Is Aaron Rodgers worth a first-round pick in 2010 fantasy drafts?
It's the Era of the Quarterback in fantasy football, so it's time to jump all over those signal-callers in the first round, right?
Well, uh, no.
The increasing importance of the quarterback position in fantasy football paradoxically has made the rapidly dwindling number of featured running backs, a dying breed in the National Football League, even more valuable than before.
As a result, those backs are still the players to target early in the first round of most standard fantasy drafts. Thing is, though, you won't find 10 or 12 such guys to fill up an entire first round. The next best thing, then, is to go after a quarterback who is sure to help your team week after week.
Aaron Rodgers is at the top of that list.
Once simply known as the quarterback who succeeded Brett Favre, it's a tribute to how far Rodgers has come in only two seasons. In fantasy land, he's now considered the player who succeeded Drew Brees as fantasy's top signal-caller. And that's no easy task considering Brees' level of statistical success.
Rodgers has passed for 8,472 yards and 58 touchdowns the last two years. He's rushed for nine touchdowns, too. He's got a pass-happy head coach in Mike McCarthy and plenty of quality players to target, including wide receivers Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and James Jones, as well as tight end Jermichael Finley.
So what's not to like?
Well, about the only knock on Rodgers is that he gets knocked around too much. Green Bay's porous offensive line allowed him to be sacked a league-high-tying 50 times in 2009. But he hasn't missed a game since taking over as the starter, and the Packers have taken steps to improve the offensive line.
After suffering 41 sacks in the first nine games of last season, Rodgers was dropped only nine times the rest of the way. Then, in the spring, Green Bay selected star Iowa tackle Bryan Bulaga in the Draft. He may not start right away, but Bulaga will be counted on in the future.
Bottom line: Absolutely, Rodgers is worth a first-round pick in almost all fantasy formats.
