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Last season, Kevin Kolb was drafted in fantasy leagues with some question marks but also a lot of high hopes. He'd shown great potential in a handful of starts so we wanted to see what he could do with a full season under center. He never got the chance. He was knocked out of the lineup early thanks to the Packers and with the resurgence of Michael Vick, never regained his starting spot. His fantasy value obviously plummeted as a result.

Eying the 2011 season, he could be looking at a similar fate. The likelihood of another lost season increases each day this lockout continues.

Heading into the offseason, Kolb's trade value was high. As usual, there are a lot of teams out there that could use some help at QB, but the emerging frontrunner in trade rumors has been the Arizona Cardinals. Such a move would bolster Kolb's fantasy value getting a chance to throw to Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston.

Today Arizona remains the most likely landing spot. However, noone can make any deals as long as the lockout is in place, and that is bad news for Kolb.

At some point, the Cardinals will run out of time to bring a new QB into their system. There simply won't be enough time for Kolb to learn the playbook and acclimate to the team and a new offensive style - at least not to the level they would prefer to open the season.

There's also the issue of Philadelphia's QB depth. Last season, Mike Vick missed games due to injury. An unlikely rib crunching collision between a couple defenders aside, the Eagles would be wise to have a suitable backup plan should anything happen to their playmaker. If the lockout runs too long then dealing Kolb comes with additional risks as they have less time to acquire and prepare a new backup.

Even if we miss some of the season and Philly hangs on, you'll need to keep an eye on Kolb and the waiver wire. There's a good chance he could end up a free agent in 2012 and leave town on his own, leaving the Eagles nothing in return. I'm sure they don't want to see that happen.


Fantasy Outlook:
Right now Kolb should be very low on your draft board. As Vick's backup, he is little more than a sleeper pick to stow away for teams with really deep rosters - just in case something happens to Vick or he gets dealt later. Time will tell whether he should jump up a lot or fall off the board altogether.