Sample scouting reports from Fantasy Football Insider book (2006)

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, Age 27 – The Saints are rebuilding under first-year coach Sean Payton and Brees (shoulder surgery) is a big part of the plan. "There has to be concern, just from the standpoint of the possibility (he won't be 100 percent by Week 1)," Payton said. "I like where he's at right now, but it is what it is.” Brees says he'll be ready for the start of training camp and could be a real sleeper with weapons like Joe Horn, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush and Donté Stallworth at his disposal. He has poise, mobility and confidence, but doesn’t have a particularly strong arm.

		Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	TD	Int	Rush	TD
2002	Chargers	526	320	60.8	3284	17	16	130	1
2003	Chargers	356	205	57.6	2108	11	15	84	0
2004	Chargers	400	262	65.5	3159	27	7	85	2
2005	Chargers	500	323	64.6	3576	24	15	49	1
	Projected	450	275	61.1	3300	23	12	75	1

Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints, Age 23 – Colston has good height and speed and can get deep but needs bulk (6-5, 224) if he switches to tight end, as he was a wide receiver in college. But the team plans to play him at receiver for now because they have a shortage of big players at the position. [Note: As reports came in on Colston throughout training camp, we nudged him up our rankings little by little. Nobody projected this guy to have a big season, including us, be we alerted our subscribers to him.]

Daunte Culpepper, Miami Dolphins, Age 29 – Culpepper (knee surgery) probably won’t be ready by September, but all signs are positive from passing drills. His season ended last Oct. 30 leading to reconstructive surgery. Prior to the injury, he was having his worst season as a pro, partially from the loss of Randy Moss. We think Culpepper will miss a few games to begin the season [and we’re not as high on him as most experts advising our subscribers to back off].

		Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	TD	Int	Rush	TD
2002	Vikings	549	333	60.7	3853	18	23	609	10
2003	Vikings	454	295	65.0	3479	25	11	422	4
2004	Vikings	548	379	69.2	4717	39	11	406	2
2005	Vikings	216	139	64.4	1564	6	12	147	1

Lee Evans, Buffalo Bills, Age 25 – Evans is going to have to prove himself against double teams with Moulds gone. How effective he'll be depends on the play-calling of new offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild, who worked under Mike Martz in St. Louis and is bringing some of the Rams' wide-open system to Buffalo. It also depends on his supporting cast and on how quickly the team resolves an unsettled quarterback position. But most feel he's too good to be completely shut down. They like his burner speed, excellent hands and disciplined routes. He works hard as well.

		Catches	Yards	Avg.	TD
2004	Bills	48	843	17.6	9
2005	Bills	48	743	15.5	7
	Projected	65	900	13.9	7

Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens, Age 27 – Lewis signed a one-year deal and should be more productive this season, a year removed from his ankle injury, as he ran too tentative behind a poor offensive line last season. He also will be motivated to earn big bucks in free agency next year and has all of his jail time and off-the-field problems behind him. If that weren’t enough, he said that he felt burdened by pending free agency last year, questioning his future with the struggling team and was frustrated for being blamed for the team's offensive struggles. He also expressed a concern about getting injured, which could’ve ruined his chances of signing a blockbuster deal. Bottom line: he’ll be running behind a poor line again.

		Att	Yards	Ave	TD	Rec	Yards	TD
2002	Ravens	308	1327	4.3	6	47	442	1
2003	Ravens	387	2066	5.3	14	26	205	0
2004	Ravens	235	1006	4.3	7	10	116	0
2005	Ravens	269	906	3.4	3	32	191	1
	Projection	325	1200	3.7	7	35	225	1

Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts, Age 27 – Rhodes enters training camp as the starter but sooner or later will give up some carries to rookie Joseph Addai. Rhodes had one of his worst seasons last year but is worth drafting in all formats. He said a lack of playing time on offense affected his attitude and performance. His reconstructed right knee is no longer is a concern, but he occasionally has missed time with a chronic shoulder problem that had surgery prior to last season. "He's a guy we have confidence in,'' Tony Dungy said. "It's now a point of seeing what he can do getting more carries. We're excited about that possibility. He's definitely a guy we feel we can win with.'' When James suffered a season-ending knee injury in the sixth game of the 2001 season, Rhodes set NFL records for yards and TDs by an undrafted rookie.

		Att	Yards	Ave	TD	Rec	Yards	TD
2001	Colts	233	1104	4.7	9	34	224	0
2003	Colts	37	157	4.2	0	6	62	1
2004	Colts	53	254	4.8	1	2	24	0
2005	Colts	40	118	3.0	4	12	88	0
	Projection	175	650	3.7	5	15	125	0

Michael Turner, San Diego Chargers, Age 24 – Tomlison’s backup runs hard and has surprising speed in the open field for a big man built like a fullback. He is also a capable receiver and pass blocker. "We're very comfortable with Michael Turner," one coach said. "He's an excellent change of pace to LaDainian. He runs extremely well behind his pads. People bounce off him. He has excellent patience."

		Att	Yards	Ave	TD	Rec	Yards	TD
2004	Chargers	20	104	5.2	0	4	8	0
2005	Chargers	57	335	5.9	3	0	0	0

Mike Williams, Detroit Lions, Age 22 – Williams is a possession receiver with good size but disappointed in his rookie season. Missing his senior year of college didn’t help as he reported to camp out of shape. He sat out after an unsuccessful attempt to enter the NFL draft after his sophomore season at USC because he was ineligible to return to the Trojans. He is still growing as a route runner and blocker so it will take a time.

		Catches	Yards	Avg.	TD
2005	Lions	29	350	12.1	1