Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Back in 2007, the Philadelphia Eagles made some interesting decisions on draft day. They traded away their first round draft pick (number 26 overall) to their hated archrival, the Dallas Cowboys, allowing them to select linebacker Anthony Spencer out of Purdue. Everyone wondered why Philadelphia would trade down, especially to let Dallas get a skilled player who would haunt them twice a year.

The decision will finally be made clear this season. After years and years of speculation, the Eagles pulled the trigger in trading their much-maligned starting quarterback Donovan McNabb (oddly enough to another rival in the Washington Redskins). The reason they could trade away McNabb is due to the maturation of their first pick of the 2007 draft in the second round (36th overall), Kevin Kolb out of Houston.

Kolb hasn’t seen a ton of game action in his three years of NFL service, appearing briefly in one game in 2007, six in 2008 (all mostly mop up duty), and five in 2009 (two as a starter). The two games in which Kolb started against the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs was enough to give Eagles’ management the feeling that he will be an effective quarterback in 2010. In those two games he threw for 718 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

The numbers Kolb put up were quite impressive, and although they weren’t against great pass defenses, they should give you reason to think about drafting Kolb in 2010 for your fantasy team. After all, he did put up amass two 300-yard games, games in which DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek, and LeSean McCoy all seemed to excel in. Add that Jeremy Maclin didn’t really start catching on until the second half of the year and what you come up with is a really young (but extremely talented) offense that could put up fantasy friendly numbers all season long.

The question is where do you draft Kolb. For one, let’s look at where he ranks among quarterbacks. It’s obvious Kolb should not be drafted ahead of the following: Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Matt Schaub, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, and Brett Favre. But the argument can be made for him to be ranked anywhere outside of those top-8, and it is not unrealistic for Kolb to be considered a top-10 fantasy quarterback entering 2010.

The reason as stated above is the talent around him. When you have two fast and athletic receivers in Jackson and Maclin, a tight end who opens the middle of the field in Celek, and a running back who can be an all purpose threat the way McCoy is, it’s hard imagining Kolb not putting up good numbers. That’s why you can consider him in the bottom of the starter worthy quarterbacks, somewhere in the 8-12 range.

As for what round you should grab him, it is really based on your league’s settings. The top-5 (P. Manning, Rodgers, Brees, Schaub, and Brady) will almost certainly be gone by Round 3 with the other three (Rivers, Romo, and Favre) in the top-8 following in Rounds 4 or 5. Depending on how your lineup is looking, your draft positioning, and who has picked what around you, it’d be worth the investment to select someone like Kolb in the 6th round. He showed in two games that he can put up big numbers, and the talent is only going to get better around him as the season goes on. Who knows, perhaps next year we could be talking about Kolb as a member of the top-8, not an outsider looking in.

This article has been written by Bruno Boys Greg. He can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 
Have an opinion on Kevin Kolb’s prospects for 2010? If so, let us know!

To see more Crystal Balls predictions go here… 2010 Fantasy Football Crystal Balls

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