Tim Rattay

The Bucs signed Rattay in October 2005 after Brian Griese went down for the year, but he had difficulty mastering Jon Gruden's offense and never saw game action. He's competing for the third quarterback job in camp.

The No. 1 overall pick in this season’s draft, Smith is a cerebral quarterback who works hard at both the mental and physical aspects of the game. While he has good mobility and above-average speed, Smith has only average arm strength at the NFL level and struggles somewhat on deep routes. Long term, there’s a lot to like, but for 2005, Smith’s fantasy prospects are poor. Not only is he likely to backup Tim Rattay, but even if he gets the job early on, he’s on a bad team with a below-average receiving corps. Finally, rookie quarterbacks rarely pan out even in good situations, so the odds of Smith making a fantasy impact before 2006 are slim to none.

The Niners offense really has taken a step backwards. The team is without a Pro Bowl receiver for the first time since the late '70s (Dwight Clark to Jerry Rice to Terrell Owens). The offensive line had to be reshuffled due to cap constraints. And Rattay is a major question mark, especially now that his torn groin is likely to sideline him well into the summer Yes, he was a top 10 fantasy QB his first two starts of ‘03. But what about that stinker in Green Bay when he had a chance to take hold of the job? Rattay is a short QB, and this hinders his ability to operate out of the pocket. There is upside here as coach Dennis Erickson's teams have finished in the top 10 in total points his last three seasons as a head coach (and four out of five overall). A lot of scouts think very highly of Brandon Lloyd and rookie first-rounder Rashaun Woods. Rattay is a perfect fantasy backup, but don't rely on him until you've seen him respond to his new starting role.

Rattay is the back-up to Jeff Garcia and would get the call if anything happened to Garcia or if he struggled running a more wide-open offense. Garcia owners should own Rattay as he has shown flashes of being able to handle the job.