The purpose of this column is to spotlight deeper roster moves that could pay off big over the course of the season. Unless stated in a player's write up, we're not looking for one-week wonders here, but shark moves that could really strengthen your team down the road.

Dynasty Watch focuses on low risk, huge payoff roster moves that you might be able make before the guys in your league think about it. This aim of this column is to make you look like a genius to the other owners in your league. When news breaks, and the other owners are scrambling to make a waiver wire move, we want them to be upset time and time again that the player is already on your squad.

John Thomas (J.T.) O'Sullivan: QB Green Bay Packers
6'2" 220 lbs - California-Davis (Division II)
25 years old. 6th Round Pick in 2002 by New Orleans, #186 overall

What has he done so far
Nothing. Zippo. He has not taken a snap in the NFL. His college stats are impressive, although he was from a Division II school. He holds most school passing records and was #2 for career passing efficiency from a Division II school with 169.26. He had a very solid summer in the NFL-Europe with 61% completion and a 91.9 passer rating.

Current Situation
Green Bay wanted a 2nd and mid round pick for CB Mike McKenzie. New Orleans didn't want to give up 2 picks so O'Sullivan was not the main focus of the deal. Pederson is the primary backup in Green Bay, and J.T. will compete with Craig Nall for the #3 spot behind Favre. Nall was a 5th round pick in 2002 from Northwestern State.

Spotlight ETA
Hard to say. Favre hasn't missed a game in forever and won't let a little thing like a concussion stop him now. The interesting part is that Pederson has a cracked RIB and might be lost for the season.

Nall saw his first action last weekend. He completed 1 pass on 1 attempt for 24 yards on the final play of the game. Prior to that he was #3 behind Pederson on the Packers depth chart. His college stats are not as impressive as O'Sullivan's stats, but he does know the system.

Unless someone figures out a way to decapitate Favre, he's going to be on the field. That means that everyone else will be fighting to carry the clipboard. However, if Pederson is lost for the season, that primary backup role is now wide open. Nall will have the initial advantage, but O'Sullivan should get a chance to compete. In the unlikely event that Favre goes down again, he could see some action this year.

If Favre makes it the full season, it's a total gamble at that point. Will Favre retire? Will he stay on? Will Pederson take over or will the Packers draft someone? Will J.T. be retained (his contract is up at the end of 2004) or will he be released? At this point, it's too hard to tell.

Dynasty Upside
What's interesting about O'Sullivan is that he has never had the chance to show his skills. In college he was impressive for a Division II QB. He has also spent 2 years under a Jim Haslett and Mike Sheppard who have had solid success with QBs such as Aaron Brooks and Jake Delhomme. He now joins the Packers Mike Sherman and Darrell Bevell who have also had good success with QBs like Favre and Matt Hasselbeck. For a young developing QB, these are some of the best guys to work for.

However, O'Sullivan's career is still up for grabs. Unless Favre has a significant injury, O'Sullivan won't see the field this year either. Even if Favre goes down, he'll still have to beat out Nall and Pederson. If he can do that, Green Bay has some solid WRs and the sky will be the limit.

The best option for J.T. would be if he could get a game or two under his belt and then go to another club during the offseason. Several teams could use a young, talented QB, and if he can show his stuff this year, O'Sullivan might have a shot.

Final Thoughts
At first, I was tempted to say that O'Sullivan would be worth an immediate roster shot. Upon further reflection, the reality of the situation is that unless Favre is really hurt and can't start a game or two, J.T. Will be nothing more than a clipboard carrier in Green Bay.

His college career was impressive for a Division II QB, and he has had plenty of time to get up to speed in the NFL. His NFLE stats from this summer were very good as well. Now all he needs is the chance to start. In Green Bay that chance probably won't come this season without a few injuries. Keep O'Sullivan in the back of your mind for now and wait to see how the injury status of the Green Bay QBs progresses. Concussions are not going to be enough to keep Favre off the field, but if Pederson is lost for the year, O'Sullivan could be one injury away from starting.

In deeper leagues, he might be worth an offseason. roster slot just to see if he ends up anywhere else. I would still consider him a flyer unless he can find his way into the game.