Commentary

Peyton Manning's fantasy impact

How will Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and others perform?

Originally Published: March 20, 2012
By Nik Bonaddio and Keith Goldner | numberFire

Insider Peyton Manning content:

Manning's fantasy impact | Williamson: Manning's fit in Denver's offense | Schatz: How good is Denver now? | Kiper: Fits for Tim Tebow | NFL Rumors

It's always tough to separate the quarterback from the offense, but the more consistent the quarterback's play, the more accurately we here at numberFire can project the translation. Take Brett Favre, for example. While a legendary quarterback, he was far from consistent, even in his halcyon days playing at Lambeau. Favre left Green Bay for the Jets and had a pretty poor season, leading a passing attack that scored about 30 points less than a league-average offense would have if put in similar situations. Throwing the ball the next season for the Vikings, Favre had the best year of his career, turning that negative-30 into a passing attack that scored 113 points above expectation -- second best in the league in 2009. A consistent QB, such as Rex Grossman, tends to play at a very predictable level regardless of his environment. Grossman was below average in Chicago, and, sure enough, he's below average in Washington.

Peyton Manning has been extremely consistent throughout the course of his career as well, and yes, this is perhaps the only time you'll see Rex mentioned in the same breath as Peyton. Unlike Grossman, however, Manning has been playing at an elite level for an extended period of time, even though age is clearly catching up with him. Manning is 36 years old and coming off his least efficient season since 2002. That being said, the 2010 Colts' passing offense still scored 65 points more than a league-average offense. If Manning is healthy, we expect him to be dominant -- maybe not the 49-touchdown-passes Manning of old, but dominant by comparison to the rest of the NFL.

However, what will be his fantasy impact on the Broncos' offense?

QB Peyton Manning

Assuming Manning plays all 16 games, which is a fair assumption given that he had never missed a snap up until last season, we are projecting him with the following line:


To read more about what Peyton Manning's fantasy impact will be on the Broncos, including projections and when you should draft Denver's skill players, you must be an ESPN Insider.

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