With the NFL regular season set to begin in 11 days, we are going to have to get accustomed to predictions, previews and analysis of all 32 teams around the league.
While worthless, these predictions can bring a certain level of entertainment as we all prepare for what promises to be another exciting season.
eDraft will focus on fantasy football rankings with a soon-to-be released magazine. For now, we will run a series of articles ranking top-10 positional units around the league.
We start at quarterback...
1. New England Patriots: Tom Brady, Ryan Mallett and Tim Tebow
When you have one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL as your starter, that position is going to be in a good place moving forward. While Tom Brady may be on the last legs of what has been a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame career, he's still one of the top-five signal callers in the game.
Ryan Mallett has struggled to an extent this preseason, but he's better than at least a dozen starting quarterbacks in the league. He has also gained a ton of seasoning and experience behind Brady over the past few seasons, two things that are valuable when it comes to grooming a young quarterback. Tebow is nothing more than a No. 3 quarterback, but he can provide something in terms of leadership on and off the field. In addition, the former first-round pick could come in and play the pistol, if New England decides it wants to mix it up every once in a while.
2. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, Rex Grossman and Pat White
One of the biggest indicators of success at quarterback is the ability of the backup to come in and win a game or two. Cousins did this last season when RGIII went down to a knee injury late in the season. In fact, it could be stated that Cousin's late-game performance against Baltimore in Week 14 saved the Redskins season. Interestingly enough, both RGIII and Cousins are entering their second seasons injured. The former is still recovering from an ACL injury he suffered against Seattle in the playoffs, while the latter suffered a mid-foot sprain in Washington's second preseason game.
Both should be ready to go by Week 1.
If not, Washington does have a decent back-up plan in the form of Grossman, who can come in and play ball-control offense for a week, if need be.
3. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck and Chandler Harnish
Matt Hasselbeck is the perfect No. 2 behind Andrew Luck. He'll help the young quarterback grow, both on and off the field. He also has the capability of coming in and winning a game or two should Luck be sidelined with an injury. Despite a less-than-stellar completion percentage last season, Luck's accuracy has never been in question. This is why statistics can be misleading, after all Colts' receivers dropped the most passes of any group in the NFL last season.
Luck was still able to 11 wins and earn a playoff appearance as a rookie. He tallied over 4,600 total yards and 28 touchdowns. In order for Luck and the Colts' offense to take the next step, he's going to have to cut down on his mistakes (18 interceptions in 2012) and his receivers are going to have to find more consistency on the outside.
4. Dallas Cowboys : Tony Romo, Kyle Orton, Alex Tanney and Nick Stephens
Sans a series of unfortunate fumbles against the Arizona Cardinals, the Cowboys first-team offense has looked damn good thus far this preseason. Tony Romo seems to have found a favorite receiving target in Dez Bryant, who is primed to put up some ridiculous numbers. The return to health of Miles Austin may also be big here. Despite criticism from the mainstream media, Romo has also performed at a relatively high level over the past few seasons. He put up over 4,900 passing yards with 28 touchdowns last season. While the newly-extended quarterback did tie Drew Brees for the most interceptions (19) in the NFL, a lot of that had to do with lackluster pass protection upfront and an inability to show balance on offense. Expect Romo to limit his mistakes this season.
If Romo were to go down with injury, Kyle Orton is more than capable of winning a game or two as his replacement. The veteran backup is among the most experienced in the league and provides a solid presence on the sideline. Alex Tanney has also impressed in camp and should earn the No. 3 quarterback job.
5. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers, Vince Young and B.J. Coleman
Now that Green Bay's back-up quarterback situation is settled, all attention turns to Aaron Rodgers, who is coming off the best two-year stretch in the history of the National Football League. Over the course of his last 31 starts, Rodgers has thrown for nearly 9,000 yards with 84 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions.
The fact that Rodgers has missed only one game due to injury in his career limits the importance of those quarterbacks in line to start should he go down. Vince Young didn't play a single snap in the NFL last year, but impressed Mike McCarthy and Co. enough to earn the No. 2 gig behind Rodgers. He has the physical ability to win a game in a pinch, if need be.
