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QB Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles

HT: 6-2, WT: 226, Born: 11-25-1976, College: Syracuse, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 2

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: B Edwards (48), T Gonzalez (49), Donovan McNabb (50), R Williams (51), L Johnson (52)
Position: K Warner (37-QB6), T Romo (40-QB7), Donovan McNabb (50 - QB8), M Ryan (62-QB9), M Schaub (67-QB10)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: M Lynch (47), J Addai (48), Donovan McNabb (49), T Gonzalez (50), T Jones (51)
Position: K Warner (40-QB6), T Romo (46-QB7), Donovan McNabb (49 - QB8), J Cutler (66-QB9), M Ryan (71-QB10)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

 Click here to go to the Donovan McNabb spotlight, our staff's most detailed analysis.

 Click here to go to the Donovan McNabb faceoff, our staff's look at the pros and cons.

Best Case

Donovan McNabb is one of a handful of veteran QBs capable of finishing atop the fantasy rankings under ideal circumstances. He's coming off his best fantasy season since 2004, throwing for almost 4,000 yards to go along with 23 TDs and just 11 interceptions. With a strong arm, a rebuilt offensive line and complete mastery of the playbook, McNabb is positioned for a big year. DeSean Jackson should emerge as a 1,000-yard threat in his second season. If rookie Jeremy Maclin can provide an explosive after-the-catch option, McNabb could deliver Top 5 numbers including 4,000 yards passing and 25+ touchdowns.

Worst Case

If either Stacy Andrews or Jason Peters struggle as the Eagles' new tackles, McNabb could suffer undue pressure - something that affected his play in 2007. If Brian Westbrook suffers further decline, the entire cohesion of the Eagles offense could grind to a halt, particularly given the lack of a proven veteran backup at RB.

Outlook

It's interesting that McNabb enjoyed his best season in five years last year, considering he was benched midway through the Ravens game and could conceivably have been done as the Eagles starter had Kevin Kolb played better. But that's ancient history now and McNabb is healthy, happy, and has the deepest collection of offensive weapons in his career. As long as the rebuilt offensive line gels quickly, there is no reason to expect anything less than a Top 10 fantasy season with the potential for more.

Relevant Articles

Why he is undervalued

Andy Hicks - The Philadelphia Eagles finally are placing weapons all around Donovan McNabb making it almost impossible for him not to succeed. With the first three picks in the draft spent on a WR, RB & TE, as well as upgrades on the offensive line and a solid core of explosive playmakers its only injury that can stop McNabb being a dominant fantasy starter in 2009. DeSean Jackson, Brian Westbrook & Kevin Curtis will have support this year from Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, Reggie Brown & Brent Celek. If McNabb slips, grab him.

Latest News

Eagles | McNabb throws for 450 yards Week 10 (Sun Nov 15, 07:37 PM) - The Associated Press reports Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb was 35-for-55 for 450 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception Week 10 against the San Diego Chargers.

Our View: The Eagles rushing attack was ineffective and Andy Reid relied heavily on the passing game after falling behind early. McNabb had huge numbers, but the team struggled significantly in short yardage and in the red zone.
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Eagles | McNabb throws two picks Week 9 (Mon Nov 9, 12:47 AM) - The Associated Press reports Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb was 16-for-30 for 227 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys. It was the first time this season McNabb was intercepted twice in a game.

link to story   

2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - It was apparent from the opening drive that McNabb was in control and command of his offense. After marching the team down the field, the drive ended with a one yard TD pass to Brian Westbrook. On the play, McNabb audibled and the backs ended up switching to a split formation usually indicating the backs are likely going to pass block. Cleverly, the play was an inside shovel pass to Westbrook who found no trouble hitting pay dirt.

