Saturday, November 15, 2008

Top Junior Quarterback Prospects

The junior quarterback class should be a very good one and should produce a number of pro-bowl caliber quarterbacks. Remember that this is based on their NFL potential. It was hard to pick the top 5 but here it is:

1. Matthew Stafford, Georgia - NFL scouts have been raving about Stafford since his high school days. Mel Kiper even predicted that Stafford would develop in a first overall pick in a draft. Stafford, however, hasn't put up amazing stats. The reason why Stafford is my #1 quarterback prospect is because of his size (6'3, 235) strong and accurate arm and his great footwork inside the pocket. Stafford is a pure NFL quarterback. He plays in a pro-style system and uses a lot of play action and drop back passes. In my opinion, Stafford will develop into a pro bowl quarterback and will be the face of a very lucky franchise.

2. Mark Sanchez, USC - This is an arguable pick but with the success of USC quarterbacks, I see Sanchez having a good NFL career. Like Stafford, Sanchez possesses good size and a good arm. Sanchez makes good decisions. He has only thrown 7 picks this season and 3 came against Arizona State. He is also completing around 65% of his passes. Sanchez also plays in a pro-style system that uses a lot of play action passes and therefore Sanchez will be more prepared when he starts playing on Sunday's. I see Sanchez having a good, but not great NFL career. He reminds of Kurt Warner.

3. Tim Tebow, Florida - Sure Tebow has never, and probably will never, drop back to pass in college but he has all the tools to be a solid NFL quarterback. People say that his skills will not translate to the NFL because he does not have the proper throwing mechanics, he plays in a spread offense and he has a run first mentality. Personally, I see nothing wrong with his throwing mechanics. Tebow is the one player that I think could make the jump from a spread offense to the NFL's pro style offenses. You can never count out Tebow. Whatever team takes Tebow is making a very high-risk, high-reward pick.

4. Josh Freeman - Freeman gets overlooked playing in a conference with so many great quarterbacks but Freeman is one of the best. Freeman has been climbing the draft boards recently and will possibly be a first round pick. Freeman is a monster. He stands 6'6 and weighs about 250 pounds and has been clocked at a 4.76 in the 40. Freeman has a cannon for an arm and can take off and run the ball if he needs too. Freeman will take time to develop into a good NFL quarterback because he is still raw but the sky is the limit for him.

5. Nate Davis - Nate Davis is another quarterback who has been climbing up the draft boards of late. He has good mechanics and footwork and average size (6'2, 218). He has been a starter for Ball State since his freshman year. A knock on Davis is that he plays in arguably the worst conference in the FBS. However, there have been some good quarterbacks to come out of the MAC with Ben Roethlisberger being one of them. Scouting quarterbacks is so hard because many highly touted ones end up being duds and others come out of nowhere and surprise many people. Some quarterbacks just have "it", whatever "it" is. Nate Davis, in my opinion, should have a solid career.

Honorable mentions - Colt McCoy, Texas. Rusty Smith, FAU. Dan Lefevour, CMU. Max Hall, BYU.

Most of this years junior class may end up declaring for the draft because of a very weak senior class. The junior quarterback class is one of the most talented classes in years.

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