Faceoff - QB Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles

Posted 8/3, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Andy Hicks

Donovan McNabb is one of the trickier quarterbacks to rate in fantasy football. On the one hand he is a sure fire fantasy winner, but his tendency to miss games can also force you to require a solid backup. McNabb is one of the few players I'd advocate taking the risk with however. McNabb has 10 years of proven fantasy success, a reliable offense that is consistently Top 10, and he won't need to depend on any one player for the offense to work effectively.

To demonstrate the faith the Eagles have in McNabb, they drafted three offensive weapons in the first three rounds this year. Pick 1 was spent on the highly rated receiver Jeremy Maclin, the 2nd pick was used on LeSean McCoy who'll provide a wonderful counterpart to Brian Westbrook, and with the 3rd pick the Eagles went with a tight end to take over from the disappointing L.J. Smith in Cornelius Ingram. There are also major improvements in free agency on the offensive line to replace the aging Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan. In short there doesn't appear to be a weakness on the entire Eagles offense - making McNabb not only one of the safest QBs to draft this year, but with the depth assembled as well, one that is least likely to be affected by injuries to key offensive personnel.

McNabb is almost certain to post top-5 numbers when he is on the field. The backfield of Westbrook and/or McCoy will provide McNabb with solid safety outlets when the receiver options don't pan out, the tight end duo of Brent Celek and Cornelius Ingram will be a significant upgrade over L.J. Smith. Any of the contingent of the receivers the Eagles have on the roster will be reliable options for McNabb, especially as all but Maclin have significant starting experience.

Overall I understand that rating McNabb highly is a risky decision. McNabb got benched in 2008, but managed to play all 16 games for the first time since 2003. He can also be erratic in his play and demeanor. On the bright side however the Eagles have surrounded McNabb with the best talent he's ever had assembled as a collective unit. Sure there's no Terrell Owens, but with the impressive DeSean Jackson coming off a fantastic debut season, first round pick Jeremy Maclin in addition to the return of Kevin Curtis to round off the front line receivers and more than capable backup in Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown, and Jason Avant, so McNabb won't be reliant on any one guy. Add in one of the best pass catching backs in the league in Brian Westbrook and the Eagles have options galore for McNabb to ensure that he is one of the better early round picks you can make on a quarterback.

Downside - by Chris Smith

I believe most people will have McNabb ranked 4th through 10th this season so the margin in this debate is pretty tiny. I guess for this debate, the question is to do you believe McNabb will be one of the top fantasy quarterbacks this season or just a good fantasy starting quarterback. Put me in the camp of the latter for reasons I will breakdown below.

Reasons to believe McNabb will be a good, not great fantasy QB

1. No longer threat to run the ball: Yes it is true that McNabb will still occasionally scramble for yardage and did manage to score twice on the ground last season. However the years of 350+ rushing yards and 6+ touchdowns running the ball are clearly behind him now which means the majority of his fantasy production will have to come via his passing skills.
2. Low passing touchdown output over past two seasons: McNabb only managed to toss 42 touchdowns over the past two NFL seasons. That is good but not great production from your starting fantasy quarterback. The positive for the Eagles is McNabb doesn't throw a lot of interceptions but that is only marginal benefit to a fantasy owner.
3. Age is beginning to creep up on him. McNabb will be 33-years of age this season. Not that 33 is washed-up when it comes to quarterbacks but it is at least a red flag to be aware of this season. Over the past four seasons, McNabb has missed a total of 15 games out of the possible 64. With his mobility declining, McNabb gets hit more often than he did as a younger player and as a result, the likelihood of missed games increased.

Last Word

McNabb will be a good fantasy quarterback in 2009. He has decent receivers, a great receiving running back in Brian Westbrook and what looks like a good offensive line in front of him. The question is can McNabb throw for enough yards to offset his lack of rushing production now to be an elite quarterback and also can he stay healthy through the entire 16-game season. It is because of those two questions that I believe he should be ranked no higher than 6th this season.