EJ Manuel, QB Buffalo Bills Fantasy Football Rookie Spotlight
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 237 pounds

40-Time: 4.65

Drafted: 1st Round (Buffalo Bills)

Scouting Report:

Size. Accuracy. Strength. Mobility. Intelligence. Character.

The Bills were clearly seduced by EJ Manuel’s offerings when they surprised the NFL community (outside of RosterWatch) by selecting him as the number one overall quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft. Rightfully so. Buffalo is in desperate need of a franchise signal caller and EJ Manuel is exactly the type of employee you would hire to be an executive in training.

Manuel does have to improve in several areas if he’s going to be a viable long-term solution. He has to work on consistency, pocket awareness, down-field accuracy, and footwork. His coachability and work ethic will be his bridge to do so.

Fortunately, Buffalo did a good job surrounding Manuel with other rookie talent this offseason. They added three highly touted receiving prospects (Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, Da’Rick Rogers) to a receiving corps that already includes the talented Stevie Johnson. Put CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson in the mix at running back and the Bills young offense is shaping up nicely.

*For a more in depth evaluation of EJ Manuel- read our Pre-Senior Bowl Scouting Report that boldly predicted Manuel’s rise four months before he shocked the world being selected at #16 overall.

Fantasy Analysis:

Give us the over on 10 games started by EJ Manuel this year.

The Bills drafted him to play much sooner than later. Don’t be surprised if he beats out Kevin Kolb and Tarvaris Jackson in training camp and starts Week 1. We’ve even had to take former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist to school about how crappy Kevin Kolb is.

In re-draft leagues, the depth of viable quarterbacks available will push Manuel’s fantasy draft position back into the late rounds. Optimally, he will be drafted as a backup with upside. An average weekly output of 15+ standard fantasy points is not unrealistic, given Manuel’s rushing ability. The concern with the rookie will be consistency and reliability. Certainly, EJ Manuel deserves increasing priority in keeper leagues and is a must own in dynasty formats given his exploits and the young offensive playmakers around him.