This was McNabb's best ever opening game as a professional. He had a gaudy line completing 21 of 33 for a whopping 361 yards and 3 scores in just 3 and half quarters of football. Behind a well protected pocket McNabb dissected the Rams secondary and hit big play after big play. The Eagles despite having their top two receivers out of the game threw the ball at will on the hapless Rams secondary. The Eagles success came from a committee approach as three separate receivers went for over 100 yards.

Week 2 - McNabb played very well in the game, finding receivers with exceptional accuracy and making good decisions. He also looked much more nimble when the pass rush did get to him, often eluding defenders and buying more time with his feet. But McNabb often had all day to sit in the pocket and throw in the first half, as the Dallas pass rush wasn't very effective early in the game. McNabb got his only touchdown pass when he hit RB Brian Westbrook on short pass out in the flat and he took it in for a six yard touchdown. Later on in the half in what was a bizarre play, he threw a deep pass to rookie WR DeSean Jackson on what appeared to be a 61 yard touchdown pass, but Jackson tossed the ball behind him as he started to celebrate too early on what should have been McNabb's second touchdown pass of the game. He did have a big first half and finished the half with 181 yards and one touchdown. The Dallas defense played a lot better in the second only giving up seven points. McNabb came close to having another passing touchdown to WR Greg Lewis in the second half, but Lewis was tackled on the one yard line.

Week 3 - McNabb came out throwing the short passes often seen in Philadelphia's offense early and marched the Eagles on an 85 yard drive in the second quarter for the game's first score. An earlier drive looked equally as promising, but was snuffed out by a fumble by FB Tony Hunt. McNabb was steady in the pocket, but never looked to take off and run. Only two passes were 20 yards or more and very few deep pass plays were called. An attempted flea-flicker in the second quarter exposed McNabb to a big hit by LB Lamar Woodley driving his upper body into the turf. He was in obvious pain, but played through to halftime. It was later diagnosed as a chest injury. McNabb did not come out for second half warm-ups and was replaced for two series by backup QB Kevin Kolb. He did return and seemed to be less than 100 percent. Owners should keep an eye out for the upcoming week's injury news. Overall, it should be noted that the early loss of Westbrook took away McNabb's most significant weapon and impacted the Eagles' play calling.

Week 4 - McNabb spread the ball around in typical fashion and looked like he was primed for yet another monstrous passing day after driving the Eagles downfield for two touchdowns (74 and 67 yard drives respectively) within the games first twenty minutes. It went downhill from there though, with McNabb unable to get the Eagles into the end zone for the go ahead score until late in the fourth quarter (more on that later). Without his primary weapon in Brian Westbrook, McNabb still had an impressive game and most importantly, looked unaffected by last week's chest injury.

Week 5 - McNabb started the game strongly and confidently led the Eagle offense down the field for a touchdown. He completed seven of his first eleven throws for 92 yards. McNabb and the Philadelphia offense struggled after that, however. He would complete only five of his next 13 attempts. McNabb got back on track in the fourth quarter and led the Eagles to their final score. He was a perfect five for five on the drive for 71 yards. He did not get another chance.

Week 6 - QB Donovan McNabb was effective in the victory for the Eagles. He was sharp and had plenty of time to pass. He was not rushed very often and made smart decisions. His receivers had success running with the ball after the catch and McNabb placed the ball well for his receivers which helped lead to some nice gains.

Week 8 - McNabb struggled early on in this game. He was over throwing his receivers many of them were wide open. The Eagles struggled to get much going until late in the half. What McNabb lacked early on in accuracy he made up his ability to extend plays with his legs. He scrambled a few times and was able to pick up positive yards and a couple of first downs. McNabb scored a rushing touchdown on a designed QB draw up the middle.