6. San Francisco 49ers: Colin Kaepernick, B.J. Daniels, Seneca Wallace, Colt McCoy and Scott Tolzien
San Francisco's quarterback situation has become somewhat of a mess behind Colin Kaepernick, and Jim Harbaugh's "endorsement" of Colt McCoy following its 34-14 win over Minnesota on Sunday night doesn't necessarily change this. Much like most contending teams in the NFL, the 49ers will find themselves in a bad situation should Kaepernick go down. None of the other quarterbacks on the roster scares defenses quite like No. 7 does.
That's precisely why San Francisco ranks sixth on this list.
Kaepernick's performance as a green quarterback last season was nothing short of amazing. He became the youngest quarterback in terms of starts to lead his team to the Super Bowl in the history of the NFL. In the process, Kaepernick displayed accuracy, arm strength, a ridiculous level of athleticism and on-field intelligence. In short, he possesses the highest upside of any quarterback in the entire league. San Francisco may have also found a steal in the seventh round of April's draft in the form of B.J. Daniels. The South Florida product didn't see action in the first game of the preseason, but has been mighty impressive in his two outings and throughout the duration of camp. He has completed 8-of-12 passes for 102 yards and a score, while adding 33 yards on six rushes.
7. Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson, Brady Quinn and Tarvaris Jackson
Much like San Francisco, the Seahawks title' hopes would likely take a back seat if their young starting quarterback goes down for an extended period of time. While Pete Carroll and Co. did add two veterans in the form of Brady Quinn and Tarvaris Jackson, neither has what it takes to lead a contending team for an extended period of time.
On the other hand, Wilson's performance as a rookie has to be considered one of the best in the recent history of the league. After starting out somewhat slowly with a watered-down playbook, the former third-round pick was among the best signal callers in the NFL over the last half of the regular season and into the playoffs. In those 10 games, Wilson put up 24 touchdowns compared to three interceptions. It's not a coincidence that Seattle went 8-2 in those 10 games.
Continued progression from Wilson will help Seattle's offense make the jump to elite status in 2013. I fully expect Carroll to give him that ability with an expanded playbook.
8. Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler and Zac Dysert
It's all about Peyton Manning here. If the future Hall of Fame quarterback is on the field throughout the 2013 regular season and in the playoffs, Denver will find itself as one of the top contenders in the AFC. If not, it becomes nothing more than a pedestrian team with an unproven signal caller under center. That being said, Brock Osweiler offers a tremendous amount of upside for the future and couldn't be in a better situation behind Manning.
9. Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan, Dominique Davis and Sean Renfree
It may seem like a broken record here, but if Atlanta loses Matt Ryan for an extended period of time, its chances for a conference title takes a major hit. Despite success in the regular season, Ryan has won just one postseason game in four seasons as Atlanta's starting quarterback. In order for him to take that next step and become an elite quarterback, he needs to take one of the most talented teams in the NFL to the Super Bowl. Until that happens, Ryan is nothing more than an enigma who puts up ridiculous numbers in October, but fails to extend that performance to January. Neither Dominique Davis or Sean Renfree has the capability to lead this team to its ultimate goal. At this point, the onus is 100 percent on Ryan.
10. New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees, Luke McCown and Ryan Griffin
Unlike most of the groups ahead of them, the Saints don't have a young quarterback either starting or ready to take over for a veteran. Luke McCown has been nothing more than a decent No. 2 or No. 3 in the NFL, and provides no upside. Ryan Griffin is an interesting character, but he's about as green as they come. At 34 years old, Drew Brees still has at least five years of stellar football ahead of himself in what has been a Hall of Fame career. In addition, he hasn't missed a single game due to injury since joining the Saints in 2006. Druing that span, Brees has put up a ridiculous 33,000-plus passing yards and 244 touchdowns. Needless to say, New Orleans is fine with him under center.