Jason Wood's Thoughts

Trent Dilfer is a Super Bowl winning quarterback, and no one can take that away from him. But you also shouldn't forget that DESPITE quarterbacking the Ravens to a SB victory, Baltimore was more than happy to let him walk the next season; not exactly the definition of "franchise QB."

Dilfer is a player who offers much more value to his real-world NFL franchise than he does prospective fantasy owners. Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel are doing the right things in terms of turning the Browns franchise around, but it's more than a one-year fix. Knowing that, they brought Dilfer in as a steady veteran presence, not someone that's going to lead them to the promised land.

As I see it, Dilfer has two jobs. 1) Manage the game while minimizing turnovers and 2) setting an example on how to be a true professional.

Unfortunately, until "professionalism" and "veteran leadership" become fantasy categories, Dilfer really doesn't warrant much attention except in those leagues deep enough where every NFL starter gets rostered.

Positives

• He's the unquestioned starter
• The Browns offensive line was a major offseason focus with the additions of Cosey Coleman, Joe Andruzzi and L.J. Shelton
• Braylon Edwards, the team's top pick (3rd overall) has the talent to contribute immediately

Negatives

• Kellen Winslow likes motorcycles
• Dilfer has never thrown for 3,000 yards in season (he's played 11 seasons)
• The RB and TE positions offer precious little as receiving options

Final Thoughts

It's difficult not to admire the way Trent Dilfer has conducted himself. Coming into the league as a highly touted franchise QB, he graciously evolved into a veteran presence and key backup in Seattle. Now he unexpectedly finds himself with a starting job again entering his 12th season. He could have his moments, but the guy has never thrown for 3,000 yards in a season and hasn't thrown more than 12 TDs since 1998. If you're in a deep, deep league (or one that requires two starting QBs every week), Dilfer is rosterable, but he should be one of the last opening day starters drafted.

Mike Brown's Thoughts

Dilfer’s career has been interesting, to say the least. He came in as a highly-touted prospect of the Tampa Bay Bucs in 1994. Most feel he wasn’t given a fair shot in Tampa, especially after showing some success in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Following a mediocre 1999, Dilfer signed on with the Baltimore Ravens. Despite opening the season third on the depth chart, Dilfer eventually cracked the starting lineup and led the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship. Most feel the Ravens more or less led him and that Dilfer was merely along for the ride, but the fact of the matter is that he was the QB for a Super Bowl-winning team. Following that year, Dilfer was replaced by Elvis Grbac, proving that even the coaching staff felt Dilfer was merely along for the ride.

Dilfer signed with Seattle, and bounced in and out of the lineup with Matt Hasselbeck, until Hasselbeck secured a firm hold on the job. Dilfer was the perfect backup, as he never complained about playing time, helped Hasselbeck along in his development, and provided a steady veteran presence when he DID find himself on the field.

Trent Dilfer enters the 2005 season as the starting quarterback for the Browns, having signed as a free agent this past off-season. Most were surprised that Dilfer earned himself a starting gig for the upcoming season, though the Cleveland situation differs from most teams in that the team is basically a mess.

Dilfer got somewhat more extended playing time in two games last year, and while the team won both games, Dilfer hardly lit up the stat sheet (1 touchdown, 3 interceptions, 324 yards in 2 games). With that type of production despite being surrounded by the likes of Shaun Alexander and Darrell Jackson, one has to wonder how productive he’ll be throwing the football to rookie Braylon Edwards and company.

Positives

• Not a ton of competition for the job in Cleveland
• First-round pick Braylon Edwards is in the fold now, which should at least somewhat improve the Browns’ passing game
• Dilfer was extremely encouraged by the talent he saw at the spring minicamps, and thinks the Cleveland offense is going to surprise people this year
• The running game should have several viable options, among them Lee Suggs and Reuben Droughns who both enjoyed varying levels of production in limited duty the past several seasons

Negatives

• The last time Dilfer started and finished a full season was last millennium. And even then, he wasn’t a viable fantasy QB
• All-world tight end Kellen Winslow will miss the upcoming season after injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash. What could have shaped up as a solid Cleveland passing game with Winslow and newcomer Braylon Edwards will now struggle with a rookie receiver as the only threat in the passing game
• Dilfer has never lived up to his early career hype, throwing for more career interceptions (105) than touchdowns (95). What’s more, he is surrounded now by perhaps the worst talent he’s ever had surrounding him, which doesn’t lend itself to a statistical improvement even if he himself has improved

Final Thoughts

There’s a reason Dilfer is ranked 31st out of 32 starting NFL quarterbacks on our projections. Dilfer has almost no chance to make a fantasy impact for the upcoming season. Between the talent level of the skill position players around him, the quality (or lack thereof) of the offensive line, the fact that Dilfer hasn’t been a regular starter in years, there aren’t many reasons to feel good about Dilfer’s prospects.

Now, no one is going to go out on draft day and select Dilfer to rely upon him as a starting fantasy QB, but he’ll probably be drafted in some deeper leagues just because of his status as a starting quarterback. Someone will inevitably talk about the “great value” they got by landing a starting QB in the 18th round. But where is the value when you draft a guy who will almost definitely be worthless? A much better idea would be to pass on Dilfer entirely. If you’re in some monster league with 50 teams, then by all means Dilfer has value at some point in a draft. But in a standard fantasy league, Dilfer will never see the field, nor should he, for anyone’s team. When it comes time for that late-round pick, use it on a guy with some upside at least. A handcuff to your own QB or a backup for a good offensive team (Colts, Vikings, Chiefs) would be a much better option than grabbing a guy (Dilfer) who will be somewhere around the 25th-30th best QB at best.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

To view the entire Player Spotlight thread (there's a ton of fantastic commentary in there), click here.

by the sea wannabe:
With 36 td and 36 picks since 1998, I think it is safe to say Trent Dilfer isn't going to lead anyone to a fantasy title. He also has not passed for over 2000 yards since 1998. Again he has not played an entire season since 1998. The wideouts are decent but are mostly underachievers. Maybe the addition of Braylon Edwards will help, but Trent Dilfer is well past his prime, and his prime was not that good.

Wingnut:
Steer clear unless you must carry 3 QBs on your roster (like I do). ANY starting QB makes a decent QB3, but Id rather go with someone with real UPSIDE as my QB3.

BGP:
I'm assuming this was a pity spotlight - just to get one Cleveland Brown listed. First of all, you can't project him to play 16 games. He hasn't done that since 1998. The most likely scenario is that my Browns get demolished early in the season, fall way out of contention probably with the worst record in the NFL, and then they put Charlie Frye in around midseason.

Trent Dilfer Projections

SOURCE	PYD	PTD	INT	RSHYD	RSHTD
Jason Wood	2700	17	13	45	0
Mike Brown	2400	15	18	40	0
Message Board Consensus	2304	15	14	26	0