Aaron Brooks

Even though it didn’t seem like it, when you do the math in a standard 3/6, 10/20 league, Brooks was the seventh-best fantasy quarterback in the NFL last year. Of course, much of that value was a result of his league-best (for QBs) four rushing touchdowns, but Brooks is good for at least a couple every year, and the rest of his totals were very much in line with his career full-season averages. With four-plus full seasons under his belt, Brooks doesn’t seem likely to get a whole lot better, but you could do a lot worse than a guy who throws for 3,500-plus yards every year with 21-27 touchdowns and some extra damage on the ground. Moreover, Brooks hasn’t missed a game due to injury in his career. For 2005 pencil in another 3,600 yards passing and 25 TDs.

Take away Brooks' five-TD outburst against the crippled Giants’ secondary, and he had a very ordinary fantasy 2003. His sub-60 percent completion percentage is another caveat, but at least his 59.1 percent accuracy in ‘03 was a career best. Although Brooks has a reputation as a running QB, he has only seven career rushing scores and never more than two in a season. His rushing averages have also declined in each of the last three years, falling to a Peyton Manningish 3.2 per carry in '03. Brooks did make strides last season that some fantasy owners may not have noticed, halving his INTs after throwing 15 in '02 (and a completely unacceptable 22 picks in '01). There's no denying Brooks' dynamite arm, but the Saints don't often play to his strength often enough. Despite a passer rating of well over 100 on throws traveling between 20 and 40 yards in '02 and '03, Brooks only attempted 86 such passes in those seasons combined. On the bright side, 49 of these downfield throws came last year, so perhaps coach Jim Haslett is moving the offense in the right direction. Now that Brooks has proved to be careful with the ball, expect another increase in big plays. And remember to get excited when defenses blitz Brooks, as he's thrown 21 TDs and just five INTs against the blitz since ‘02.

In sum, the messy ending shouldn't obscure the fact that Brooks was decent for most of 2002. He threw for 3,572 yards and 27 touchdowns, and along the way showed a much better touch in the red zone (17 touchdowns, two interceptions) after struggling there in 2001. Brooks also picked up 256 yards and two scores on the ground, though he did very little running over the final third of the season. Assuming the shoulder pain had something to do with that, we expect Brooks will remain an adept scrambler in 2003. And with great skill people surrounding Brooks in the New Orleans offense (Joe Horn, Donte Stallworth and Deuce McAllister), it's hard to imagine him not having another strong year.