Week 9 - The game got off to a rough start for McNabb. On his first play he was flushed from the pocket and, when tackled, coughed up the football (albeit out of bounds). His performance took a while to improve as he started the game 0-7. While he then began to complete passes (including a long completion to his TE Brent Celek who was only pulled down inside the Seattle 20) any chance for a score died when McNabb was picked off in the end zone as he tried to force a play that really wasn't there. Shortly thereafter, however, something seemed to click and the Donovan McNabb Philly fans have come to know suddenly appeared. He began finding his receivers and marching the Eagles down the field en route to ending the first half with ten straight completions that included two TD tosses. On the first, just past the mid-point of the second quarter, McNabb spotted WR Reggie Brown in man coverage and connected with him for a 22 yard score. On the second score, with under a minute remaining in the first half, McNabb found eligible lineman Todd Herremans for the wide open one yard TD toss. While, yardage wise, McNabb was more effective in the second half, hitting on 75% of his passes for 183 yards, he did not throw for any more scores.

Week 10 - McNabb started the game zero completions for six attempts and his first completion didn't come until just over eight minutes were left in the second quarter. Despite the poor passing numbers over the first two quarters, he did throw a ten yard touchdown pass to WR Jason Avant that brought the Eagles within three points. McNabb's second half saw him complete eight more passes for 109 with two more scoring tosses to WR Hank Baskett and WR Kevin Curtis. The quarterback was the team's leading rusher and got down near the goal line using his legs when he took an 11 yard rush down to the New York two yard line.

Week 11 - If one just looks at the final statistics, and if you play in a league that doesn't penalize your QBs all that much for interceptions, it would be easy to think McNabb had a good day. The problem is that the statistics lie. In a cold and windy Cincinnati, McNabb yet again got off to a frigid start going one of five in the first quarter for zero yards and added a lost fumble for good measure. While the yardage totals improved dramatically in the second quarter (largely due to a great 44 yard run by RB Correll Buckhalter after he took a short screen pass), these were offset by the first two of McNabb's three interceptions on the day. On the first INT, McNabb simply seemed to overlook Bengals LB Brandon Johnson who was playing a shallow zone and leaped up to grab a pass intended for TE L. J. Smith. On the second, McNabb threw a pass well behind WR Kevin Curtis, and while Curtis was able to get a hand on it, that only resulted in a tip that the Bengals' Jonathan Joseph was able to haul in. McNabb's second half was only slightly better, and were it not for consecutive plays where he a) hit WR Hank Baskett with a 15 yard pass that the receiver converted into a 57 yard gain and b) tossed an easy four yard TD to Smith, McNabb's stat line might have more accurately reflected his overall poor performance. McNabb's third interception came in the waning minutes of the third quarter when he under-threw Smith and the Bengals' Chris Crocker made the easy INT. All in all, McNabb ended up completing less than half of his personal record 58 pass attempts, and was most responsible for his team tying the lowly Bengals.

Week 12 - Despite struggling early on in many of his recent games, McNabb actually got off to a good start against the Ravens as he completed six of his first seven pass attempts. Though they were all on short routes and only went for a total of 43 yards, it appeared that McNabb was shaking free of what had been a very tough week for him in Philadelphia. Then came the second quarter. On the third play of that quarter Baltimore LB Jarret Johnson knocked the ball out of McNabb's hands and caught it before it hit the ground for a fumble forced and recovered. On the next series McNabb's first pass attempt was slightly overthrown and intercepted by Baltimore's Fabian Washington. Over the next two series, McNabb went 0-5 and finished the second series with another interception, this time by Ravens safety Ed Reed. In the end, McNabb completed only two passes in the second quarter, and finished the half (and, as it turned out, his game) a miserable eight of 18 for 59 yards, no TDs and two INTs. McNabb was replaced in the second half by Kevin Kolb, and it was not due to injury.

