2007 NFL Draft: Ranking the QB's

[Weston M]

2007 NFL Draft: Ranking the QB's
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One of the many reasons why the fans of the NFL are so obsessed with the sport they follow is because of the fact that the NFL season never seems to end. With the ending of the Super Bowl an exciting free agency period ensues. And of course there is that special two-day period at the end of every April in which the top college talent in the country makes their leap from the college ranks to the pros. The NFL draft has become a spectacle in itself and is always full of surprises, controversy, and drama. Over the next couple of weeks I will be giving you insight into some of the top prospects at each positions along with the sleepers of the class. All this leads up to my comprehensive mock draft which will be out in April. We'll begin this series by ranking the Quarterbacks.


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1. JaMarcus Russell, Louisiana State University

Strengths: Very strong arm. Able to make all the throws required by the NFL and often hits his receivers in stride. Shows good presence in the pocket and is quick enough to make plays with his feet. Size gives him a great advantage as he is both able to see above all defenders and is big enough to punish tacklers when he decides to run. Matured every year while in college. Played against tough competition in the SEC. Has shown the ability to come from behind and win games for his team. Has shown leadership skills.

Weaknesses: Doesn’t always show great technique. Footwork is sloppy at times which leads to bad passes. Sometimes trusts his arm strength too much, which leads to turnovers. Has a bit of a wind-up delivery. Some teams worry he may be a bigger Rex Grossman who is great at throwing the ball downfield but struggles in other areas of the passing game.

Bottom Line:Russell has as strong an arm as anyone in the NFL. Made a very impressive showing in the Sugar Bowl as he made every throw he wanted to. As with any prospect, he has issues, but most can be resolved with practice and development in the NFL. His tools guarantee him a top 3 pick.


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2. Brady Quinn, Notre Dame

Strengths: Shows good arm strength. Has great presence in the pocket and slides to buy more time and make the throw. Great at running through his progressions and finding the open receiver. Intangibles are great. Showed good leadership at Notre Dame in what was an up and down career. Played in an NFL-style system under Charlie Weis, who is widely regarded as one of the brightest minds in football. Rarely makes mistakes and doesn’t lose games for his team. Draws comparisons to Matt Leinart as he is easily the most NFL-ready quarterback in this year’s class. Has enough quickness to rush for first downs.

Weaknesses: At times shows bad form when planting and throwing which leads to wobbly passes and overthrows. Never performed well against great competition in college. Has a strong arm, but not as good as scouts would want. Struggles with deep passes and often times will float the ball on deep routes. Didn’t perform particularly well until his junior year when Charlie Weis arrived. Some wonder if he benefited from Weis’ system or was merely a product of the system.

Bottom Line: Brady Quinn was heralded as the Heisman favorite heading into the 2006 season but some feel he took a step back despite throwing for 37 TD and just 7 INT. However, Quinn is a very smart quarterback with a strong enough arm to be a success in the NFL and is likely to start either right away or early on in the season, especially if his team is struggling. His smarts and leadership skills will catch the eye of teams picking early and he is likely to be a top 5 pick.


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3. Kevin Kolb, Houston

Strengths: Shows good arm strength. Played very effectively in Houston’s short-pass system. Shows good patience and often makes the correct throw and hits receivers in stride. Quick enough to get out of the pocket and make throws on the run. Is a deceptive athlete. Improved greatly his senior year, improving his stock greatly. Has good size for the position. Good leader.

Weaknesses: Played in a system that is suited for college-play and he’ll have to adjust to an NFL system. Despite improving greatly as a senior he would have lapses at times and revert back to the player of years past. Sometimes forces throws when trying to make something happen. Did not play against particularly great competition. May struggle adjusting to speed of the NFL.

Bottom Line: Kolb is a difficult prospect to grade because his performance was inconsistent while in college but he showed that he has the arm strength, quickness, and intangibles to play the position. He may take a couple of years to reach his potential, but should develop into a solid starter down the road.

4. Drew Stanton, Michigan State
5. Troy Smith, Ohio State
6. John Beck, BYU


Sleepers:

Trent Edwards, Stanford: Showed flashes of being a dangerous quarterback while in college. He has the size, arm strength, and intangibles to be a future NFL quarterback. Edwards had to deal with a lack of supporting cast around him and at times was inconsistent, but someone could get a steal if they show patience in him.

Isaiah Stanback, Washington: Stanback started his career as a receiver but later became a quarterback while at Washington. He is a very raw prospect who has to learn better technique but he has a strong arm and can be dangerous with his feet. A few years of development could be what this kid needs to take the next step at his position. If not, he could become a solid receiver.

Chris Leak, Florida: Perhaps no-one had as much of an up and down career in school as Leak. He played in multiple systems under multiple coaches but ended his career a national champion. Leak has great accuracy, shows good technique, and has the quickness to pick up yards on the ground. His height, slow delivery, and arm strength will hinder him but he could become a solid backup or eventual starter in the right NFL system.


Biggest Risk:

Brady Quinn, Notre Dame: Scouts like his size, pocket presence, and intangibles but many worry about his accuracy and arm strength. Quinn should be a good contributor in the NFL but may never reach the status his high draft pick warrants. Quinn can be as good as Tom Brady or as mediocre as Trent Dilfer.

[YoHoChecko]

I'd move Trent Edwards ahead of, at the very least, John Beck. And I'm not sure JaMarcus Russell isn't a bigger risk than any of those other top guys. His system as said to make his reads easier and the two NFL-quality WRs were almost always VERY open, even against the tough SEC defenses. He has all the physical tools, but much like Vince Young, he often only had to read half the field at a time, and therefore his ability to read NFL defenses is unknown... but he doesn't have any of the Vince Young mobility and magic to overcome any passing deficiencies that may arise as a result.

