Category: NFL Draft (Page 101 of 102)

Vince Young, the superstar college quarterback, led Texas to a National Championship with his quickness, skills and ability to gain yards on broken plays. He now is facing numerous questions about his ability to understand football with his “record setting” low score of 6 on the Wonderlic test. At the beginning of this year, I had my doubts about Young and continually questioned his arm. At the end of the season, he proved most people wrong with his ability to come up with big plays for the Longhorns.

The NFL is a complex and fast paced game. The first word from a rookie’s mouth when describing the NFL is speed. The players will then discuss how there are twice as many plays in NFL than when they were in college. I once again have raised my doubts about Vince Young and his understanding of the game. I don’t believe you can live on “broken” plays in the NFL. A player, to be successful in the NFL, has to demonstrate quickness and knowledge of the game. At this point, I believe Vince Young has shown the scouts that he is “average” in both. Teams considering selecting Vince Young high in the draft better evaluate this “disrespectful” test, because I believe it’s pretty important at the quarterback position. If I were a GM, I would list Young as the next Randle El and not the next Michael Vick.

It seemed like a lock once the season was done. The Texans gave QB David Carr a three-year contract extension and said they were planning to select USC RB Reggie Bush with the first overall pick. But it appears that they are reconsidering.

Texans general manager Charley Casserly said Sunday the Texans have been talking to teams about possibly trading the first pick in the 2006 draft.

“There’s clearly players at the top of this draft that are marquee players,” Casserly said. “Players that are impact players, players that are going to go to the Pro Bowl, players that are going to sell tickets. We’re going to get offers for this pick. We’ve already had discussions with teams. I think there’s value in our pick.

I think Reggie Bush is a phenomenal talent, but I’m not sure he’s an every down back that you expect to get with the #1 pick. If the Texans want to use him in the same way that the Eagles use Brian Westbrook, he’d be worth the first pick, but they do have a very capable back in Domanick Davis and have a ton of other holes to fill. Trading down might be the smart move.

The NFL combine in Indianapolis is half over and the biggest story so far [Insider subscription required] is that Vince Young bombed the Wonderlic test (which is designed to test a player’s mind). Word is, on his first try, he scored a 6. On his second, he scored a 16, according to his agent. He’s supposed to take it a third time.

Todd McShay from Scouts, Inc. writes:

Just as a barometer, the highest score registered at last year’s scouting combine was a 40 (QB Alex Smith) and the lowest score was a 6 (RB Frank Gore). I also have been told by an NFL scout that the other two top quarterbacks this year fared much better on this test, with USC’s Matt Leinart scoring a 35 (at the combine) and Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler scoring a 29 (in a test given prior to the combine).

If the reports were true, Young’s draft stock stands to be significantly affected, especially with Cutler continuing to skyrocket up most teams’ draft boards. When I asked one scout from the AFC if he thought Young would still be a top-five draft pick if the rumor turns out to be true, he answered, “Sure … as a wide receiver, though.”

As expected, Cutler shined during his four days in Indianapolis. The only quarterback to voluntarily bench press at the combine in the last two years, Cutler put up the standard 225-pound bar 23 times. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds and wowed the NFL brass in attendance with his strong arm and accuracy during the passing drills Sunday. Cutler’s interviews have also impressed several interested teams, including the New Orleans Saints, who currently own the draft’s second overall pick.

It remains to be seen how much Young’s draft stock is hurt by these scores. The results of his third test won’t be released until next week. But, for now, you have to think that Cutler has moved ahead of Young on most teams’ draft boards.

Who?

ESPN Chris Mortensen thinks Jay Cutler (of Vanderbilt) is the best quarterback in the draft.

I am not alone. A bunch of NFL scouts are whispering the same thing during Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Ala. Some of those even will put out some “negatives” on Cutler deliberately in hopes that he’ll drop a little in the draft. It’s not going to work.

“It’s not even worth trying to downgrade the kid … hoping he slides,” one top personnel director said. “The secret is out.”

I have felt for almost a year now that Cutler is the best quarterback prospect, and nothing has changed my mind. If anything, he has even solidified his standing now that I’ve had the pleasure and benefit of personally seeing him play in the Southeastern Conference.

Cutler was the All-SEC first-team quarterback selected by coaches and the media. He was the preseason pick, too. Heck, he was a first-team All-SEC choice as a redshirt freshman.
You know how difficult that is when you play at Vanderbilt in a conference with many of the nation’s heavyweights?

He goes on to compare Cutler to future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

Cutler’s similarities to Brett Favre are uncanny, except Cutler is far ahead of Favre in the mental aspects of the game at the same career stage. Cutler probably has the strongest arm in this draft. He has moxie. He has a swagger. As Favre did at Southern Mississippi, Cutler had Vandy winning games it had no business winning and competing in games in which the Commodores should have been blown out. As with Favre, his gunslinger mentality will get him in the doghouse with some NFL coach but the upside is way too high to let it bring him down.

So will he go ahead of the smooth arm of Matt Leinart or the tremendous upside of Vince Young?

Assuming the Texans will follow through with their promise to take Reggie Bush first overall, that leaves the New Orleans Saints as the first team to likely take a QB. The Tennessee Titans pick third and the New York Jets pick fourth. In fact, the first team that does not figure to at least consider taking a QB with their first pick is the San Francisco 49ers, who selected Alex Smith first overall last season, so all three quarterbacks could be gone by the seventh pick.

The futures of veterans Steve McNair, Chad Pennington, Brett Favre and Kerry Collins will need to be decided or at least considered before their respective franchises can decide whom to draft. The status of these players (and their backups – namely Billy Volek and Aaron Rogers), along with how these perform at the scouting combine, will decide which quarterback is taken first.