Week 4 QB projections

QB David Garrard, Free agent

HT: 6-1, WT: 237, Born: 2-14-1978, College: East Carolina, Drafted: Round 4

2011 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of September 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: S Breaston (177), David Garrard (178), J Harrison (179), T Heap (180)
Position: R Fitzpatrick (156-QB23), C Newton (161-QB24), David Garrard (178 - QB25), J Campbell (183-QB26), M Hasselbeck (187-QB27)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of September 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: M Hasselbeck (200), V Shiancoe (201), David Garrard (202),
Position: J Campbell (199-QB25), M Hasselbeck (200-QB26), David Garrard (202 - QB27), T Tebow (217-QB28), C Henne (219-QB29)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

While Garrard gets a lot of flack for the fact that he's not the second coming of Joe Montana, he isn't on the chop block in Jacksonville yet. While the Jaguars did pick up former Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, he's a project and will take some work. As that happens, Garrard will be in charge and remain the starter. Despite the fact that he threw less passes for less yards in 2010, his touchdowns went up and his yards per attempt did as well in two less games. Garrard should be a guy who will get the bulk of the starts as long as he is healthy, which he normally is despite missing a pair of games in 2010. On top of all this, while he loses Mike Sims-Walker, Mike Thomas remains and Jason Hill should have a good chance to replace Sims-Walker. Garrard has the weapons to have a solid, though unspectacular, season.

Worst Case

Sure, Garrard has survived numerous threats to his status as starter. However the Jaguars moved up to take Gabbert and if that isn't writing on the wall, nothing is. While Gabbert is raw, the fanbase is tired of watching Garrard be adequate at best. It won't be easy on him as Sims-Walker is gone and while we like Jason Hill, he's yet to prove himself a consistent and reliable option. Oh, and Marcedes Lewis might hold out. This is an offense with no clear number one wide receiver and no stand out player beyond Maurice Jones-Drew. Garrard is not a player who appears to be able to overcome that. Garrard will start the season under center but don't be surprised if Garrard gets benched for the rookie at some point this year if the team is struggling and Gabbert is practicing well. This is a franchise which needs a spark. Garrard isn't much for providing that.

Outlook

While Garrard remains an option as a back-up fantasy quarterback, his value has slipped behind rising players like Sam Bradford and Matt Cassel. Further, with the uncertainty around his weapons, Garrard may find it hard to repeat things like his career high in touchdowns. Having Gabbert behind him could fire him up and propel him towards better play but he's been so inconsistent thus far that it is hard to imagine that he'd sustain it. Garrard used to be a very reliable fantasy back-up. He wouldn't win you a ton of games but if you needed a starter he served. With questions about his offense and a franchise looking to shake things up, there's a good chance he won't finish the season as starter. At this point, it's difficult to draft him as anything but a very low end number two quarterback.

Why he is a good deep sleeper pick

Mark Wimer - It's fashionable to be down on Garrard, but he's got one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league on his team and one of the elite tight ends in the game. Yes, his wide receivers are an unknown quantity, but Garrard finished 13th among all fantasy QBs in total points last season, laboring in similar circumstances.

Latest News

Bears | Could show interest in three QBs this offseason (Mon Feb 6, 05:34 PM) - The Chicago Bears could show interest in Kansas City Chiefs impending free-agent QB Kyle Orton, Oakland Raiders impending free-agent QB Jason Campbell and free-agent QB David Garrard (Jaguars) this offseason.

Our View: Not surprising news here. We don't think Orton would be a serious candidate because he feels that he can still be an effective starter in the league. Any free agent QB Chicago adds has to know they won't start unless Jay Cutler is injured.
link to story   

Cowboys | Could show interest in several backup QB options (Mon Feb 6, 01:10 PM) - The Dallas Cowboys could show interest in Oakland Raiders impending free-agent QB Jason Campbell, Detroit Lions impending free-agent QB Shaun Hill, Minnesota Vikings impending free-agent QB Sage Rosenfels and free-agent QB David Garrard (Jaguars) this offseason.

Our View: The Cowboys just don't seem comfortable with Stephen McGee as the primary backup behind Tony Romo. They'll bring in competition for McGee and during training camp we'll see how the pecking order is established.
link to story   

2011 Schedule