When you're looking at sleepers and keepers, quarterbacks generally fall into the latter category. Those in keeper leagues know the importance of drafting young quarterbacks that will only see the field in mop up duty, especially if they reside in Lubbock, Texas.
So the first of our positional keepers and sleepers lists will have a heavy emphasis on the keeper variety. Those that you'll want to draft and stash, in hopes for fantasy glory down the road.
Quarterback Keepers
The biggest question keeper league owners will probably have going into draft day is whether to cast their lot with Florida's John Brantley or Oklahoma's Landry Jones. The pair seem to be the clear-cut top non-true freshman keeper candidates. While both are solid options, I’ll give a slight edge to Brantley.
We discussed this in a recent podcast and it boils down to receiver talent. The Gators are simply loaded. No offense to future Sooner stars Jameel Owens and DeJuan Miller, but the speed the Gators have stockpiled with Andre Debose and Frankie Hammond Jr. is unmatched.
Transfers are often good targets for keeper leagues. Ryan Mallett was a classic example last year. Kansas State’s Chris Harper is one to look at this year. The Wildcats' quarterback position remains a quagmire and Harper is the right fit for the Bill Snyder’s offense in the long term.
USC's Matt Barkley could fit in either category as he still has a chance, albiet slim, to capture the starting spot this fall. Raymond Cotton and Tajh Boyd are two that will likely go undrafted and you can grab next year, but the pair seem to grab my attention when I scan the list of freshman keepers.
Quarterback Sleepers
Picking sleepers is feast or famine, especially at the quarterback spot. Fantasy owners expect production, and for fantasy owners that means fantasy worthy production. So you better have a backup plan when dipping into the land of the unproven.
A number of Wyoming quarterbacks make the list, but it is tough to burn a pick on a Cowboy quarterback and feel good about it.
If I had to place a bet, Kirk Cousins will start the opener against Montana State but Keith Nichol will be starting vs. Penn State. Cousins is more refined and steady. Nichol is the riverboat gambler.
Fresno State’s Ebahn Feathers will either be one of the WAC’s top playmakers or be riding the pine. His ability to make plays with his feet land him on our sleeper list.
We have transfer Grant Gregory pulling the upset and winning the starting quarterback job this summer at Kansas State. That same holds true for Curt Phillips over at Wisconsin. But these bits of prognostication are only relevant to Big Twelve and Big Ten owners.
We only briefly touched on the freshman that litter our list, we’ll take a closer look at the freshman quarterbacks tomorrow as wrap up our look at the fantasy quarterbacks for 2009.