byron Leftwich | 1 | 199 | 31 | .00 | 1.00 | 19.1 |
Tyler Thigpen | 1 | 187 | 27 | .00 | .00 | 12.1 |
Greg McElroy | 1 | 185 | 25 | .00 | .00 | 11.8 |
Connor Shaw | 1 | 177 | 9 | .00 | .00 | 9.8 |
Brian St. Pierre | 1 | 173 | 0 | 1.00 | .00 | 12.7 |
Kevin Hogan | 1 | 140 | 36 | 1.00 | .00 | 14.6 |
Rusty Smith | 1 | 138 | 0 | .00 | .00 | 6.9 |
Stephen McGee | 1 | 127 | 55 | 1.00 | .00 | 15.9 |
Brian Brohm | 1 | 106 | 0 | .00 | .00 | 5.3 |
Kyle Boller | 1 | 61 | 29 | .00 | .00 | 6.0 |
Matt Leinart | 1 | 57 | 0 | 1.00 | .00 | 6.9 |
Brodie Croyle | 1 | 40 | 0 | .00 | .00 | 2.0 |
Todd Collins | 1 | 32 | 0 | .00 | .00 | 1.6 |
Chad Pennington | 1 | 19 | 0 | .00 | .00 | 1.0 |
—Ian Allan