Week 4 QB projections   •  MIN Stats

QB Donovan McNabb, Minnesota Vikings

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

2011 Projections

Average draft position

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

Overall: N Burleson (135), R Meachem (136), Donovan McNabb (137), D Branch (138), D Sproles (139)
Position: M Sanchez (125-QB19), K Orton (132-QB20), Donovan McNabb (137 - QB21), C McCoy (150-QB22), R Fitzpatrick (156-QB23)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

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

Overall: R Brown (147), D Driver (148), Donovan McNabb (149), D Keller (150), C Cooley (151)
Position: K Orton (131-QB19), M Sanchez (134-QB20), Donovan McNabb (149 - QB21), R Fitzpatrick (152-QB22), C McCoy (156-QB23)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

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

Best Case

Donovan McNabb has 36,250 career passing yards and 230 career TD passes, with 97 career wins in 11 seasons. The 6-time Pro Bowler is as experienced as anyone in the league and is particularly well suited to command a West Coast offense. McNabb has always been a pillar of fitness, and at 6'2", 245 pounds, is one of the strongest QBs in the league. While he's not the rushing threat he once was, he's still mobile and able to keep plays alive outside of the pocket.

Worst Case

Last year was an absolute nightmare season for McNabb, going from the Redskins new franchise QB to a benching in favor of Rex Grossman. Yes, that Rex Grossman. Even though he gets a new lease on life in Minnesota, McNabb will have to play better than he did last season, which saw him complete just 58% of his passes, and 14 TDs vs. 15 INTs (his career worst INT rate).

Outlook

McNabb landed in one of the best situations available, as the Minnesota Vikings starter. He will start the entire season as long as he can resemble the player we knew for 10 years in Philadelphia versus the washout we endured in Washington last year. A new town, an uncertain line, and a lack of play-making receivers past Percy Harvin limits his upside, but at least he's now a legitimate QB2 in most leagues -- something we couldn't say last year.

Relevant Articles

Why he is a good deep sleeper pick

Will Grant - While Sidney Rice may have moved on from Minnesota, the Vikings still have an above-average set of pass-catchers. McNabb has been able to do wonders with table scraps in his career, so a veteran group of receivers will be no problem for him, even if they are a bunch of second tier guys. Percy Harvin is electric and Visanthe Shiancoe provides that big red-zone target that McNabb likes to use around the goal line. Let's not forget Adrian Peterson to take off some of the heat.

Jeff Pasquino - Not many veteran quarterbacks get another shot to start with their third NFL franchise, but McNabb is not your typical veteran. McNabb has been a Pro Bowl quarterback numerous times when he was leading Philadelphia, and now he gets a shot to show how much he has left in the tank after a miserable year in Washington last season. McNabb has been a very productive quarterback with modest ground games and thin wide receiver depth charts with the Eagles, so imagine what he might do with Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin this year. He no longer is a big threat with his legs, but if his offensive line can protect him he can be a solid fantasy QB2 in 2011.

Chris Smith - Without question, McNabb's best years as an NFL quarterback are behind him. He also has a receiving core that isn't going to scare anybody. However he finished as the 12th or better fantasy quarterback in four of the last five seasons and definitely has the ability to become a good starting fantasy quarterback if everything comes together.

Matt Waldman - I believe McNabb will be a better conceptual fit with Minnesota and his play will reflect it on the field. The ground game is good enough that McNabb should be able to maximize his play action deep ball skills that he executed so well in Philadelphia. Although Bernard Berrian and Devin Aromashodu aren't complete receivers, they are above average perimeter threats. McNabb will make them look good. Anthony Armstrong looked good last year. Hank Baskett and Kevin Curtis had moments in Philadelphia. Berrian, Aromashodu, and Michael Jenkins will suffice.

Latest News

NFL | Donovan McNabb says three teams could use him (Wed Feb 1, 09:57 PM) - Free-agent QB Donovan McNabb (Vikings) does not plan to retire, and said he has three teams in mind for his services, although he wouldn't name them. 'I see three teams in the NFL, right now, that I feel like I can add a little bit of flavor to it from what they have,' McNabb said Wednesday, Feb. 1.

link to story   

2011 Schedule

2011 Game Summaries

Week 1 - McNabb's first pass as a Viking was a harbinger of things to come. He tried throwing a pass in the flat that was deflected up in the air by Charger LB Shaun Phillips. The ball was straight up and Phillips cradled it on its way down for the interception. While he didn't turn the ball over again, things didn't really improve for him either. The Minnesota receivers weren't able to really get any separation from the San Diego defensive backs, and when they did McNabb was unable to find them. His accuracy left a lot to be desired to say the least, and was never more evident than on a deep pass attempt to Bernard Berrian. Berrian had gotten several steps on the defender, and all McNabb needed to do was get it anywhere near him and it would have been a long touchdown. Instead, he horribly underthrew Berrian by several steps, allowing the defender to catch back up and knock it away incomplete. About the only positive aspect of McNabb's performance was his surprising elusiveness. He made several good reads in taking off and scrambling out of the pocket to convert a couple of key first downs as well as the touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins, and even showed some old school McNabb juke moves to elude defenders. That being said, as good as his mobility was, it wasn't nearly good enough to make up for the fact that he averaged two and a half yards per attempt. Many more showings like this, and McNabb will find himself once again battling for his job.

