FanHouse Matt Stafford

Neither of these two rookies, Mark Sanchez or Matt Stafford, are likely burning up the draft board given their unproven positions and untested nerves in the regular season. But sorting through the rookie noise at quarterback can prove worthwhile as we all know how it feels to be digging through the waiver-wire trash on game days. Making the right choice on your rookie flier in the late rounds can end up saving the day on multiple occasions once those injuries and bye weeks come flying at you.

The jury is still out on whether either of these guys will have much fantasy impact at this point, but so far they look like the two most likely candidates to get heavy repetitions, so let's get the debate rolling...

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We're entering a dark period of the NFL life right now. Nothing is going on. Players and coaches are on vacation. With that we look at 10 quarterback situations worth looking at before training camps start in late July, because, well, it's always about the quarterback.

1. Detroit. Matthew Stafford vs. Daunte Culpepper.

The situation: It's the same old argument. Do you start the rookie or the veteran? The No. 1 pick of the draft is Stafford, but the vet with a chance to win a few games is Culpepper. Stafford is the future but you don't want to damage it. For every Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco there's a Ryan Leaf and Vince Young.

Solution: Start Culpepper and wait until 2010 for Stafford.

Here's the deal: Upper Deck got a bunch of NFL rookies together and offered up a free autographed Michael Jordan jersey to the guy with the best touchdown celebration.

Random, sure. But also worth the four minutes you would otherwise spend staring at an Excel spreadsheet while thinking about taking a smoke break.

Sure, it may be a little early for most normal people to start thinking fantasy football draft, but for us derelict diehards, keeping abreast on the developments of the offseason can provide peace of mind and an advantage in watching things progress as we head into the summer. While the news coming out of the NFL these days is far overshadowed by two wildly entertaining playoff series, there are some pretty critical players to keep an eye on.

A small handful of elite fantasy stars are in the midst of a serious value conundrum. On one hand, they provide an opportunity to nab otherwise surefire first-rounders on the cheap, but not without taking on big-time risk. It is question of "how far do we let them drop before it is critical to pull the trigger?"

No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford just locked down $41.7 million guaranteed from the Detroit Lions and even the most provincial -- I own a white Bulldog and make Gator-jort jokes 15 times per week, Georgia fans -- are shocked.

Why? Because Matthew Stafford isn't worth it. Period. Zero chance. The Lions would have been better off packaging their first overall pick and their No. 20 pick for Jay Cutler, getting a proven NFL starter. Detroit is going to eat up Matthew Stafford and spit him out as quickly as Obama kicked GM's Rick Wagoner to the curb.

With the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions surprised nobody by inking a deal with the former Georgia Bulldog quarterback, Matthew Stafford. Long before the draft began at 4 pm this afternoon, Detroit and Stafford agreed on Friday night to a six-year deal worth $78 million with $41.7 million guaranteed.

While most young quarterbacks might be tempted to pull the Elway and start singing, "I gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing I ever do," Stafford, on the contrary, seems genuinely excited to be a Lion and up to the challenge of turning this team around under his leadership. This, combined with a pretty savvy contract by the Lions that puts a lot of that $78 million in incentives based on playing time, looks like a recipe for success. So, the question remains, does Matt Stafford have fantasy value for the upcoming season in Detroit as a rookie?

It's amazing how a player can rise and fall in the final weeks of the draft. Tyson Jackson hasn't played a game since early January. All through January, February and March, he was looked at as a defensive end who could go somewhere between No. 10 and No. 20.

But now in the final days before the draft, all of a sudden multiple mock drafts are predicting Jackson to go No. 3 overall. We'll find out soon whether it's a true rise or some subterfuge.

With the draft just hours away, here is a final look at who the mock drafts are picking to go where. This is a roundup of 17 different mock drafts, all of the mock drafts are from this week and most are from the last day as experts try to refine their final predictions. Everyone will get No. 1 right, as everyone predicts the Lions will take Matt Stafford.

To get ready for this weekend's draft, we're looking position-by-position at who could go in the first round, starting with the quarterbacks.


Matt Stafford (top 10 pick), Mark Sanchez (top 10 pick), Josh Freeman (mid-to-late first round).

Stafford may not go No. 1, and if he doesn't go No. 1, there is a chance he could slide to late in the top 10 because few teams at the top of the draft have quarterback as their biggest need. Sanchez is the true wild card. There were plenty of rumors that the Jaguars are interested in him at No. 8, even if the Jags already have a solid quarterback under contract for another six years in David Garrard. Whatever happens with Sanchez, it's hard to see him falling much past the Broncos at No. 12.

FLORHAM PARK, NJ -- For a guy who was generally acknowledged to be "winning" the first couple of days of the competition, Kellen Clemens had an interesting take on the fight for the Jets' starting quarterback spot.

"We're getting a lot of attention through all of this, but really, if you look at the five guys in front of us, our offensive line, they're going to make it easier for whoever the quarterback is," Clemens said. "Add in our special teams and our defense, and the way I look at it, whoever's playing quarterback for this team, the group that surrounds him is going to make it easier to perform."

Coming as it does from a man who very much wants the job, this is a jolting dose of perspective. Clemens is almost saying that it doesn't matter who the Jets' quarterback is, because the rest of the team is so good. But maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that Clemens has done so much deep thinking about this. After all, the competition for the Jets' starting QB job can't really start until after this weekend's NFL draft is over.

Jay Cutler is headed to Chicago. According to the Broncos' official website, Denver has agreed in principle to trade Cutler to the Bears. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the Bears will send the Broncos their 2009 and 2010 first-round picks, a 2009 third-rounder and Kyle Orton in exchange for their first real quarterback since Erik Kramer threw for nearly 4,000 yards in 1995. The Bears also receive a 2009 fifth-round pick from Denver.

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