IF We Take A QB At #10...Who Do You Want?

I've decided to go with Locker. He might be a bit risky for #10 overall, but he is one of the top five college passers I have ever seen on the run and he isn't afraid to target covered receivers a la Drew Brees(the best I have ever seen in this regard).

No matter how well a cb covers in the NFL an elite qb can set up the receiver to win the battle a vast majority of the time.

Most NFL qb's don't target covered receivers a la Jason Campbell. The reason is the are pussies and don't have the elite qb gene. I think this guy might have it.

He also has size, ridiculous speed and a big arm.

I say go for it Shanahan.Locker does throw really well on the run and across his body. It's just that I loathe his pocket ability, or lack thereof.

As long as we're talking about players who vastly underacheived expectations in 2010, I like Texas A&M's Jerrod Johnson as a 6th or 7th round project. I think he has a lot of Tyrod Taylor's skill set, but with way less of the steep curve that's ahead of teams who look at Taylor as a future NFL starter.

Taylor is a lot like Troy Smith coming out of college. 4 years later, Smith really still plays like a successful college QB instead of a long-term pro prospect. There's nothing inherent to suggest that Taylor is doomed to the same fate: I could see him being a great pro player. But having the complete skill set isn't a guarantee of NFL success.I don't think much of Taylor's success as a QB in the NFL. I've watched enough of both he and Newton to realize the two are quite indistinguishable from each on the field other than their height.

But taking a flyer on Taylor in the 4th (I knew and know we don't have one) seems like a helluva better deal than drafting Cam Newton at 10. We don't have the luxury of drafting players with gigantic potential downsides like he does.

I was just hypothesizing this based on the possibility of trading for what people are assuming we would get those players for. I know we obviously can not do that if we don't have the picks to do it with. Positive thoughts. If you think it, it will happen....

Yeah, I agree and I was not picking on you. I hope that positive thinking works.

But the reality right now is that we are not trading players for picks until a CBA gets done and no one knows when that will be.

Locker does throw really well on the run and across his body. It's just that I loathe his pocket ability, or lack thereof.

I didn't get to see a lot of Locker. What I did see didn't give me the warm fuzzies. He didn't appear to be much of a play maker in the pocket and their offense was rather stagnant because it seemed pretty basic. I didn't notice that he had great command and/or good recognition. All-in-all he looked like a tools guy rather than a heady-tools guy. You can coach up tools...coaching up heady is pretty damn hard.

Ponder would be the QB I'd like to get, but not at #10.

I agree. I was playing along with the premise of the thread.

Haha...it was less of an actual idea than a point.

Damnit. I was hoping we'd engage in a Gut-Tripp battle. But you can't even humor me there

The toughest obsticle for a late-round prospect to overcome is a lack of height. I don't think being short is a deal breaker if you go high and you find a coaching staff and organization that believes in you: Brees' 67% completion mark with NO proves that you can create a system that shorter players who are accurate can excel in. But you don't have that advantage if you are short and have to come in and take your lumps backing up in a pro-style offense behind a more traditional quarterback.

So in the later rounds, I look for taller players who have quick releases and can project well. In the earlier rounds, I want the entire package with very few flaws.

Damnit. I was hoping we'd engage in a Gut-Tripp battle. But you can't even humor me thereI'd like to go 6,000 words on the existence and role of the draft fairy, but only if you'll oblige.

Newton with the 10th this year and Pryor with the 13th next year, slap #2 on both. I feel like Matt Millen now!

In the earlier rounds, I want the entire package with very few flaws.

The bust rate for top tier NFL prospect QB's has always been and will always be high.

Why is that?

Professional evaluators f this transition up at an astronomical rate.

Me thinks the evaluation PACKAGE for half of these talent projecting clowns is terribly flawed.