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Even though I'm a die-hard Packers' fan, I hated to see the knee injury to Daunte Culpepper on Sunday. Despite his struggles this year, he's still a great player and I enjoy watching him play. That was a devastating blow to the knee and there's no question that it will change the way Culpepper plays in the future. Yes, his season was a disaster in 2005, but I think everyone felt he would have a strong finish and still put up respectable numbers before it was all said and done.

Now the train-wreck of a season is over for Culpepper and all fantasy owners who have him are left scrambling over the waiver wire. ESPN reports the following about his injury:

"Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowl pick whose effectiveness this season had fallen off dramatically after a career year in 2004, tore his anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in Sunday's 38-13 loss at Carolina.

"Once the swelling subsides, the 28-year-old Culpepper will have surgery followed by several months of arduous rehabilitation. It typically takes a player with an injury of this nature a year to recover, but at least right now the Vikings are optimistic about the quarterback's status for 2006.

"Our expectations are he's going to be ready for the season," athletic trainer Chuck Barta said.

Here's my question to the board: Even if Culpepper has a perfect rehab over the next 10 months, where do you think he will go in next year's draft? Is he a Top 25 overall pick? Top 40? Top 50? Top 100? I know it's hard to tell now considering the tough road that lies ahead, but he definitely will be a wild card in 2006 and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on it.

I have my opinions, but let's hear yours.

This injury along with the departures of Randy Moss and Scott Linehan will drop Dante right off the radar screen. It's sad to see the state of affairs in the NFC North this year and one can only hope this will improve next year.

In my opinion ... assuming he recovers and has a decent trianing camp ... someone will grab him as the 6th or 7th QB ... which will be ... too early in the draft (this comming from a die hard Viking fan).

He is probably a 12 QB flyer at this point ... because this will permanately hurt his running ability.

I don't think we'll see C-pep or Manning go in the top 2 in any league next year.

Daunte will be someones "sleeper" pick next year but after this season is finished and next years top QB's are established he won't crack my top 15. High risk - low reward. 7-8th rounder at best.

Never being an advocate of drafting a QB early (unless the scoring system completely favors QBs), If Culpepper comes back at 80%, that is still better than many other QBs. He still may be worthy on a 5h round pick or so. He will not be the disaster, but he won't be the same player either. But he will still be pretty good.

I can see him being almost Favre-esque... Favre has been usually drafted pretty low the past 3years or so, yet keeps putting up the numbers.

Next season i see him as a Cleve Brown.

Our team has a nitch for the has been QB. Perfect fit.

Culpepper is one of the most overrated QBs in the league, and he has been exposed this year without Randy Moss. Not so much as not having Moss to throw the ball too, but the fact that he is now seeing coverages geared around him, like every other QB sees in the NFL. Its no secret that Minnesota QBs had the luxury of single or soft zone coverages on everyone else while Moss was being guarded by 2-3 guys, so Daunte has been riding around with training wheels so far in his NFL career. See Nate Burleson and Jermaine Wiggins last year as examples of that. Ambrosius could have thrown for 300 yards against some of those coverages!!!

He's not Favre-esque because he cant throw the ball with any accuracy. He has a cannon, but his balls float in his intermediate passing game, he holds the ball too long in the pocket, and he's not very intelligent. There are a lot of people who wouldnt have taken him in the top 10 this season before his injury, but based on his rep, he will still be a top 10 pick next season, although he is not better than half the QBs in the league.

Originally posted by Route C:
I don't think we'll see C-pep or Manning go in the top 2 in any league next year.

Daunte will be someones "sleeper" pick next year but after this season is finished and next years top QB's are established he won't crack my top 15. High risk - low reward. 7-8th rounder at best. Exactly, Route C. He'll be on my list of "not having to worry about" as someone will take him way earlier than I'll ever consider him.

Greg, I have to ask what would make anyone, let alone everyone, think Culpepper would finish the year strong?

To clarify, in now way am I saying Culpepper is like Favre as in being a QB, what I meant is in fantasy football, owners have been avoiding Favre because "he's old, he's slowed, he won't put up the numbers" type of talk around him every preseason, then he ends up near the top of the QB list. Culpepper may be put into that catagory. He has no Moss, he is exposed, etc... but he will put up that fantasy numbers... that's what I meant.

[ November 02, 2005, 02:13 PM: Message edited by: Vega$ Gambler$ ]

My opinion is that he will take approximately 11-12 months to recover. Which would take him into week 4-8 of the 2006 season. Minnesota will have someone other than Culpepper at QB up to that point, so a pick on Culpepper would end up going at the same time as Deion Branch.