Week 2 - McNabb looked comfortable in his first start against the Minnesota home crowd and in the first half, he was effective at keeping his team on the field and punishing Tampa for every three and out that their offense ran. McNabb scrambled to avoid sacks, and executed the play action to perfection, frequently hitting guys like Michael Jenkins and Percy Harvin on short roll-outs for nice gains. It didn't hurt that Peterson was running like a madman, tearing up the defense and getting the Vikings out to a quick lead. However, McNabb also was not without his faults. While he didn't throw any interceptions, he frequently over or underthrew targets, and was ineffective at getting anyone besides Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin involved in the game. As the game moved through the second half, the Tampa defense began to put additional pressure on McNabb, and his accuracy suffered for it. His longest pass of the second half was the 17 yard comeback route to Bernard Berrian early in the third quarter. He went 4-10 after that until the final 20 seconds of the game, where he nearly was sacked in the end zone where it not for a lucky flip to Adrian Peterson who took the ball 10 yards for the first down. If you take away Gerhart's 42 yard screen pass which was more a breakdown of the defense than McNabb's passing skills and the final 18 yards in the last 20 seconds of garbage time, McNabb finished with just 160 yards passing for the game. Not exactly starter quality fantasy material, and not enough to give the Vikings a win in a game that they totally dominated for the first 30 minutes.

Week 3 - McNabb was the Jekyll and Hyde quarterback we have come to expect over the last few seasons and, judging by the sounds coming from the stands, Vikings fans are losing patience. He had a few drives and a few specific throws (most notably the 8-yard TD to Shiancoe as the first half clock was winding down, where he evaded the rush and zipped the ball in for the score) where he looked like the spark the Vikings offense has sought for the past 3 seasons with aging veteran gunslingers. Other times, though, McNabb was one-hopping passes to open receivers (sometimes due to pressure, other times due to his inconsistent footwork and the resulting inaccuracy), and overthrowing others. As a result, the first 2 drives stalled in the red zone and the Vikings had to settle for field goals. It appeared as though McNabb may have been hurt when he was stripped of the ball in the 3rd quarter by Cliff Avril as he was preparing to throw. The Vikings recovered, but his next throw was 5 yards over the head of an open Michael Jenkins on 3rd down and McNabb went to the sideline after that throw grimacing and shaking his throwing hand. He never left the game, but had a very rough second half until the drive that led to the game tying FG near the end of regulation. McNabb had a few passes dropped, but had plenty opportunity for success as the Lions were selling out to stop the run and left corners in a lot of man-to-man coverage. He had a difficult time making the quick throws accurately and avoiding the pressure from the Lions' pass rush

Week 4 - McNabb is clearly teetering between what he used be (an All Pro QB) and what he is well on his way to becoming (an EX-All Pro QB). In the first quarter of this game, he was definitely the former. While most of his throws were of the short variety, McNabb was supremely accurate early on, with his only incompletion being a throw away as he was chased from the pocket. When he finally did look deep with 1:47 left in the quarter he threw easily his best ball of the day, hitting Devin Aromashodu with a perfect pass down the left sideline for a 34 yard touchdown. The next 2 ½ quarters were pretty much without highlight for the 34 year old quarterback. In the 2nd quarter McNabb turned the wrong way on a handoff to Adrian Peterson, and they fumbled the exchange. While Peterson recovered that miscue, McNabb had no such luck two plays later when he overthrew Toby Gerhart on a simple screen pass. The ball bounced of Gerhart's hands into the breadbasket of Chiefs' defensive back Brandon Carr for his only interception of the day. The third quarter was mostly uneventful with the Vikings keeping the ball on the ground or relying on short passes. To start the 4th, McNabb took another shot deep, this time to Percy Harvin who failed to get two feet in bounds. Vintage McNabb returned on the next drive with the Vikings trailing 22-10. McNabb was 5/5 on the touchdown drive in which he spent most of the time trying to elude Chiefs' sackmaster Tamba Hali. On a huge 4th down play McNabb avoided the rush and made a great throw to hit Bernard Berrian across the middle for a first down. He finished the drive with a precision throw at the pylon to hit Michael Jenkins for 6. McNabb made one last impressive throw to Visanthe Shiancoe with Tamba Hali in his lap to start the Vikings final drive, but it would be his final completion of the game.