OK, Cam Newton, you’re up

Cam Newton is going to draw the start for the Carolina Panthers in Friday's preseason tilt with the Dolphins. As NFP's Matt Bowen points out, if Newton can just protect the football for a quarter or so in an exhibition environment, he should emerge as the clear favorite to direct the Carolina offense in the regular season opener, too.

The Panthers have set up an odd situation, wherein the rookie quarterback may give the team the best chance to win in the short-term, considering the alternatives. The other notable names on the depth chart are Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson, two guys who will absolutely give away the ball to opposing defenses, unrepentantly and repeatedly. So this QB competition has been, from its start, heavily tilted toward the rookie. Clausen and Anderson are merely sparring partners.

If Newton can just give us a clean-but-unspectacular game at Miami, then head coach Ron Rivera will have all the cover he needs to give the rookie the top spot on the depth chart. No one is eager to buy tickets just to sit and watch Clausen go 14-for-30 with 160 yards and multiple turnovers. They've seen that show before in Carolina.

I'm plenty interested in Newton as a fantasy commodity, for obvious reasons. He has a linebacker's size (6-5, 250), rare rushing talent, a huge arm, and he's surrounded by high-end skill players (Smith, Olsen, Williams, Stewart). Plus the Panthers' O-line has the potential to be great, bookended by Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah, anchored by Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil. If this team features a competent quarterback and a healthy line — two things it lacked in 2010 — then we might just have somethin'. The 2011 Panthers could outperform their Juggernaut rank by a mile.

Here's my worry (and maybe it's more of a long-term thing, because I have dynasty plans for Cam): This has been an off-season unlike any other, and it just seems ridiculous to ask any first-year player to lead an NFL offense in a locked-out year. He led a hurry-up run-first attack in college, lacking pro complexity, working from the shotgun. There's a steep learning curve here. Take a listen to Jason Cole's comments on Cam, via Yahoo! Sports Radio. He concludes with this:

But again, the in-house alternatives are Clausen and Anderson; playing either of those two would be a disservice to the team's fan base. So Newton has a clear edge, assuming he's not a disaster this weekend.

Cam drew favorable reviews for his performance in the preseason opener, but, if we're being honest, he was sloppy by NFL standards. He went 8-for-19, ending the first half with a brutal misfire to Armanti Edwards on what should have been an easy TD. But to his credit, he led drives that ended in points, he avoided game-changing mistakes, and he completed this degree-of-difficulty throw to Greg Olsen. (Note: This looks like a tight end-friendly offense, with Olsen in a key role. Bump him a few spots up the draft board). If Newton plays the same way at Miami, then the starting gig is likely his, for better or worse. We can't know if it's the right move in terms of his development, but he'll become a rookie of interest for fantasy owners. This is a kid who rushed for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns against an SEC schedule; over a 16-game pro season, it's tough to see how he can avoid 5-7 rushing scores.

So: I'm slowly talking myself into drafting Newton ahead of the drek we've ranked in the 20s at quarterback — not as a fantasy starter, clearly, but as a bench/depth option in deep formats. (Newton or Henne? Smith? Garrard? Hasselbeck? Tarvaris?) It won't always be a clinic in Carolina, but it could be fun. Now please go earn that job, Cam.

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