Heading into the 2017 fantasy football season there will be six NFL teams starting a quarterback that is at least 35 years old.  Each of these six quarterbacks have all had tremendous success at various points of their careers with four of the six having combined for 13 career Super Bowl appearances and 10 Super Bowl wins. Even at their advanced ages some of these QB’s continue to thrive and play at a high level but it is fair to wonder if at some point a decline is coming. So let's take a look at these six quarterbacks who will enter the 2017 season at the age of 35 or older.

 

Tom Brady, New England Patriots 

I touched upon Brady in the first article of this series which can be found here so I won’t bore you too much with repetitive information but Mr. Brady has shown no signs of slowing at 39 years of age which spots him as the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL.  Brady has often talked about his goals to play within his 40’s and he has recently released TB12 branded cookbooks and nutrition guides that he claims is the reason there has been little decline in his skillset over the years.  In 2016 Brady found himself suspended for the first four games of the season but returned in Week 5 and tore up the league, finishing the season with 3,554 yards, 28 touchdowns and just two interceptions as he went on to win his NFL record fifth Super Bowl ring.  Some wonder if 2017 will be Brady’s last season with New England holding onto backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo and the team making a number of uncharacteristic moves in terms of big name free agents and trade acquisitions such as receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerback Stephon Gilmore this offseason to potentially gear up for one last ride with TB12.

 

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

Brees will enter the 2017 season at the age of 38 but looking at his statistics you wouldn’t know it.  In 2016 Brees threw for 5,208 yards with 37 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.  He completed 70-percent of his passes and finished with a QB-rating of 101.7. This off-season the Saints traded away the team’s top receiver in Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots and really did little to replace that production with the signing of Ted Ginn essentially becoming the Saints new deep threat.  New Orleans did sign Adrian Peterson in the offseason and he figures to split time in the backfield with Mark Ingram as the team potentially looks to become a more balanced offense and put less pressure on the aging shoulder of Brees.  Those factors should not be too worrisome for potential fantasy owners as receiver Michael Thomas will step in as the team’s No.1 receiver and look to build off of his breakout rookie campaign which saw him catch 92 passes for 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns. Potential fantasy owners should also note that Brees will benefit from having the No.1 QB schedule based off of fantasy matchups this season.  His currently ADP has him going around pick 36 in most standard league formats which has him ranked as the third QB taken off the board.
 

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers 

There were rumors of a potential retirement this offseason from Roethlisberger who enters the 2017 season at 35 years of age.  Amongst the quarterbacks that will be written about in this article, few have taken the punishment that Big Ben has taken over the course of his career and that punishment is starting show in missed games.  Over the two years Roethlisberger has missed six games due to injury and could have possibly missed more if not for the fact that he is willing to play through some injuries that would have sidelined others.  When healthy however Big Ben has shown to be quite the productive fantasy quarterback as shown by his 2014 season which he last played all 16 games. In 2014 he threw for 4,952 yards with 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions. In 2016 he played in just 14 games and threw for 3,819 yards with 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.  Health is the big question with Roethlisberger but if he can stay healthy he could be poised for a big season as the Steelers offense will be getting back receiver Martavis Bryant who was suspended all of last season but has caught 76 passes for 1,314 yards and 14 touchdowns in the 21 career games he has been on the field for.  Bryant along with Antonio Brown, Eli Rogers, running back Le’Veon Bell and rookie second round pick JuJu Smith-Schuster should be enough weapons for Roethlisberger to put up a top 10 fantasy season, which is where he is currently being drafted as the 10th QB to come off the board in standard league formats.

 

Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers

Rivers has really been forced to make good without a star receiver for a few seasons now with Keenan Allen finding himself landing on IR in each of those two years and tight end Antonio Gates slowly reaching the end of his career with injuries also catching up to him as well.  Despite the lack of weapons Rivers has still managed to throw for over 4,000 yards in four straight seasons while averaging about 30 touchdown passes a year.  In 2017 the Chargers offense will begin the year healthy, with Keenan Allen ready to be the No.1 target for Rivers and receivers like Travis Benjamin, Dontrelle Inman, Tyrell Williams and rookie Mike Williams all hoping to make an impact as well.  Rivers will also have tight ends Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates available leaving him with no shortage of targets for this year.  The Chargers offense will also look to utilize running back Melvin Gordon in the team’s passing attack after he caught 41 passes for 419 yards last year. A poor offensive line and untimely turnovers have frustrated fantasy owners at times when it comes to Rivers play but at 35 years old he has still managed to play in all 16 games since becoming the team’s starter back in 2006.  Rivers is currently being taken as the No.15 quarterback off the board in standard league formats with an ADP of 100.

 

Eli Manning, New York Giants

For the two seasons prior to 2016 it was talked about how Manning was thriving under the new offensive play calling in New York and he turned in solid seasons, throwing for 4,400 yards in each of those two years but 2016 was a bit of a struggle and we saw the bad and inconsistent Eli Manning of years past return.  Manning threw for 4,027 yards with 26 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2016.  The interceptions have always been a killer to Eli’s fantasy value and while he averaged 14 interceptions a year the previous two seasons he also threw for more touchdowns including a career high 35 touchdown passes in 2015. There is a lot of Jekyll and Hyde with Eli Manning and it’s for that reason that he finds himself being taken as the 16th QB with an average ADP of 135.  The Giants have added some weapons on offense for Eli with the signing of receiver Brandon Marshall to go along with the very talented Odell Beckham and those two should offer up the best receiving duo in football for Manning to throw to so there is some potential upside here if Eli can be more efficient this season.

 

Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals

The 2015 fantasy football season came out of nowhere for fantasy owners of Carson Palmer as he likely found himself undrafted in most standard league formats after tearing his ACL in 2014. In 2015 Palmer threw for 4,671 yards with 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.  The yards and touchdowns were both career highs for the then 35-year old QB.  Enter the 2016 season where Palmer was unable to match that level of output despite attempting 60 more passes than the prior year.  In 2016 Palmer finished with 4,233 yards with 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.  That stat line is much more in line with Palmer’s career numbers and what fantasy owner should probably expect from the now 37-year old quarterback on a team that futures running back David Johnson who is quite possibly the best overall running back in the NFL today.  The Cardinals receiving group is OK as they are headlined by veteran Larry Fitzgerald who is followed by John Brown, J.J. Nelson and rookie third-round pick Chad Williams.  Palmer is currently being taken as the 20th QB of the board which makes him a borderline starter in two-QB leagues and given the defenses that are in the NFC West I would question whether or not I would take him over the likes of a Blake Bortles who is going a few picks after him in drafts.