Career: Derek Anderson was originally selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of
the 2005 NFL Draft but was waived in his first season and was claimed by the Cleveland
Browns. Anderson was a three year starter at OregonState and played with star running
back Steven Jackson, now of the St. Louis Rams. Anderson led his team to three straight
bowl games including a win against Brady Quinn’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the
2004 Insight Bowl. Anderson saw his first serious action in the NFL in his second season
when Charlie Frye went down with a wrist injury in week 13. He went on to start the next
three games but threw four interceptions in week 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and
Charlie Frye returned for the final game. In 2007, it was an interesting battle in camp
between Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson and first round pick Brady Quinn but Frye prevailed
and started the season opener. Frye threw one interception and was sacked five times in
the first 20 minutes of the game so Anderson came in and never looked back. He solidified
his starting job in the next game when he threw for over 300 yards and 5 touchdowns and
led the Browns to a 51-45 win over the Bengals. Anderson made a well-deserved first trip
to the Pro Bowl after a breakout season but it remains to be seen if he can continue to
perform at such a high level.
Supporting Cast: The Cleveland Browns made big moves in the 2007 off-season by drafting LT Joe Thomas
and acquiring LG Eric Steinbach as a free agent. The Browns offensive line was one of the
best in the NFL last season and will return all five starters this season. The line should
continue improving as it builds chemistry and the possible return of LeCharles Bentley
could also help. The only concern for this line is that it does not have much depth at the
tackle position and will struggle if either Thomas or Shaffer were to be injured. At wide
receiver, the Browns have one of the best young receivers in the league in Braylon Edwards
and also signed Donte Stallworth as a free agent from the New England Patriots. Stallworth
has had an up and down career but has great speed and will help stretch defenses. Joe
Jurevicius had surgery to cleanup his knee in May but should be ready for training camp
and provide good depth at wide receiver in 2008. Tight End Kellen Winslow Jr has led the
team in receptions for the past two seasons but he also had surgery to cleanup his knee in
the off-season. Winslow should however be ready for training camp and will likely benefit
from the addition of Stallworth as safeties will have to stay deep more often than not.
Jamal Lewis will remain the starting running back and although he is getting old, he still
does an adequate job as a starter with Jason Wright as his main backup. Overall, the
Browns will have the same offense as in 2007 with Donte Stallworth as an upgrade at wide
receiver but everyone stayed healthy in 2007 which may not be the case again this season.
Job Security: Derek Anderson will be the starter in 2008 after signing a three-year contract in the
off-season but he will have to continue performing at a high level or there could be some
controversy in Cleveland. 2007 first round pick Brady Quinn saw very little action last
year but after having a full-year to learn the system should be ready to step in if Anderson
struggles.
Fantasy Outlook: Last season, Derek Anderson went un-drafted in most leagues but finished the season as
the fifth best quarterback in fantasy football. The offense now has more depth than last
year but we have yet to see how they can deal with injuries so there are still some
question marks even with all starters returning. Historically, quarterbacks who breakout
at a young age continue to perform at a high level in the next season like Aaron Brooks
did in 2002 and Marc Bulger in 2004. Seven of the twelve quarterbacks who broke out like Anderson
decreased somewhere between one and ten percent in the next season which would still make Anderson
a top ten quarterback. Three of those twelve did improve even more in their next season
and the addition of Stallworth leads us to believe that Anderson could join that group. If
everyone stays healthy, he showed last season that he has the talent to be a top five
quarterback and could be looking at close to 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns this season.
His three touchdown runs were a bit of an anomaly last season and that number will likely
drop in 2008. Some will argue that he faded away late last season which is true but three
of his last four games were in the cold including the week 14 game where it was also
raining and week 15 where it was snowing. Overall, Anderson is a medium reward player with
potential to join the top four quarterbacks but also has medium risk because injuries will
happen sooner or later to this offense.
