QBs: There's the big three, and then what?
Cris Carter's draft analysis:
• Overview | AFC: East - North - South - West | NFC: East - North - South - West
Craig James' draft analysis:
• Overview - QBs - WRs - More offense - Defense
Most drafts are rated on their strength at the playmaker positions. Offensively, that makes the quarterback, wide receiver and running back the signature positions.
This year's draft has three really good quarterbacks. Only time will tell how good Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger will be in the NFL, but they all have a good chance.
Let's just say the gap between the No. 3 guy on TheInsiders.com's top QB prospects list (Rivers) and the No. 4 (J.P. Losman) is considerable. With that in mind, I'll break down my top three and try to pinpoint a couple of sleepers.
I want to start with Rivers. He's my top quarterback in the draft. He has proven that when the competition is strong, he also is strong. He always has risen to the occasion. Rivers was a most valuable player in each of North Carolina State's four bowl games under his leadership and in the Senior Bowl.
I've stood behind him in the huddle. I've listened to him in the huddle. I just feel like the question marks surrounding him are fewer than those surrounding Manning or Roethlisberger.
Rivers is ready. Maybe he's not a sure shot, but I think he will be a pretty darn good NFL quarterback.
As for Manning, what he did athletically at Mississippi and how they won games in the SEC speaks volumes about his talent and leadership. The fact that he has grown up under the shadow of his brother and his dad and it has not negatively impacted him tells you that he's ready for the NFL.
From an emotional standpoint he's not going to go out there and be flustered. The shadow cast by his dad and his brother is far greater than any pressure he will face from the NFL.
Peyton has told me that before. He said, "Hey Craig, are you kidding? I've had to live under the shadow of my dad all my life; how can this be any harder in the NFL?"
Eli Manning will be a dynamite quarterback. The supporting cast will tell whether Manning or Rivers becomes a superstar quicker.
I wish Roethlisberger had gone back to school for another year. Athletically, he has more potential than Manning or Rivers. Standing behind him and watching him throw the football, the trajectory is downhill. He's a big guy, a good-looking athlete, a basketball player with quickness in the pocket. He can buy some extra time with his elusiveness.
Roethlisberger has a world of upside, and he could have benefited from going back and having more reps and working on his game. But he'll be a top pick.
As far as the other quarterbacks go, I think they really are lumped together, whether it's Losman or Cody Pickett or Matt Schaub or Josh Harris. Losman has looked a bit wild at times, the question to me is whether he can settle down in the pros.
The one guy I'd look at taking over most of them is Bradlee Van Pelt out of Colorado State. He's big and strong, more than just an athlete, a go-getter. He's almost like a linebacker playing quarterback.
Another potential sleeper? Jared Lorenzen out of Kentucky. He is big, but I wouldn't care if he were 500 pounds – the guy can flat out throw the football. He made some mistakes in school when he tried to win games all by himself, but then again, he sometimes had to.
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