Upside by Andy Hicks
Byron Leftwich played his first full game with Matthew Hatchette and J J Stokes as his starting receivers. His completion percentage (57.2%) turned into the 2nd best ever by a rookie quarterback, behind only Dan Marino (58.4%). Peyton Manning had 56.7% in his rookie year. Marino had 3 Pro Bowl receivers at his disposal. Leftwich had one (once Jimmy Smith returned). Leftwich also ranks 4th in passing yards for a rookie QB, despite playing only 13 full games.

This season.
Reggie Williams was drafted with the 9th overall pick and will be expected to take over the #2 slot from Troy Edwards. Another big guy in Ernest Wilford was drafted in the 4th round. Leftwich will enter his first full training camp after having spent countless days and hours studying film and working on his game. This hard work should result in rapid improvement.

Does this guy have what it takes to succeed?
The most common positive feature discussed about Leftwich is his desire. At Marshall he played on a broken leg, having to be carried by two offensive lineman after a 45 yard completion. His Red Zone quarterback rating last year was a phenomenal 95.4, and his 4th quarter completion percentage topped 60%. He has the arm, pocket presence and skill to be a big time fantasy QB. It's easy to detect flaws in some quarterbacks. With Leftwich you need to only read his draft report to realize that he has few.

• 'He's not a good runner' - Neither are Manning or Tom Brady



• 'Needs to take a little heat off his short passes' - Easy to work on, but Favre doesn't exactly lob it.

If that's as bad as he gets, then he'll be gold.

Last year Leftwich ranked 18th. Playing a full season with just adequate improvement will see him vault into the top 12. Whilst I recommend against installing Leftwich as your starter, getting him as one of the first back ups will be rewarded by one of the great up and coming NFL and fantasy talents.

Downside by Marc Levin
Let me start by saying I believe Byron Leftwich has a very bright NFL future and will lead a brilliant Jaguar offensive attack in the very near future. I just don't believe he will be a good fantasy option in 2004. The first thing the Jags will want from Leftwich will be fewer mistakes, not big plays. Changing 14 passing touchdowns versus 17 interceptions into 20 touchdowns versus fewer than 15 interceptions is the number one priority. Last year, Leftwich averaged only 17 completions, 207 yards, and a sub-57 % completion percentage in games he started. All those numbers must drastically improve before Leftwich will become a fantasy starter, especially with the abundance of viable starters at the position. While Leftwich ended the year as the #18 fantasy quarterback, his per game average was low and his end of year rank occurred only due to injuries to Chad Pennington, Jake Plummer, and Patrick Ramsey.

Enough on last year - I anticipate improvement from Leftwich - he has a vastly underrated offensive line that pass protects well, a solid running game, and one of the best three receiver rotations in the NFL. But, the offense needs to gel and Leftwich needs to develop a rapport with his starting receivers - neither Jimmy Smith nor Troy Edwards played 16 games last year and rookie Reggie Williams will be on a learning curve. Coach Del Rio will expect Leftwich to manage the offense while Smith and Fred Taylor make the big plays. Leftwich will get some peripheral benefits, but not enough to make him a fantasy starter.

Leftwich is in a good division for passing numbers as only the Tennessee Titans play outstanding pass defense and the Jags do not face a particularly difficult schedule for quarterbacks. But, if he fails to significantly cut down on the mistakes, 3400 yards and 20 TDs may be a reach. As a fantasy backup, Leftwich is adequate, but I'd prefer a guy who will likely be the focus of a more prolific passing attack, such as Brad Johnson, Drew Bledsoe, Mark Brunell, or Carson Palmer.