His final statistics in 2012 were pretty similar to 2011, although he threw for seven more TD and 300 more yards. The bad news: he threw three more interceptions. He actually appeared to be taking that step through his first 11 games. But he regressed in his final five games, throwing only four TD while committing seven turnovers!
And then the playoffs arrived. Coming off a disastrous playoff game a season ago against the Houston Texans, throwing 0 TD and 3 INT, Dalton looked for redemption facing the same opponent. Unfortunately, Dalton looked even more pathetic in his second go-around. He completed only 46% of his passes, while throwing for only 127 yards, 0 TD, and 1 INT.
Now, you're probably thinking how I could even rank him this high after hearing all of that. It's true, I believe he has to prove a lot this coming season. But it still says a lot that in his first two years in the league, he did lead his team to the postseason with an underwhelming roster, in regards to their talent. Again, he showed well for the first 11 games of last year. During that stretch Dalton looked incredibly accurate, completing 64% of his passes while really taking care of the ball well. That's the biggest difference from his first 11 games to his final six. Perhaps he hit the wall towards the end. But this year he has no excuses. He's got one of the premier wide receivers in the game in A.J. Green. The team also drafted Tyler Eifert from Notre Dame, as well as dynamic RB Giovani Bernard. Dalton's got the talent around him, but is he poised to put it all together?
Projections: 3,900 yards, 31 TD, and 15 INT
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