The great ones can make or break a championship season. Those that fall in the middle of the pack can help a team hang in the hunt for a title. And those bringing up the caboose cause nothing but aggravation for owners who just can seem to catch a break.They are the quarterbacks of fantasy football.
Is it worth it to forgo a top-flight runner in order to select a Kurt Warner or Peyton Manning? Or better to roll the dice and take a chance with a Steve McNair or Kordell Stewart c. 2001, quarterbacks who could break out or fall flat yet again? The smart money says to grab a Kurt Warner or Peyton Manning if available, especially with both quarterbacks upgrading their offensive weapons during the offseason. Should both be off the board, it's time to take the best available player approach. After all, who's likely to net more fantasy points, the combination of a Donovan McNabb and Jerome Bettis or Jake Plummer and Ricky Williams?

1. Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams
Single-handedly carries fantasy teams and even in blowouts stays in the game. He's averaging 293.3 yards and 2.27 touchdowns per game over last three years, hardly the types of numbers to argue about with even a high first-round pick.

2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis
The addition of Qadry Ismail and the return of The Edge, give Manning as many weapons as Warner. Throw in a much stronger defense and Manning gets much better field position, too. Look for a drastic drop in his interception total.

3. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia
Has yet to reach his ceiling and is entering prime of career with improving wideouts and strong offensive line. The loss of Correll Buckhalter in the backfield puts even more pressure on McNabb and the passing game.

4. Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota
If healthy for an entire season, Culpepper would rank ahead of McNabb. Addition of tackle Bryant McKinnie makes Culpepper's running ability downright scary!

5. Aaron Brooks, New Orleans
Last season was a disaster, but he still managed at least 248 yards passing 10 times and three touchdowns in five games. Given his new speedy target (Donte' Stallworth) and shifty running back (Deuce McAllister), Brooks becomes an elite quarterback in 2002.

6. Jeff Garcia, San Francisco
Imagine throwing 64 touchdowns in two seasons with just one elite wide receiver. Garcia doesn't get sacked or make poor decisions (just 23 picks in last 1,065 attempts).

7. Rich Gannon, Oakland
Age is creeping up on the warrior under center, and Gannon will feel loss of Jon Gruden more than anyone else in Oakland. Second half decline (9 TD's, 7 INT's) is a sign of what's ahead.

8. Brett Favre, Green Bay
Favre will not succumb to father time, although his wide receivers have jumped ship. Coming off fewest interceptions since 1996 and most touchdowns since '97, Favre will struggle with inexperience at wideout.

9. Brian Griese, Denver
It's put up or shut up time for the former Michigan man. A healthy Ed McCafrrey and explosive Ashley Lelie stand to leave Griese no excuses if he lays another egg in 2002.

10. Drew Bledsoe, Buffalo
Eric Moulds, Peerless Price, Josh Reed. Bledsoe won't seem washed up to Buffalo fans after throwing to the Bills trio of size, speed and hands. Bledsoe will approach 3,500 yards and 30 scores.

11. Kordell Stewart, Pittsburgh
Set career highs in yards (3,109) and completion percentage (60.2), but return of healthy Jerome Bettis and Amos Zereoue could take the ball out of Slash's hands.

12. Jake Plummer, Arizona
Welcome aboard Freddie Jones! Plummer finally has a real tight end, and one who's capable of making the big play. If David Boston plays, then Plummer, helped by an excellent offensive line, will have the ability to put a ton of points on the board.

13. Steve McNair, Tennessee
A healthy Eddie George, coupled with the Titans desire to surround McNair with some real talent at receiver will make the career-highs he set in yards (3350) and touchdowns (21) merely a stepping stone to bigger numbers.

14. Trent Green, Kansas City
In the final year of his contract, Green is out to save his job. The Chiefs could have one of the more underrated scoring units if Johnnie Morton pans out and Sylvester Morris returns from last season's torn ACL. Green's a great buy in the mid-to-late rounds.

15. Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay
Johnson finished third in attempts, and that was with a "defensive-minded" coach in Tony Dungy and a battering ram in the backfield (Mike Alstott). As far as fantasy fanatics are concerned, the addition of Gruden can only mean good things for Johnson's 2002 prospects. Consider Johnson an early riser up the quarterback charts.

16. Tom Brady, New England
The model of efficiency, Brady threw fewer than two interceptions in 10 of his 14 starts. He won't win any awards for explosiveness, but it's hard to argue with a quarterback who completed 63.9 percent of his passes and adds a tall, rangy wideout (Donald Hayes) to his stable.

