"Namaste"

With 2012 fantasy draft preparation taking place all over the world, Fantasy Football Life presents its preseason 2012 Running Back Rankings. No surprise as the big 3, Arian Foster, Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy sit perched at the top of the charts. Another thing to notice is the lack of depth at the position this year as it may be wise to draft your RBs early this year as it could take quite some time for other teams to decide who emerges as their top back. Keep checking back as we'll update our rankings periodically.

Aaron Rodgers - "Gunslinger"

Well, here we go again, kicking off the 2012 fantasy football season with our preseason 2012 fantasy football quarterback rankings. You'll notice the familiar names near the top, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, etc... You'll also see some young guys that are poised for big years as well like Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford. Quarterback could possibly be a deep position this year with the free agent moves made over the past few months. Keep checking back as we'll update our rankings periodically.

Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – Pick 1

Kevin Nelson: The next Peyton Manning huh? As fantasy players everywhere sprint to the front of the Luck bandwagon, I caution you to pull that little running parachute thing to slow down. As good as Andrew Luck might be, and with these Manning comparisons it is expected to be very, he is not going to the best situation. Luck might be the most prepared QB entering the NFL in history. His experience in running a pro offense and making calls and adjustments on the fly to get into better plays might be better than many QBs currently in the league. The problem for our purpose is the Colts. The great Peyton Manning threw for 3700 yards, 26 Tds, and 28 INTs his rookie year. That was with Marshall Faulk in the backfield and a young Marvin Harrison on the outside. I don’t see that type of explosiveness in the Colts offense currently. Luck will have Donald Brown in the backfield and an aging Reggie Wayne flanking him out wide. Gone are Dallas Clark, Jacob Tamme, and Pierre Garcon. Joseph Addai is a free agent. Cam Newton came in last year and set the world on fire but at least he had Steve Smith to throw to and Jon Stewart and DeAngelo Williams in the backfield taking some of the pressure off of him. Newton was also aided greatly by his ridiculous rushing TD totals. A number I certainly don’t expect Luck to reach. Keeper leagues by all means, take the shot on the next Peyton Manning. Give the Colts some time to get the man weapons and I’m sure he will be in the conversation for QB1 soon. For this year, there are just too many options in a pass happy league to recommend Luck as anything more than a low end QB2 initially.

Cian Fahey: Everyone and their dog knows that Andrew Luck is going to be an Indianapolis Colts' quarterback now that Ryan Grigson confirmed it publicly. Luck shouldn't be a major player in fantasy this year despite his unnatural talent and Cam Newton's success last year.

Luck's biggest test as a rookie will come in the form of his own offense. With an offensive line which will likely need time to develop, and a running game which still isn't completely reliable, the Colts will be asking too much of their young quarterback if they want him to put up big numbers. He should link up well with Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie but not well enough to be a serious starting consideration in fantasy football.

Playing in the AFC South really hurts his value also as the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars have strong defenses while the Tennessee Titans are looking to improve over last year.

Projection: 3,000 yards, 16 touchdowns, 16 interceptions. 200 yards rushing, one touchdown.