Faceoff - WR Donald Driver, Green Bay Packers

Posted 7/15, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Mike Brown

Donald Driver is the new Derrick Mason. He's that guy that sits there in your draft. And sits there. And sits there. And for some reason, nobody thinks highly enough of him to take him. Then finally, when someone DOES take him, it's usually followed with a long, annoyed sigh -- almost an admission of a failed pick.

Then sometime around the beginning of October, that same owner is ecstatic to be able to plug-and-play Driver every single week and know that he's going to get them some crooked numbers in the stat line.

While Driver isn't going to singlehandedly win your league for you, he can certainly be a viable piece to any fantasy championship team. Unless you have someone else in mind who is coming off five straight 1,000-yard seasons that can be had at the back end of the eighth round.

Driver is going off the board as the WR36. No, that isn't a typo. The consensus is that there are 35 better players to draft than Donald Driver this year. This, despite the fact that his finishes have been 10th, 13th, 5th, 30th, and 23rd over the last five years. Meaning, he has NEVER finished as low as WR36 in the last five years. In fact, the only time he has finished that low in the last seven seasons was in 2003 when he suffered a frightening neck injury.

Driver is 34, not 40. He's hardly "too old" to put up solid numbers. But among the masses, the problem with him is that he's not a sexy pick. Everyone wants to look like a genius at their fantasy draft, so they proclaim Player X is washed up or Player Y is going to absolutely blow up this season. There's something to be said to pay for what a player is going to do rather than what he has already done. But a lot of people fail to see the ridiculous value in snagging a WR2 at the back end of the eighth round. There's nothing in Driver's pedigree or in the history of 34-year old wide receivers to suggest that he's about to fall off a cliff talent-wise. Yet some owners are apparently so eager to write him off as a has-been that he is dropping to incredibly valuable levels in many drafts.

There is a lot to like about his situation heading into 2009. He's still playing with an up-and-coming star quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, and he still has Greg Jennings alongside him to take away the opposition's top defenders. The run game is effective enough to provide Driver with a lot of single coverage, and Driver himself still runs precise routes and has good hands and better instincts.

Oh, and have I mentioned that he can be had at the back end of the eighth round?

Downside - by Marc Levin

I will not try to tear down Donald Driver's productivity. He has been one of my favorite "value picks" for the last five years. He has also been extraordinarily consistent. But, lauding Driver is not my task here. It is to provide the reader with the right words of caution before drafting Driver.

First, he is aging rapidly. Driver is 34 years old, which is habitually when a NFL wide receiver's skills begin to fade. Second, there are two up-and-coming young receivers on the team who are ready to step into Driver's No. 2 receiver role. The team has a vested interest in getting more reps to Jordy Nelson, who brings some skills to the table that Driver is unable to match. Nelson is a big and fast receiver who the team would be wise to get more game-time experience. Moreover, developing on-field rapport between starting Greg Jennings, Nelson and Aaron Rodgers is the future of the team's passing game. Driver may find himself an afterthought to that arrangement.

Third, and most important, Driver was virtually nonexistent as a fantasy threat from Week 10 through Week 16 in 2008. Over that important span, Driver had only one TD, 62 yards per game, no 100 yard games, and only one game with more than 7.5 fantasy points (the same game where he caught a TD). Driver did have a monster game in Week 17, but that was too little and too late for most fantasy owners. Potential owners need to seriously consider the factors that caused such a un-Driver like drop in production.

When deciding whether Driver is worth a WR3 spot on your squad, where you are able to draft him will be key. If Driver is available at or near his current ADP of WR36, he is a worthwhile consideration. But name recognition will likely drive his draft position north. If Driver's ADP starts climbing, allow another owner to live in the past with Driver.