Quarterback Trent Edwards’ journey to relevancy has not followed the traditional path. Once one of the most highly regarded high-school quarterbacks in the country...

Edwards attended Stanford University, hardly a traditional football powerhouse, where he spent four injury-riddled seasons after redshirting his freshman year. Always respected for his accuracy and, we're talking Stanford, intelligence, Edwards was considered the third-best quarterback prospect in the 2007 draft by Mel Kiper (behind eventual first-rounders JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn) but ultimately slipped to the end of the third round, where the Buffalo Bills scooped him up with the pick they acquired from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for running back Willis McGahee; he was the sixth signal-caller taken.
 

Expected to back up starting quarterback and former first-round pick J.P. Losman, Edwards debuted in Week 3 of his rookie season after Losman was injured. Edwards himself was hurt a few weeks later, but while he sat, Losman proved as inconsistent as ever, allowing head coach Dick Jauron to once again give the starting job to Edwards. He has not relinquished it since for reasons other than injury and is 12-11 despite leading the usually disappointing Bills.
 

Edwards has displayed a calming steadiness in his two seasons and has been a welcome relief from the turbulent, revolving-door era of quarterbacking during the team’s previous seasons. Despite his winning record, however, Edwards has never been mistaken for even a second-tier fantasy quarterback; his 4,329 yards and 18 touchdowns in a season and a half of work hardly qualifies him as a recommended fantasy starter going forward.
 

What a difference one offseason makes. Concerned with a passing game that struggled due to the lack of a reliable receiver, the Bills made one of the biggest gambles of the free agency period by signing perennial problem child and/or pariah Terrell Owens. In addition to the acquisition of Owens, the team has implemented a new no-huddle playbook, which it intends to use often, demonstrating the confidence that the front office has in Edwards’ ability to expand his role and fully take the reins of the offense.
 

The pieces and playbook are in place for Edwards to become a viable fantasy quarterback this season, but owners have been slow to react, making him one of the true sleepers this year. His twelfth-round ADP places him behind quarterbacks David Garrard and Kyle Orton as well as four kickers. Though it’s unlikely that Edwards will land among the top quarterbacks, there is little reason to doubt that his current position could make him a top-ten passer as soon as this season. It’s not often that a quarterback, surrounded by a Hall of Fame-caliber receiver, another two-time 1000-yard wideout Lee Evans, rising star running back Marshawn Lynch and protected by one of the game’s better left tackles, Jason Peters, can be readily available after players such as running back Ricky Williams and wide receiver Plaxico Burress have been taken.
 

If the fantasy draft is about maximizing upside at every pick, owners could do much worse than selecting Edwards as their backup. He’s a pleasant surprise that's just waiting to happen.

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