Though their style of play couldn't be more polar opposites, there are an awful lot of similarities between the careers of Donovan McNabb and Chad Pennington.  They were both drafted in the first round by teams that had glaring needs at other positions (and whose fan bases were initially less than pleased with their selections)...

They have both overcome numerous injuries and are renown for being among the toughest players at their position.  They both also have younger quarterbacks waiting for them to fail in order to swoop in and grab their jobs.

McNabb has been the Eagles’ quarterback since 1999, but it seems like much longer.  He has endured his share of abuse from the notoriously harsh Philadelphia fans, but his stats suggest that much of it has been undeserved.  When he has been healthy (which, admittedly, hasn’t been often as he has only played a full schedule four times in his career), he has consistently been one of the better quarterbacks available in both the NFL and fantasy.
 

Pennington is also a man who never seems to get proper credit for his achievements.  He has compensated for a lack of arm strength (made worse by two major shoulder surgeries) by becoming one of the most cerebral quarterbacks in recent memory.  There’s no doubt that the New York Jets now have more than a little regret that they jettisoned Pennington in the disastrous Brett Favre experiment.
 

These two warriors also finished with similar fantasy stats last season.  They both have different elements to their situations now, but only a fool would completely count either guy out from making an impact both this season and perhaps beyond.
 

Which one would be your choice if you were constructing a winning fantasy squad?

REDRAFT CONSIDERATIONS
 

At 32 years of age, McNabb put together one of his better fantasy campaigns last year, setting a career high in passing yardage and posting his third best touchdown total ever.  He also compiled seven multi-touchdown games for his owners (including a tremendous Thanksgiving evening performance when he threw a four TD buffet.)  He accomplished these feats despite having an average receiving corps, something the Eagles attempted to rectify by adding rookie Jeremy Maclin to help promising second year man Desean Jackson carry the load.  Add  tight end Brent Celek, a new group of running backs (Leshon McCoy, Leonard Weaver and Lorenzo Booker) who can catch the ball out of the backfield and hopefully a healthy Brian Westbrook into the mix and McNabb has the stacked supporting cast for his best fantasy season yet.  He should be one of the first ten quarterbacks taken at your draft and probably won’t last beyond the fifth round.
 

Pennington proved the old adage “Living well is the best revenge” by signing with the Dolphins after the Jets unceremoniously dumped him for Favre and plunging the knife personally into Gang Green’s back by beating them in the season’s final week.  He had a better than expected fantasy campaign with Miami as well, tossing 19 touchdowns to only seven interceptions and throwing for 3,653 yards (ninth best among all NFL quarterbacks.)  He developed nice chemistry with tight end Anthony Fasano and Ted Ginn, Jr. which should follow him into this season as well.  He also has possession receiver Greg Camarillo coming back from injury.  Overall, Pennington is a value pick quarterback that you can wait until the second wave of signal-callers is just about complete at your draft (somewhere around the seventh or eighth 
round) to grab and, by doing so, will allow you to stock talent at other positions.

KEEPER/DYNASTY CONSIDERATIONS
 

At his age, McNabb naturally doesn’t have very much long-term value, but he could still be a good placeholder for your team while you’re waiting for a younger quarterback to mature before taking over the reigns.  The Eagles would like to see what they have in Kevin Kolb eventually, but Philly realizes McNabb gives them their best chance to win right now, so his job should be safe for the time being.  He has curbed his risky style of play and now relies on his head more than his arm strength.  Philadelphia has also bolstered the offensive line in front of him, so he should see less pressure and fewer sacks going forward. 
 

As Pennington is the same age as McNabb, he is also hindered by that factor in terms of future value.  The odds of Chad Henne becoming Miami’s quarterback sooner rather than later are also becoming better if you believe the media reports coming from the team’s beat writers.  Still, many have tried to bury Pennington before and he always seems to be able to will himself into a comeback.  With the improving Dolphins’ receiving corp, he could be a good fantasy play for at least the next couple of years.

BOTTOM LINE
 

All older quarterbacks come with a certain degree of risk.  However, when you look back at the best fantasy quarterbacks of last year, the majority of them are “gray-beards” like Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees...and yes, McNabb and Pennington.
 

Both of these men should be fine choices for your team, but you have to like McNabb’s situation just a bit better.  The Eagles pass more frequently, have perhaps the best receiving back in the league in Westbrook and if Maclin develops as well as Jackson did, they could boast one of the better receiving duos for years to come.

REDRAFT EDGE: McNabb
+++++
 

KEEPER/DYNASTY EDGE: McNabb
+++++