I was also interested to see who you picked for the #3 spot; a lot of guys have Kolb there, too... and from everything I'm reading, people seem to either really like the guy or think he's a late-round pick quality who can never be more than a back-up. I haven't seen him, so I won't judge, I just found it an interesting choice.

Also, i think that another PAC-10 QB might be a better sleeper candidate than Stanback: Matt Moore

Good read, though

[jjflr]

Good job Weston.........I am not into the college game as much as a lot of the guys on PSH, including yourself, so I love all of the college articles (that way I don't have to do the homework myself--I let you guys do it)...........

[Weston M]

I'd move Trent Edwards ahead of, at the very least, John Beck.

They're both very close no doubt. I'm simply rating them based on what I've heard from their careers and how they performed at the combine. As it stands now most teams and scouts have Beck ahead of Edwards by the slightest of margins. Then again, Edwards would fit better with some teams than Beck would.


And I'm not sure JaMarcus Russell isn't a bigger risk than any of those other top guys. His system as said to make his reads easier and the two NFL-quality WRs were almost always VERY open, even against the tough SEC defenses.

This is easy to argue. You can take a handful of QB's in each draft and debate which is the biggest risk. I believe that Russell has the tools to overcome his risks and is going to have a great shot at succeeding in the NFL. You gotta remember that Quinn had two NFL-quality receivers as well who were often open.


He has all the physical tools, but much like Vince Young, he often only had to read half the field at a time, and therefore his ability to read NFL defenses is unknown... but he doesn't have any of the Vince Young mobility and magic to overcome any passing deficiencies that may arise as a result.

Young was a huge risk but was able to overcome his "question marks" because of poise and the ability to make plays with his feet. Russell isn't going to run all over teams but has the advantage on Young as far as throwing the ball goes. Russell is a deceptive athlete and can pick up some yards on the ground.


I was also interested to see who you picked for the #3 spot; a lot of guys have Kolb there, too... and from everything I'm reading, people seem to either really like the guy or think he's a late-round pick quality who can never be more than a back-up. I haven't seen him, so I won't judge, I just found it an interesting choice.

When you get past Russell and Quinn it's a hard QB class to grade because of inconsistencies within their games. It was kind of a coin flip for me to determine who the #3 QB was between Stanton and Kolb but I felt Kolb was the safer bet to have a succesful career. Only time will tell.


Also, i think that another PAC-10 QB might be a better sleeper candidate than Stanback: Matt Moore

I don't disagree. I saw him play twice this year and thought he looked pretty good. However, I feel he would have a big hill to climb to become a succesful QB in the NFL.


Good read, though

Thanks. More to come :)

weston

[YoHoChecko]

They're both very close no doubt. I'm simply rating them based on what I've heard from their careers and how they performed at the combine. As it stands now most teams and scouts have Beck ahead of Edwards by the slightest of margins. Then again, Edwards would fit better with some teams than Beck would.I dunno, as far as scouts are concerned, Edwards seems to have a pretty big buzz around him lately; he might be the 3rd or 4th guy off the board, but like we've already discussed, it's all very shuffled after the top spot.


This is easy to argue. You can take a handful of QB's in each draft and debate which is the biggest risk. I believe that Russell has the tools to overcome his risks and is going to have a great shot at succeeding in the NFL. You gotta remember that Quinn had two NFL-quality receivers as well who were often open.
Having the tools isn't what makes him less of a risk. A lot of guys have the tools... it's the fact that his system of offense was not of pro calibur, while Notre Dame's was. His reads were easier. It doesn't mean he CAN'T read defenses, it means he's untested...

As for Quinn, I'm not entirely sold on him, either... but watching games, his WRs weren't getting the kind of separation that LSU was getting. Russell had some big windows to throw in; again, brings up the question of whether or not he NEEDS them; he may not; we don't know. These are unanswered questions, which to me says "risk," especially when you're talking about the top 3.


Young was a huge risk but was able to overcome his "question marks" because of poise and the ability to make plays with his feet. Russell isn't going to run all over teams but has the advantage on Young as far as throwing the ball goes. Russell is a deceptive athlete and can pick up some yards on the ground.Young's passing in college was on the same level as Russell's; they had very similar numbers their senior years, and they have the similarity of having run simplified offensive systems in college. Again, that doesn't mean Russell will struggle passing the ball as much as Young has, while he tries to figure out opposing defenses, but it means he very well COULD, or he could be worse (or he could be fine). We just have nothing on which to base his ability to read the whole field, see the whole field and distribute the ball accurately.


When you get past Russell and Quinn it's a hard QB class to grade because of inconsistencies within their games. It was kind of a coin flip for me to determine who the #3 QB was between Stanton and Kolb but I felt Kolb was the safer bet to have a succesful career. Only time will tell.Yeah, we both agree it's very muddled in the middle and will go team-by-team as far as who ranks where behind the top 2.


I don't disagree. I saw him play twice this year and thought he looked pretty good. However, I feel he would have a big hill to climb to become a succesful QB in the NFL.He certainly will, but I'm of the opinion that almost all of these QBs this year have a very uphill climb... Quinn is the only one who might be ready to play early, due to his coaching, but he's also the one who seems to play the worst against a heavy pass rush, which would be a very bad thing on most teams with early picks--so no QB in this class has it easy.


Thanks. More to come :)

westonGood

[l.a. no-teamers]

The way I see it, Matt Moore is below Drew Olson, and Drew Olson was a 7th round pick … so I think Matt Moore goes undrafted

[YoHoChecko]

The way I see it, Matt Moore is below Drew Olson, and Drew Olson was a 7th round pick … so I think Matt Moore goes undrafted

I loved Drew Olson. I wanted him to be the next Ty Detmer (career west coast offense back-up) I think he would have been great at it.