Steve McNair

McNair’s only 33, but he limps around now like he’s in the old-age home and spends most Sunday mornings clutching his heart and leaving owners breathless as to whether he’ll be deactivated yet again. Even with McNair in the fold, the Ravens should not be expected to open up the offense, despite the chance that their conservatism says more about Kyle Boller than head coach Brian Billick. We’re not sure how much McNair has left. On the plus side, he’s accurate enough with 15.1 percent bad throws. He’s struggling more on 11-to-20 yard throws, which had been his bread and butter (last year, he had a 79 QB rating on 88 attempts). His scrambling days are almost over, as he accounts for only about 10 yards a game now and gets only the usual allotment of QB rushing TDs, but he's a less-risky option that some of the other QB's who will be available later in drafts.

After a 2003 campaign when he shared MVP honors with Peyton Manning and led the NFL with 8.0 yards per passing attempt, McNair’s body finally broke down last season, allowing him to play just eight sub-par games in which he threw more interceptions than touchdowns for the first time, and also averaged the lowest per-pass output of his career at a meager 6.2 yards. As a result, there was talk of his retirement, but after undergoing surgery to graft a piece of his hip to fill a small hole in his sternum last December, McNair has vowed to return in 2005. When McNair comes back, he’s going to find himself without his favorite target, Derrick Mason, but developing star Drew Bennett and physical phenom Tyrone Calico should be around to catch his passes, and tight end Ben Troupe could take a step up in his second season. In addition, the Titans defense (30th in points allowed) has been decimated by salary-cap problems the last two seasons, so expect Tennessee to have to throw the ball a lot. Once one of the best running quarterbacks in the game, McNair doesn’t take off nearly as often as he used to, but he’s still dangerous around the goal line. Expect at least two or three rushing touchdowns from a healthy McNair if he plays 16 games. Of course, that’s a big ‘if,’ but McNair should at least be 100 percent heading into training camp. Bennett, who spent time with McNair on the field this spring, was impressed by the velocity and accuracy of his passes, and all reports concerning the sternum and his overall physical shape are positive. As such, McNair is an intriguing middle-to-late round upside play.

McNair would be a slam-dunk fantasy stud if coach Jeff Fisher would just let go of his smash-mouth ways and let McNair take over games and pile up the points (in reality and fantasy). There's a greater chance of that happening this year as the cap-strapped Titans have taken another step back defensively. Even with the loss of Justin McCareins, the Titans are loaded at wide receiver. Tyrone Calico has Terrell Owens-type upside, but his complete development is likely more than a season away. Still, he'll be a dangerous downfield weapon as a third receiver. The diminutive but darting Derrick Mason and tall, sure-handed Drew Bennett complement each other perfectly. McNair's efficiency in getting the ball into the hands of these weapons is best evidenced by his sparkling, NFL-leading 8.0 yards per attempt in ‘03. Also impressive last year was his 90 QB rating on throws that travel over 11 yards, including an impressive plus-85 on throws over 20 and 40 yards. McNair's repeatedly proven to be able to produce despite being far less than 100 percent physically. Imagine if he could stay healthy for a whole season? Sooner or later, that's going to happen. When it does, look out.

McNair's a top-10 fantasy quarterback these days for two reasons – he's matured as a downfield passer in recent years (43 touchdown passes in 2001-02), and he's still one of the more reliable running quarterbacks around. If you throw out the 2000 season, McNair has 28 rushing touchdowns over five seasons, and he's essentially a lock to run for 400 to 500 yards every year.