Rotoprofessor

What’s your first thought when it comes to the Bills’ Trent Edwards?  Entering his third season, the hope certainly should be that this is his chance to turn the corner and fulfill the promise many believe he has.  A third round draft choice in 2007 out of Stanford, he has already started 23 games in the NFL (appeared in 24), posting the following statistics:

Completion Percentage - 61.6% (396-643)
Yards - 4,329
Touchdowns - 18
Interceptions - 18
Yards Per Completion - 6.7
Passer Rating - 79.1

Those hardly scream potential fantasy star, huh?  While his early career numbers are not exciting, there are reasons to be optimistic heading into 2009:

• His QB rating was 85.4, good for seventeenth in the league.  While that may not seem like much, he was only marginally behind names like Eli Manning (86.4), Donovan McNabb (86.4) and Jay Cutler (86.0).  He also took a big step forward, considering his rookie season saw him put up a rating of 70.4.  A few more TDs this season certainly would help…
• Enter Terrell Owens, giving him an elite wide receiver to throw to.  You want to call him a malcontent, go ahead.  A locker room cancer, he very well could be.  The fact of the matter is, he is going to get his numbers.  Since 2000, he has had double-digit touch down receptions in all but two seasons (in 2003 he had 9 and in 2005 he had 6, but in just 7 games).  When it comes to fantasy football, do we really care if he is going to be able to help the team win a Super Bowl?  I sure don’t.  I want to know if he is going to be able to produce and make plays.  Owens brings a huge threat to Buffalo and will certainly help Edwards take a huge step forward.
• Couple the addition of Owens to Lee Evans (who had 1,017 yards of his own last season) and Josh Reed (56 catches for 597 yards) and you have a wide receiving corps who could put up tremendous numbers.  Especially Evans, who should get open significantly more with defenses becoming more concerned with Owens, instead of focusing on him.  He’s a sleeper in his own right, but that’s a story for another day.
• The running game should also help take a lot of pressure off of Edwards, even with Marshawn Lynch being suspended for three games.  The addition of Dominick Rhodes gives them a second back who is more than capable of filling the hole, and once Lynch is back, a potentially dynamic duo.

That’s a whole lot of positives to be looking at.  Of course, there is some bad as well.  The departure of Jason Peters may weaken the offensive line, but the Bills wasted no time to fill the gap.  They used a first round pick (Eric Wood, Louisville) and second round pick (Andy Levitre, Oregon State), to help strengthen the line and keep Edwards upright.

The other thing that has to be concerning is the weather playing in Buffalo.  The snow and gusty winds of December do not make it the optimum spot to throw, especially as your fantasy season comes to a close.  They play three of their last five games at home, against the Jets (12/3), Patriots (12/20) and Colts (1/3).

His numbers at home in 2008 after the last few weeks support that concern:

• 11/30 vs. 49ers - 10-21, 112 yards
• 12/28 vs. Patriots - 14-25, 128 yards

I still love his upside and think he’s a great pick late in the draft for the 2009 season for any fantasy roster.  He has the potential to breakout and have a monster season, especially with the offensive talent he’s surrounded by, which is why he’s worth stashing away to see what happens.

In two quarterback leagues, he’s a borderline #2 quarterback (according to Mock Draft Central, he’s the nineteenth QB being selected with an ADP of about 148), though you are going to want to have another usable option on the roster as well.  In December, when fantasy playoff time comes around, you may want to have him on your bench.

Make sure to check out our baseball site by clicking here.

Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media, Inc.