13. Jay Cutler / Denver Broncos
Oh Jake Plummer, I’m already missing you. There will never be another…Jake the Snake.

Jay Cutler on the other hand, is ready for the prime-time…sort of. It’s always nerve racking to have a second year guy, whose experience extends the length of 5 regular-season games. If you’re the Tennessee Titans or Houston Texans, this isn’t such a big deal, but if you’re the Broncos and are contending for a playoff birth, this is a bit more complicated.

It’s hard to judge Cutler by his five games last season which had its ups (Week 15 @Arizona – 261 yards, 2 TDs, rating 101.7) and downs (Week 13 vs. Seattle – 143 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, rating 62.3). But in those five games, he did manage to throw more TDs than INTs and his average passer rating was 88.5 with a completion percentage of almost 60%, there is reason for hope. It’s also nice to have Rod Smith, Javon Walker, Brandon Stokley and David Terrell as targets. The more I think about it, the more I’m encouraged by this kid (and yes, he looks like a 13 year-old kid so I can say this) and future looks bright with a team that had to endure time in purgatory with Jake Plummer.

Final Verdict: I like Cutler for his “upside potential” in the talent pool, but his relative lack of experience will have him looking like Eli Manning at times. Draft him with the hopes that he matures faster than other owners believe.

14. Matt Hasselbeck / Seattle Seahawks
I’m sure Matt Hasselback would like to forget 2006. It wasn’t his best season nor was it a good time for the Seahawks to get the Madden curse. Statistically he suffered his worst season since 2001 when he first joined the Seahawks and was thrown in when Kitna crapped the bed. Of course, 2006 was greatly aggravated when Shaun Alexander broke his foot, leaving Matt all by his lonesome. Bearing this in mind, you could almost see how Matt could have struggled so mightily in 2006.

I could forget the Alexander injury and the Hasselbeck injury and the inept coaching and move forward and have all the faith in the world in Matt if not for two things: 1) They got rid of Darrell Jackson, and 2) his shockingly high number of INTs in a short amount of time, 15.

With Jackson gone, the Seahawks only have one hit wonder Nate Burleson, Deion Branch and “Mr. 11-year Vet” Bobby Engram to throw to. Not exactly a murders row. As with the INTs - injuries will definitely keep your yardage down, but the picks; those are Hasselbeck forcing the ball, baby. I’m skeptical he isn’t wearing the crown of a quarterback who is on the back-side of a franchise that had its day.

Final Verdict: Other than unfortunate injuries, there’s no hard evidence that says he’s going to stink. I’m just saying that the pieces are there. Tread cautiously.

15. Rex Grossman / Chicago Bears
I know what you’re going to say, “REX GROSSMAN AT 15! Have you been drinking?” Yes at 15, and no I have not been drinking. We all know he had his ups and downs last season and Lovie Smith even thought about benching him before the playoffs, but his stats don’t reflect that (and in fantasy football, its all about the stats). For all intents and purposes Grossman was a rookie last season (seeing how in his first 3 seasons he played a total of 8 games) and as a “rookie,” throwing for 3,200 yards and 23 TDs ain’t bad cabbage. True he did throw 20 INTs, but again, he’s a rookie and is going to take his lumps.

Much like any rookie quarterback, it usually takes a season or so to catch on. Grossman almost assuredly learned from 2006 and now has a thirst to make it back to the Super Bowl. Talent + desire = good news for Bears fans. Don’t get me wrong, he is still going to throw his share of poop-balls, but what I am saying is that he’s on a winning team, enjoyed a modicum of success last season, and should only get better. He has the chance to blossom into a fantasy starter one day.

Final Verdict: Don’t be afraid to take chance on Grossman. I wouldn’t stake your entire team’s success to Grossman because he is still an injury liability, but he’s worth taking a chance.

16. Brett Favre / Green Bay Packers
Oh crap! Where do I begin? I’d like to be the first to cast a vote in favor of Brett Favre retiring and he hasn’t even played a snap yet. Before everyone jumps on my back claming he almost led the Pack to the playoffs with 4 straight wins to end the season, look at the teams they played – 49ers, Lions, Vikes, and the Bears (on cruise control with a #1 seed all wrapped up). Now look at Favre’s passer rating during those games. It was a paltry 66.7 topped off by a 32.9 stink-fest against Detroit.

So why is he so high on this list, you may be asking yourself? Well, he is still Brett Favre and despite his tanks being relatively empty, he does have a little magic left. Also, he did throw for 3,800 yards last season which is pretty impressive considering he didn’t really have anyone to throw to. His TDs were way down (18) but he has never been a huge TD quarterback.

Final Verdict: With even less talent around him (bye-bye Ahman Green) I propose for a second time in this list that Favre retire before the season. In any event he still has Donald Driver and Robert Ferguson which could be worse. Use Favre if you starter goes down with a spleen injury.

17. Damon Huard / Kansas City Chiefs
Since Herman Edwards took over the Chiefs a season ago, they’ve kind of turned into a mess. They traded Green for 50 cents on the dollar, their stud running back is NOT happy and is threatening to hold out, and to top it all off, their 2007 life is in the hands of a 33 year-old journeyman whose last start (aside from the 2006 season) was in 2000 for Miami. Yes he had success when Trent Green was knocked silly (in 10 games he amassed 1,800 yards and a 98 passer rating) but what makes Edwards think he’s worth running a team? I seem to remember, once upon a time, that Jay Fiedler had a successful season with Miami. Does that mean next season he was able to be their starter? NO WAY.

Final Verdict: Huard has 3 things going against him: 1) He’s 33 and playing for his third team, 2) his best receiving option, aside from Tony Gonzalez, is Eddie Kennison, 3) Larry Johnson may not be there to bail him out. Not good times. But, until he proves it otherwise, you have to look at what he did as a start in 2006 as a positive thing and should be given the benefit of the doubt. Draft him only as a quality back-up.

18. Jake Delhomme / Carolina Panthers
I think it’s safe to say that most people were severely disappointed with the Panthers in 2006. My own personal opinion is that Jake Delhomme had a lot to do with this disappointing season. Why? Well, he got our hopes up that’s why. After three great seasons (2003-2005, averaging 3,508 yards per season) Delhomme cooked up a big old fat crap-burger with his 2,805 season and his unnoticeable 17 TDs. Why? Who knows!

Hopefully, he gets his head on straight for 2007 and starts finding mega-playmaker Steve Smith more often in the end zone which should jump start their more-than-stagnant offense. Of course, it’s going to be a bit harder this season now that Keyshawn is gone leaving them without a compliment to Smith’s playmaking ability. They did draft USC’s Dwayne Jarrett however, as with most rookie receivers, it’s best to not expect too much for at least three seasons.

Final Verdict: It’s very easy to have a bad season. Perhaps Delhomme had just that – a bad season. Conventional wisdom dictates that he will be able to rebound nicely since he still has Smith and the Panther running game should be much better in 2007. Still, I wouldn’t sell the farm to draft him in an early round or anything.

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