17. Tim Couch, Cleveland
While setting career highs in yardage (3,040) and touchdowns (17), Couch also fell victim to the turnover bug in a big way-21 interceptions. Much of that has to do with Cleveland's awful running game. If the Browns can upgrade the performance in the backfield, and keep the heat off their quarterback, Couch could jump up to the next level of fantasy signal-callers.

18. Michael Vick, Atlanta
One of the most exciting quarterbacks to ever play at the collegiate level, the jury's still out on Vick in the NFL. He's lacking playmakers at wide receiver, although the Falcons are stacked in the backfield. It'll take at least a full season of starting before Vick becomes the ballyhooed signal-callers many predict.

19. Mark Brunell, Jacksonville
Maybe rookie David Garrard is right. Brunell just may have to look over his shoulder. The offense is due to take a big hit without Keenan McCardell, and if Fred Taylor continues to spend more than half a season in the street clothes, Brunell's a lock to fall off the fantasy map.

20. Jay Fiedler, Miami
Fiedler could be on this move up this list as the preseason gets underway. Adding Ricky Williams takes the focus off the former Dartmouth quarterback, and let's not forget that Chris Chambers was arguably the best rookie wideout a year ago.

21. Trent Dilfer, Seattle
All Trent Dilfer does is win, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to lead anyone to a fantasy championship. The Matt Hasselbeck-experiment failed miserably, so Dilfer doesn't have to look over his shoulder. And with Koren Robinson and Darrell Jackson, Dilfer will certainly have big-play potential streaking downfield.

22. Kerry Collins, N.Y. Giants
This one-time Super Bowl quarterback has fallen on hard times, and things don't look to improve with the deterioration of the offensive line and continuous lack of big-play wide receivers. There's much more downside than anything else here.

23. Jim Miller, Chicago
Miller is a classic example of on-field talent meaning nothing in the fantasy realm. Sure, he proved that he can lead Chicago deep into the postseason. But truth be told, if the Bears don't allow Miller to open things up with his arm, he's useless to fantasy ballers. Who wants to trot out a quarterback that'll get no better than 175 yards and a touchdown each week? He topped 200 yards passing just once in his last seven games, and failed to throw a touchdown four times during the span.

24. Chris Chandler, Chicago
Yes, it's true. The Bears can only start one quarterback. But is there really much difference between Miller and Chandler? Grabbing the injury-prone Miller makes it imperative that Chandler be penciled in for a spot on the bench.

25. Chris Weinke, Carolina
Weinke dazzled early during his rookie campaign, but the wheels fell off and the Panthers fell to 1-15. There has not been much of an upgrade offensively during the offseason, meaning Weinke will struggle to be even an adequate fantasy quarterback. Anyone who's likely to toss more interceptions than touchdowns isn't worth a roster spot.

26. Drew Brees, San Diego
The future is now in San Diego, where Brees will win out over Doug Flutie in the battle for No. 1. What Brees lacks in arm strength, he makes up for in accuracy. If it's upside potential you're after, Brees has plenty.

27. Jeff Blake, Baltimore
Of all the fantasy signal-callers, Blake has the biggest boom-or-bust potential. He's slated to start the year behind Chris Redman, however, Blake still throws one of the NFL's best deep balls and the smart money says Brian Billick will insert Blake into the lineup at some point. Redman is nothing more than a reach at this point in time, given his inexperience.

28. Jon Kitna, Cincinnati
And the NFL leader in pass attempts in 2001 was? That's right, none other than Kitna. It's a shame he didn't do much with his 581 throws. The lowest-rated passer in the NFL has plenty of wideouts, however, none stand out as the gamebreaker-type. Even on Draft Day, it's tough to figure Kitna as anything more than a bye-week fill-in.

29. Vinny Testaverde, N.Y. Jets
Unlike Favre, Testaverde has been caught from behind by Father Time. Chad Pennington will see some work as well, softening Testaverde's already shaky fantasy ground.

30. Quincy Carter, Dallas
Still not sold on Carter starting the entire year, so grab Chad Hutchinson to complete the two-quarterback set. The Cowboys passing offense will be vastly improved, making Carter worthy of a bench spot.

31. Joey Harrington, Detroit
Rookie quarterbacks rarely succeed, and Harrington gets the nod over Carr only because the Lions are an established team (albeit one of the worst in the NFL) with a solid offensive line and 1,000-yard runner to help out. Mike McMahon may start, but Harrington will take over before too long.

32. David Carr, Houston
Think Tim Couch circa 1998 (plenty of picks, few touchdowns). Barely a serviceable fantasy backup in his first year, especially if the team is going to tinker with his throwing motion.

Steve Siniski is the managing editor of Football Forecast and a senior editor for College & Pro Football Newsweekly.