Fantasy Football: David Garrard- Is He The Top Fantasy Backup QB?

In most shows, the main character has a sidekick to help him out with his missions. Batman and Robin, Mario and Luigi, Calvin and Hobbes. It works the same way in fantasy football. If you have Drew Brees, Peyton Manning or Tony Romo, you want to have a backup to have their back. You definitely do not want to be scrambling at the last minute to fill your #2 QB spot at the draft or with a bye week coming up. Now I'm not saying that David Garrard is the perfect QB for you to start from Week 1 and that he will take you to your championship. We're looking at building your team and giving you depth, so that you can get to your league Super Bowl with less trouble.

One of the elements that make him a great No.2 is his ability to run. He is the only QB to run for three hundred yards in the last two seasons and add to that 5 rushing TD's. This boosts his value over other QB's who are statues in the pocket or move at the speed of a lineman. Another factor is that the Jacksonville Jaguars have an improving offensive line. Last year, they selected two Tackles in the draft. Those guys now have a year of experience under their belt. Garrard should be protected and have room to run. Next, do you know who the Jaguars backup QB is? Neither did I, it's Luke McCown. Garrard has job security. We probably wouldn't be saying this if they had drafted Tim Tebow (as was the rumor) but I don't think he has to be looking over his shoulder for Lucky Luke. The Jaguars also didn't draft a QB, so there is no competition for the job. Along with that, he is durable. He's started all their games the last two seasons and is built like a running back (6-1, 245). There's no need to worry when he takes off to run. He will be there to start, when you need him. 


We'll look at some of his negatives but remember he's a fantasy backup, not a stud. Garrard did turn the ball over 18 times last season. His fumbles though were a career high, so that shouldn't be set as a benchmark. He only had 3 INT in 2007. He can take care of the ball or Del Rio will let him know it, if he continues to have butter fingers. The Jaguars are a run first team. We know that MJD will be getting his. On that note, the pressure is less on the passing game. Play action passes are opened up and MJD is no slouch in the passing game. He caught 53 passes last year for 374 yards. So, I think that the running and passing games really work well together.

When you're looking for the Robin to your Batman, consider David Garrard as your backup QB. For some final thoughts, he performs really well in home games. His TD:INT ratio being 12:5 last season and averaged 50 more yards at home. The Jags will be playing from behind quite a bit, which means more passing yards and TD's. Garrard's stat line will probably be: 16 TD's, 9 INT, 3700 yards passing, 330 yards rushing, 3 rushing TD's.