2014 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 10 QBs

Colin Kaepernick has enough good pieces around him to make him a top fantasy QB, but he is still young as a passer with only one full season of starting experience under his belt. As a runner, Kaepernick wasn't as prolific in 2013, but he still had a career-high 521 yards and four touchdowns. The addition of Stevie Johnson in the slot will give Kaepernick grow as a passer, and gives the 49ers a true No. 3 wide receiver.

Robert Griffin III saw all of his numbers plummet in 2013, but that was to be expected, given that he was coming off knee surgery, and he was caught in an ongoing feud between owner Dan Snyder and former coach Mike Shanahan. Griffin will be better this upcoming season, especially in Jay Gruden's offense with an explosive receiver like DeSean Jackson. If Gruden can turn Andy Dalton into a 4,000-yard passer, he can do the same with RG III.

I'm not sold on Nick Foles heading into year two as a starter. He did throw for 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions after replacing the injured Michael Vick last year, but It's safe to say that Foles won't achieve those numbers again. The loss of speedster DeSean Jackson will be crucial to Foles, and with opposing defenses having a full year to scheme against him. Foles will still find ways to produce, just not as a No. 1 QB.

If Cam Newton had the same offensive weapons around him from last year heading into this year, he would be much higher on this list. Newton progressed tremendously as a passer last year, but without Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, and Ted Ginn Jr., Newton will struggle early trying to develop chemistry with a new set of receivers. Despite this, his ability to run the ball, especially around the goal-line, will keep him in the top 10.

Matt Ryan threw for 4,515 yards in 2013, but committed a career-high 17 interceptions and had 21 total turnovers. 2013 was a disaster for him as most of his receiving corps was decimated by injuries. Star WR Julio Jones missed 11 games and veteran Roddy White was banged up for most of the year. With both back and fully healthy to begin 2014, Ryan will have a better 2014 season, even without future Hall of Fame TE Tony Gonzalez.

Andrew Luck matched his touchdown total in 2013 from his rookie season in 2012, but cut his interceptions in half, making him a more efficient player. Luck was the most impressive quarterback last year considering that he was missing Reggie Wayne for half the season and Dwayne Allen for nearly all of it. Luck should be able to get even better in 2014 with Hakeem Nicks joining Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, and Allen to form a potent receiving corps.

Matthew Stafford has been a turnover machine who has regressed the past few seasons, but his ability to throw for big numbers compensates for his sometimes sloppy performance. The hirings of Jim Caldwell as coach and Joe Lombardi as Joe Lombardi should make Stafford more consistent this season. Stafford will post huge numbers again in 2014, especially with Calvin Johnson ready to bail him out of any situation,

In almost every other year, Aaron Rodgers would rank at the top in terms of fantasy quarterbacks, but with two future Hall of Famers in Drew Brees and Peyton Manning ahead of him, and Rodgers' coming off a severe collarbone injury, he ranks this time at No. 3. Rodgers, if healthy, will still produce good stats, even if he loses some attempts to running back Eddie Lacy. Rodgers, however, will be without James Jones and Jermichael Finley.

Drew Brees has thrown for 5,100 or more yards in each of the past three seasons. Despite the losses of both Lance Moore and Darren Sproles in the passing game, Brees still has enough viable weapons, including rookie first-round pick Brandin Cooks. As long as coach Sean Payton is calling the plays for Brees and Jimmy Graham is the best tight end in football, he will be among the top-three fantasy quarterbacks this season, maybe even No. 1.

Peyton Manning likely won't match his record-breaking 2013 numbers, but if ever there was a player that could, it would be him. Thanks to an outstanding supporting cast that included Eric Decker, Wes Welker, Julius Thomas, and Demaryius Thomas, Manning was in a zone for the whole 2013 season. Without Decker and an aging Wes Welker, however, duplicating or matching his 55 TD season will be tough.