How good will JaMarcus Russell be at the Pro Level?

I think Russell is really only going to be a product of the team he goes to, which unfortunately is looking like the Raiders. If they can provide some protection for him and Randy Moss stays, it could be a nice match.

As of now, Russell looks to me like someone who needs his receivers to make plays, rather than someone like Brady or Manning who make THEIR receivers look good.

the thing is a lot of the low start guys happened to go to awful teams. peyton, mcnabb, rivers, etc generally went to teams with good gms that now have a history of building great team talent (colts, eagles, chargers). campbell also has the advantage of a strong offense around him, and so it'd also be pretty disappointing if he can't put it together.

I'm not entirely sold on Russell. could be another Dante Culpepper, with some NFL success. or could be another Akili Smith, who with Ryan Leaf formed the 2 biggest NFL busts ever

He's got D. Culpepper written all over him, the big difference is that unlike Dante he went to a big school & won a big bowl game in front of nat'l tv, hence the publicity before the draft.

I think the guy's a rare talent, but it's hard to tell if he has the presence & mental wherewithal to be great. He can definitely be good given the right circumstances, we'll have to see if the Raiders can improve that o-line first.

I honestly don't think he's going to have the success that our Jason Campbell will. Maybe I'm dreaming too much, but JC seems to have that undefinable ability that winning qb's have. I only see him becoming more of a leader, albeit a quiet one, and making big plays while not always racking up big #s. Looking back at the trade w/Denver, that was the best move Gibbs has made as Team Prez.

Everyone is in love with his physical skills. They are off the charts. The only question is will he be able to handle the larger playbooks, reading NFL defenses and have good decision making. Brady Quinn is ahead of him here becasue he got to play under Weiss and a true pro offense. Quinn is probably ready to play now more than anybody. But the draft is all about potential and no one has more of it than Russell. That is why he will be the number one pick.

One thing that scares me is the whole Oakland organization. It seems that they change coaches every other year. Is this guy from USC going to be able to handle a pro coaching job, command respect in the locker room and deal with starting a rookie QB in the NFL? Hell no. Horrible hire! This was probably the worst hire I have ever seen. Al Davis is such a dumb ass. So Russell will probably have a new coach in two years and he will have to learn a new offense every other year. I think Russell is in a no win situation going to Oakland. Plus they have one of the worst lines in the NFL. So IMO he is not going to do well becasue of the unstable organization. If Russell had the chance to learn under a Jon Gruden or Cam Cameron then I think he would be just fine.

I don't know how good Russell with be in the Pros, but nice post (yet again) GTripp.

On the same note, a guy with no experience can be leaving because he just is that good, and there is no reason not to take it to the next level. Young did this, and he proved himself as a gamewinner when he finally got the chance to start last season.

Not disagreeing with your experience arguement, just stirring the kettle.Interesting point.

I don't see Vince Young as an exception to the arguement. I think Young made a good business decision to come out, but this arguement still thinks that he would have been a much better prospect had he waited a year.

His rookie season was pretty much what anybody would have expected from a rookie QB passing wise. Low completion %, high INTs. The Titans won more games because he made timely plays with his legs and just happened to stumble upon some hapless opponents (Giants).

But due to the results of this, I don't think theres ever going to be a prospect who is "just that good" or otherwise too good to return for another year. They can always better themselves.

we will see if he is any good when he plays.

Probably very good...........

It's always difficult to predetermine how a player (espically a QB) will perform when moving from the college level to pro, only time will tell on that one.

Your post however does shed light on some interesting concepts. I'm just hoping that our QB (Jason Campbell) continues to mature at the rate we have hoped. That's the most interesting part of the upcoming season, watching the continued maturation process of Campbell.

I'm not entirely sold on Russell. could be another Dante Culpepper, with some NFL success. or could be another Akili Smith, who with Ryan Leaf formed the 2 biggest NFL busts ever

This guy had one of the best seasons ever played by an NFL QB just a few years ago. And now he's finished? I would think not. Let's see what he does this year with a good offensive coach and perhaps some more weapons around him. Although I'm not sure what the Fish have in mind letting go of Walker and McMichael. But the guy has not been the same w/out Moss.