Where Have All the Quarterbacks Gone?

A lot of NFL teams are desperate for a quarterback right about now, the Vikings, Bears, Lions, Chiefs, and Buccaneers. Then you have a few more teams that have an ancient and/or declining quarterback situation like the Dolphins, Cardinals, Jets, and you could even make a case for the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks needing help at quarterback. So with an obvious shortage of quality quarterbacks in the NFL, the help at quarterback will have to come from the NFL Draft. Here’s where the problem lies, this looks like one of the worst years for quarterback in college football in a number of years and I don’t see a lot of sure fire talent at the QB position in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Matt Stafford from Georgia looks like the best hope, he definitely has the size and arm strength, but he is only a junior and might not even be in the 2009 NFL Draft. Even if he does enter the draft, he is young, fairly inexperienced and will likely need at least one year to develop in the NFL. Outside of Stafford, I am just not seeing a lot of college quarterbacks that can step in and make a difference early.

The other junior that is being talked about is two time Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Have you noticed the lack of conversation from the so-called draftniks about Tebow? It reminds me of last year when I was the first draftnik to bring up Kentucky QB Andre Woodson. Mel Kiper had him on his big board and everyone else jumped on his band wagon. Not me, I brought up the point about his long, slow delivery and evidently the NFL scouts agreed as he wasn’t selected until late in the 6th round (198 overall). He (Woodson) was baffled by the drop in the draft. Woodson was subsequently cut by the Giants prior to the 2008 NFL Football season. So what has Woodson got to do with Tim Tebow? Not much really, except that I don’t think Tebow is quite the NFL prospect that some think he is and most draftniks are hesitant to talk about it, for fear of being proven wrong later. I like Tebow, don’t get me wrong, he is a class act and we need more quality kids like him for our youth to look up to. He will go down in history as one of the best college quarterbacks to ever play the game, but unless he improves his throwing mechanics and accuracy he will have difficulty in the NFL. His run first mentality won’t cut it in the NFL and his arm isn’t good enough to win the day. I don’t even see him declaring for the NFL as a junior, that’s why he isn’t listed in my 2009 NFL Mock Draft.

The other junior worth mentioning is Colt McCoy (6’ 2” 209 lbs) from Texas. McCoy has been around awhile; he started and looked good as a freshman, looked mediocre last year as a sophomore, but has came out this year as a junior and just been on fire. McCoy has his Longhorns undefeated and has completed an amazing 80% of his passes for 1,018 yards and thrown 14 touchdowns. He also has an eye popping 209.71 quarterback rating. Texas players have a history of staying until their senior year, but due to the pending rookie salary cap in 2010, we might have record number of underclassmen declaring early this year.

Actually Sam Bradford (6’ 4” 220 lbs) from Oklahoma has looked the best so far, but he is only a sophomore, he was redshirted his first year at Oklahoma, so yes technically he is eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft, but I just don’t see him jumping to the NFL as a sophomore. This kid is really talented though, he has a very powerful, accurate arm. Last year as a red-shirt freshman he (Bradford) broke the NCAA freshman record of 29 TDs and led the NCAA in pass efficiency. This year he is playing even better, he has more confidence and has completed 72% of his passes for 1,293 yards and thrown for 16 touchdowns. Did I mention that he has his Sooners ranked number one in the nation in the College Football Polls.

One promising senior is Curtis Painter from Purdue, he is a big kid (6’ 3” 225 lbs), with a lightening quick release and strong arm, but he isn’t playing as well this year as he did last. His accuracy and decision making looks a little suspect. He has tons of potential, but so far this year he hasn’t wowed anybody. I know he is in the first round of my 2009 NFL Mock Draft right now, but when I do my next update he will be moved probably to the 2nd round.

There are only three other senior quarterbacks worth mentioning, and no, one of them is not Clemson’s Cullen Harper, who has not looked good this year. I really like Hunter Cantwell from Louisville; he has been stuck behind Brian Brohm on the depth chart until now. Cantwell is a big kid (6’ 4” 231 lbs), has a very powerful arm and is fairly accurate, he is just playing on a crappy team and is trying to force too many balls. I like his long term potential in the NFL though.

The other senior QB is Rhett Bomar (6’ 2” 212 lbs), he probably would be starting ahead of Sam Bradford right now, but he was booted off the team (Oklahoma) a couple years ago. He transferred to tiny Sam Houston State and has played very well. He is currently ranked 4th in division 1AA averaging 314 yards per game. Bomar has thrown 10 touchdowns and has completed 63.92% of his passes. He has all the physical tools to play QB in the NFL.

What about Graham Harrell from Texas Tech? Yea I can’t forget about Harrell, playing in the spread offense his numbers are off the charts. Honestly Harrell is tough to evaluate because he never plays under center. He has the size (6’ 2” 202 lbs), arm strength and accuracy, so there isn’t any reason why he can’t be successful at the next level. But similar to Washington Redskins and former Hawaii QB Colt Brennan last year, he will have to fight the “system quarterback” label. Brennan slipped in the draft last year (6th round), but actually looked very good in the pre-season for the Redskins. Like Brennan, Harrell will have to relearn the quarterback position playing under center. He will have to change his footwork, timing and delivery in the NFL, but with patience and a year or two to develop he has nice upside at the next level. So as we can see there are some talented quarterbacks out there, but likely not much that can come in and make a difference right away.