NFL Draft Is A Comin'!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm totally psyched about the fact that the NFL Draft is less than a month away. I'm a huge NFL and NCAA Football fan, as evidenced by my non stop articles about RU football. So, a football related event is much appreciated at the end of April. (See what you've done, Phils? You've driven me back to football in the span of three weeks. Nice job.)

Anyhow, while we are all most interested in whom the Birds will select next Saturday and Sunday, I would like to add a few insights as the draft approaches. (Don't worry though, I'll make my Eagles draft prediction some time before the draft.) The first issue I will tackle is the QB debate between JaMarcus Russell of LSU and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame (aka, the Evil Empire).

Since both guys come very high profile teams that are on TV just about every week, I've seen a great deal of both of them. My opinion is that JaMarcus is the MUCH better prospect, than Quinn, who I believe is highly overrated as you will see below.

First of all, Russell may have the strongest arm I have ever seen in my life. Yes, much stronger than Elway, Favre, etc. This guy can probably throw it through a brick wall. I've read he can throw it 70 yards while standing one knee. Plus, while he's built like an Offensive Tackle, his mobility is a little bit above average. He's more Byron Leftwich, than Daunte Culpepper. The only down side I see with Russell is that he's a little bit of a project with reading defenses, decision making and dealing with an NFL quality offense. I've seen him make some questionable throws, but frankly, what young QB doesn't. However, he didn't receive top notch offensive coaching while at LSU, like Quinn did at Notre Dame. If I'm the Raiders, you have to take this guy and let him learn for the first 8-10 game before handing him the keys to the franchise. I'm guessing an offensive coach like Lane Kiffin will find ways to get the most out of JaMarcus.

As for Quinn, I'm not going to say anything you probably haven't read else where. His performances in games this past year against Michigan, USC, and LSU would scare the hell out of me if I was thinking of drafting him. He looked totally uncomfortable playing against the level of defenses these teams had last year. In my opinion, if you can't make big plays against top notch college teams, how are you going to respond against an NFL defense? Plus, Quinn was under the tutelage of the best offensive football coach (Charlie Weiss) in the NCAA last year. I think Quinn might have been a product of the system. Finally, I think he regressed his senior year after losing targets such as Maurice Stovall and Anthony Fasano. In any event, I think Quinn's more worthy of the twentieth pick than the 5th. Of course, my hatred of Notre Dame has no bearing on this opinion.

In my next draft post, I'll list my favorite prospect in the entire draft....(No, it's not Brian Leonard). I'll also try to find a potential bust or two.