2008 Fantasy Football Quarterback Sleepers & Busts
Here are FCF’s 2008 QB Sleepers and Busts
JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders. The #1 overall pick in 2007 held the clipboard for most of the year last season. He did get into four games last year, but he wasn’t particularly impressive as he threw two touchdowns and four interceptions. Russell showed a few signs of his talent in the final game of the year as he threw 23-31 for 224 yards with a touchdown and a pick. At 6′6″ and 260 pounds he is built like a linebacker, but he can move like a running back, and has a cannon for an arm to boot. He wasn’t the first overall pick for nothing, and although his team is not close to competing, Russell will have a chance to take a big step towards being a successful NFL quarterback in his first full season.
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers. Have you heard of this guy? Since draft day when he was a potential first pick overall and then nearly fell to the second round, you hadn’t heard much from Rodgers. Oooooooh yeah, I guess he has been in the news lately with that whole Favre thing. Rodgers is the biggest victim in this whole mess, as now not only does he have to follow a legend, but he will have all eyes on him, as the media will scrutinize if the Packers should have welcomed #4 back with open arms. Rodgers has looked pretty good in preseason action so far (depending on how much stock you put in that), and has a decent amount of weapons in which to deal with. I believe he has learned a good deal sitting on the bench these last couple of years and learning from Favre. I’m not sure I would go out and make him my team’s only quarterback, but I do think he will throw 20+ TDs.
Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins. In his first full season as a starter in 2007, Campbell was pretty good from a football point of view, but I would say below average from a fantasy perspective. He missed the last three weeks of the season, but still only threw 12 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He has a decent offense around him, but the ‘Skins have always been a run first approach. He has some decent weapons to throw the ball to in Santana Moss, Chris Cooley, and rookie Devin Thomas. Campbell has looked pretty decent in preseason so far, through two games he is 16/25 for 160 yards and a touchdown. He should be at worst a nice bye week replacement, but could take
Other possibilities: Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals, Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills.
Busts
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles. This is a big season for McNabb. His contract only has one more year left on it after this one, and the past couple have been less than spectacular. Donovan hasn’t played a 16 game schedule since 2003, and has missed 15 games in the past three years. The truth is, even when he has been playing, it hasn’t been that great. In 2007, he nearly played the whole season as he only missed two games, but still he threw just 19 touchdowns. To complicate matters more, the Eagles spent an early draft pick on QB Kevin Kolb before last season, adding more speculation that McNabb’s days in Philly might be numbered. Once a solid fantasy stud, McNabb has certainly fallen from that pedestal, and is not someone that I would want to count on as a starter every week of the season.
Derek Anderson, Cleveland Browns. So let me see if I get the story straight. The Browns trade back into the first round to take the golden armed QB from Cleveland, who isn’t quite ready to start the season. So Anderson, the guy they name as the starter, is a 6th round pick who goes on to throw 29 TDs, even though he fades down the stretch. Cleveland offers Anderson a new contact, meaning they are spending $10 million a year on QBs. I truly wonder how long of a leash that Anderson will be on, and I think that if he really comes out and is terrible, that they have to give Quinn a chance. I’m just not sure where this incredible showing of talent from Anderson came from, so I’m not sure that I can expect him to do it again. He has a more than capable backup, so he better not stink coming out of the gate.
Vince Young, Tennessee Titans. Minus the dogfighting charges, I see the career of Vince Young going down the same path of Michael Vick. A highly athletic, run first quarterback, with little to no options on offense who is much more valuable as a runner than throwing the ball. So far the only thing that I have seen from Young is the ability to make plays with his feet. I have yet to see him show any consistency throwing the ball, and the fact that his offense stinks out loud is not helping his cause. Can you name a Titans receiver? Go ahead and think about it for a minute. Unless you are really obsessed with fantasy football, I would think the answer would be no. Last season, Young was horrendous throwing just nine touchdowns against 17 picks, and so far this preseason he has seven completed passes in seven series. Do yourself a favor, let someone else buy into the hype, Young is a long way off of being effective, if ever.
Other busts: David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars; Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers.
As always, your questions (draft questions, adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.
