Player Spotlight: Byron Leftwich (1 Viewer)

2007 Player Spotlight Series

Over the course of the offseason, we will be evaluating a multitude of players at every fantasy position. One such way we go about that is through the Player Spotlight series. Think of the Spotlights as a permanent record on some of the more intriguing players for the upcoming season. Each Spotlight will be featured in an article on the main website.

Thread Topic: Byron Leftwich, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Player Page Link: Byron Leftwich Player Page

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For QBs: Passing Yards, Passing TDs, Ints, Rush Yards, Rush TDs
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He will be given every opportunity to be the everyday starter at QB since Garrard basically lost the job last year. Leftwich isnt mobile which is a problem since he has such a long windup. This makes him susceptible to injury. Plus he has 3 big WRs that take time to get separation. Jacksonville is still a run first, defensive team. So with that fact, plus his injury proneness, plus his average WRs I see a poor year for Lefty. Its unfortunate too because I think with the right team (good oline, fast WRs) he can be a very good QB.

3400 yds, 18 tds, 14 ints, 1 rush td

Leftwich will be overlooked in many drafts this year because of his injury concerns. It is a very big concern since he has missed time every season (2006 - 10 games, 2005 - 5 games, 2004 - 2 games, 2003 - 1 game), and the trend is not in his favor. There are some bright sides to Leftwich however. His points per game in 2006 and 2005 were 16.18 and 16.35 respectively (Leftwich's 16.18 PPG in 2006 ranked him #11 amongst all QBs). Jacksonville also has a great rushing game that will help take pressure off the WRs. And they added OC Dirk Koetter who will help them open up the passing game and exploit the talents of their underachieving group of WRs.

Jack Del Rio named Leftwich the starter back in February, he seems to be healthy and ready to go, but the club has recently shown interest in Daunte Culpepper whose situation should be watched closely. If you are willing to take a risk on the injury concerns, Leftwich represents great value in 2007 from a PPG basis. He is falling to the late rounds in most drafts and can be had as an extremely cheap #2 QB paired up with one of the more durable top QBs, or a high upside #3 QB in a committee approach.

I love his competitiveness, but I think Leftwich's days as a starter are coming to an end. He's just too slow and always hurt, so surviving a full season is extremely unlikely.

2550 yards, 15 tds, 12 ints, 12 games played

I just can't get that image of a limping Byron Leftwich being hurriedly carried down the field by his offensive linemen while at Marshall out of my head. Then you add the fact that he looks a lot like Gary Coleman, that TV sitcom from days gone by and you just want to cheer for him. But ladies and gentlemen, the undisputed facts are:

1) He has a tendency to get hurt. He has never played in all 16 games, his number played has gone steadily downhill from a max of 15 in his rookie season to 6 last year.

2) His completion percentage has only once been above 60% and his career average is 58.7%

3) He plays on a team with two very good running backs and an excellent offensive line for rushing the ball.

4) We are still waiting for his youthful WRs Matt Jones (3rd year), Reggie Williams (4th year), and Ernest Wilford (4th) year to take that great big Joe Bryant Step-Up.

I never adjust my projections for injury, but in the case of Byrin Leftwich, it seems more of when it will happen, than if. He's another candidate that you could draft and outproduce his ADP, but I doubt that I am the guy that selects him this year.

Byron Leftwich 16 gms 260 completions 450 attempts (57.8%) 3050 yards (6.78 ypa) 18 TDs 15 ints and adding 65 yards rushing and 1 TD.

270/480/3240/17/12 passing

45/110/2 rushing