Week 13 - It is no secret to most people that Donovan McNabb was benched for the first time in his career this past Sunday. It was on everyone's minds to see how well he'd respond to the benching in this game. His response was loud and clear. He had one of his best games of the season, tossing four touchdown passes without a turnover, threw for 260 yards, and led the Eagles on eight separate scoring drives while taking apart the first place Cardinals. In addition to the passing, he looked good with his feet too. He showed nice elusiveness early on in the pocket by avoiding a sack, and added a very strong run in the second quarter that went for 13 yards. None of the touchdowns was a particularly tough throw, though that doesn't detract any from them. The first score was a shovel pass to RB Brian Westbrook. The second was a nice play by McNabb to find a wide open Westbrook in the flat with Adrian Wilson blitzing right at him. The third score was a crossing route by DeSean Jackson, a simple pass that involved Jackson making a nice move at the end to get in. And the fourth score was to Jason Avant, who appeared to actually come up short in his dive attempt at the end zone but the play was never challenged and the score stood up.

McNabb was helped a great deal not only by Arizona defenders giving the Eagles receivers a lot of cushion, but also by Arizona defenders being unable to wrap up those Eagles receivers once they got in the open field. There was a lot of yardage after first contact and this was a truly dominant effort by the Philadelphia passing attack.

Week 14 - McNabb managed a flawless game in the blustery conditions, moving the Eagles down the field and controlling the clock. He led the way and converted 12 of 18 third down attempts, using his arm and his legs to help his cause. Throwing for 191 yards, he completed 19 of 30 attempts and was able to find Brian Westbrook on an underneath route as the two hooked up for a 40 yard touchdown score.

Week 15 - McNabb had all night to pass the ball and he took advantage by tearing apart the Cleveland defense. He spread the ball around, completing passes to nine different players. He was rested in the fourth quarter and had a huge smile on his face after stepping up for the second straight week after being benched based on performance.

Week 16 - Full credit should be given to the Washington defense as it appeared that McNabb did not like what he was seeing. He often had to check the ball down and look for his second and third progression as nobody was open. With some windy weather in play, McNabb really struggled with his control as he skipped numerous attempts into the ground. On the throws that he was getting to his receivers they were often dropping them making for many short drives. The Eagles committed seven drops in total. Of note, the Eagles were without wide receivers Kevin Curtis and Hank Baskett.

Week 17 - McNabb was in control of the game from the onset and looked comfortable in the pocket. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns (four and one yards.) He also scored on a quarterback sneak from the one yard line. He completed passes to six different receivers and did not turn the ball over.

Week 18 - Donovan McNabb and the Eagles offense struggled to finish drives in the first half, where they capped off three drives that ended in David Akers field goals. However, in the second half, McNabb and the Eagles started to make plays and did just enough to put away the Vikings and end their season. McNabb's numbers were helped by a 71 yard screen pass that Brian Westbrook caught in the flat and took for McNabb's only passing score of the game, but McNabb did have an efficient game, as he completed passes to eight different receivers. On the negative side, McNabb did throw an interception, lost a fumble and was sacked three times. Also, the Eagles were just five of 14 on third downs.

Week 19 - McNabb did just enough against the Giants to lead his team to victory as he finished 22 of 40 for 217 yards and one score through the air, and five rushes for 16 yards and a score on the ground. He did throw two interceptions and gave New York a safety on an intentional grounding play in the end zone, but Philadelphia was able to play through the turnovers and hold on for the win. McNabb's scores came on a one yard run at the goal line in the first quarter and another one yard score on a pass play to TE Brent Celek in the fourth that put the game out of reach for the Giants.

Week 20 - McNabb was a little erratic in the first half, and he either flat out missed receivers or threw so poorly they had to make a spectacular catch. Despite decent field position the Eagles had to settle for two field goals, but true to his streaky nature McNabb got hot in the second half. He threw two touchdown passes to Brad Celek and one to DeSean Jackson as the Eagles took a short lived fourth quarter lead. McNabb's solid numbers included two rushes for 31 yards, but after falling behind late in the game he then threw poorly to Jackson, Hank Baskett, and Kevin Curtis.

In the two previous playoff games McNabb had earned a perfect fourth quarter QB rating of 158.3. He threw four TD passes against Arizona in their earlier meeting.