Faceoff - QB Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers

Posted 8/3, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Colin Dowling

I'm not a big Jake Delhomme fan. Every spring I project the Panthers to select a "quarterback of the future." I even fell for David Carr a few seasons ago, thinking that Carr's ten-cent head would get straightened out enough to push Delhomme to the sidelines.

But it's hard to argue with the facts. Jake Delhomme is criminally underrated by the fantasy football community. At his worst (as he was in 2008), Delhomme still finished as QB20. Ironically, that's his current Average Draft Position. On the surface it would appear that fantasy owners are properly rating him. But Delhomme's track record suggests that 2008 was the low-water mark for him. He didn't throw many touchdowns (15) and his completion percentage was lower then his career average. As a result, it is pretty easy to argue that QB20, where Delhomme finished the 2008 campaign and where he is currently being drafted, represents his floor more then his true value. Consider this: Jake Delhomme has finished the season as QB20 or better in EVERY season in which he was his team's starter and didn't lose time to injury. Even better, notwithstanding 2007 when he only played three games, Delhomme has missed a total of three games in five seasons as a starter.

Delhomme's best seasons admittedly came when the Carolina run game wasn't as stout as it is now. But it's also entirely possible that the emergence of a great rush attack will finally benefit the passing game as Delhomme sees more and more single-coverage on his receivers downfield. And while Delhomme is not a young man, his age (34) shouldn't fool you. Jake Delhomme took fewer then 100 snaps before the age of 28 and should still have plenty of strength left in his arm and spring in his step.

Jake Delhomme plays in a run-heavy offense, meaning he's likely to lose a handful of redzone passing touchdowns to the running game. But he also has a game-breaking receiver on board in Steve Smith and the confidence of his coaches, which is a very valuable thing in today's NFL. While I wouldn't advocate counting on Delhomme as your QB1, he is a great value as a second quarterback. His floor is high (right around QB20) and with a little luck he might actually sniff the Top 12.

Downside - by Sigmund Bloom

There was a lot of uncertainty about Jake Delhomme heading into 2008 because he was the first quarterback to undergo Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. He didn't seem to lose too much mustard on his passes, but his season was still a barren minefield for Panthers fans and Delhomme fantasy owners alike.

In 2008, The Panthers became a run first (and run second and run third) team behind their massive offensive line and tandem of first round draft pick stud running backs. They threw less than any other team in the league, and couldn't even muster enough touchdown throws to average one a game. Delhomme threw less than 25 passes in half of the Panthers games, and he threw for less than 200 yards in half of the Panthers games. He posted fantasy scores in the single digits in seven regular season games. He only threw more than one touchdown pass in four games.

If you had Jake Delhomme, you continued to lower expectations as the season went on because of the ball control offense. No problem, he was probably your backup, and you only wanted a safe 10-15 point score for your bye week or injury fill-in weeks. That's what a veteran QB with two veteran WRs is for, right? Well, Delhomme couldn't even assure his owners of that during the 2008 season. Delhomme imploded in two of the 15 games that take place during the fantasy regular season and playoffs. He threw for a combined seven interceptions in the games at Oakland and Tampa Bay, and only mitigated the stinkers with a combine 308 yards passing and one measly touchdown pass. Then, just to remind us of his propensity to have the wheels come off, he threw five interceptions at home in the playoffs in front of a prime time audience.

You simply can not afford to risk having Delhomme in your lineup in leagues that heavily penalize interceptions, and in leagues that don't, he offers little to no upside as a bye week/injury fill-in. Look elsewhere when it's time to draft your backup QB.