Courtesy Jessica Griffin, Daily News

In his eight-year NFL year, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has never been much of a sleeper pick in fantasy football drafts. This season might be different.

McNabb, you see, has always had the potential to put up monster fantasy football statistics. He's been a great guy to build a good fantasy team around. It could be argued, in fact, that in 2004 McNabb was the best fantasy quarterback and one of the best players, period.

In '04, McNabb threw for 3,875 yards, with 31 touchdown passes and just 8 interceptions. He also ran for 3 scores.

Last season, McNabb was likely drafted in the first three rounds of most fantasy football drafts, which is pretty usual for this star QB. Ten games into the season McNabb was having another MVP-type year with 18 TD passes and 3 rushing scores.

Then McNabb got hurt for the second straight year and missed the remainder of the season.

Two straight seasons of injury for a guy on the wrong side of 30, coupled with the fact that the Eagles don't have the greatest receiving corp, is more than enough to scare off the most astute fantasy football minds.

Don't get mixed in with this group, and you might just steal a superstar in the fifth round or beyond in your draft, depending on how many teams are in your league.

McNabb isn't running 4.4 forties these days, but he is throwing the football fairly well, and he's on schedule to participate in training camp.

This is a very competitive football player. Remember when McNabb was so exhausted that he vomitted on the football field, just before leading his team to the go-ahead touchdown. There's absolutely no quit in McNabb, and it may be just intuition, but this feels like a breakout, rebound season for one of the league's best passers.

So, come fantasy football draft day, sit back and allow everyone else to take the big name QBs. Then, when the middle rounds come around, jump on McNabb. Sure, your competitors may laugh.

But those who laugh on draft day are most often the ones watching come playoff time -- the time you and donovan mcnabb will be winning.