Tag: Jimmy Clausen (Page 5 of 11)

      Jimmy Clausen to fall out of top 25?

      April 22, 2010 /

      ESPN’s Adam Schefter predicts that Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen will fall to the bottom of the first round, where the Vikings will take him at No. 30.

      Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin (who annually puts out some of the most accurate mock drafts) predicts the same thing.

      The Vikings were hoping a cornerback would slide to them but instead hit the jackpot with the slide of Clausen. He gives them their QB of the future when Brett Favre finally does retire, probably in 2011.

      Well, my final mock just got blown to hell. I have Clausen falling to the Bills at No. 9 and I even had him as high as No. 4 to the Redskins before they acquired Donovan McNabb. Schefter is one of the most reliable NFL media members around and as previously noted, Gosselin is well respected around this time of year too.

      I guess it wouldn’t surprise me to see Clausen fall. In fact, nothing would surprise me. The media tries its best to predict what will happen, but in reality, not even the teams know how things will play out. A team like the Vikings have an idea about who will be left on the board when they pick later tonight at No. 30, but really, they have to wait to find out just like everyone else. Players that they thought would be there won’t be, while a player they may have rated higher on their board will still be available. It happens every year.

      Last year, linebacker Rey Maualuga was supposed to be a sure-fire top 20 pick and he fell all the way to the Bengals in the second round (No. 38 overall). In 2008, receiver Devin Thomas was supposed to be a first rounder and he too fell into the second round at pick No. 34 (Washington). So nobody knows.

      It’ll be interesting to see how far Clausen falls, because he’s the one quarterback at the top of his position class that actually played in a pro style offense. Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Tony Pike and Dan LeFevour all played in the spread, which scares a lot of scouts because it takes time for those quarterbacks to develop. One would think that Clausen would be a top 15 pick, but maybe not.


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      NFL, NFL Draft

      Can we predict a quarterback’s success?

      April 20, 2010 /

      In the April 19 issue of ESPN the Magazine, Peter Keating discusses a way for NFL teams to determine whether or not a first- or second-round QB will have a successful NFL career. (Insider subscription required.)

      David Lewin, formerly an analyst for Football Outsiders and now with the NBA’s Cavaliers, has found that games started and NCAA completion percentage accurately predict NFL performance for QBs drafted in the first two rounds. To be more specific, the Day 1 QBs who go on to have the best pro careers complete at least 60% of their passes and start at least 37 games in college.

      This theory has been around a while and when I was researching it last week, I stumbled across a similar article from 2007, so I’m not exactly sure how far back it dates.

      Using college completion percentage makes a lot of sense. It seems intrinsically true that a QB that has trouble completing passes in college is also going to struggle with his accuracy in the NFL.

      The number of starts is another strong stat. For a prospect to start 37 games, he basically needs to be a three-year starter. This indicates that he’s been around the block a few times, is reasonably durable and opponents have had a chance to game plan for him (and he’s still completed a high percentage of passes). It also seems reasonable to think that most good NFL quarterbacks wouldn’t have to be a backup for more than one season while in college.

      Let’s take a look at the QBs selected in the first and second rounds of the ten drafts spanning from 1998-2007 to see if this theory still holds water.

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Are the Redskins still in the market for a QB at No. 4?

      April 19, 2010 /

      The Redskins are trying hard to convince teams that they plan on taking a quarterback with the No. 4 overall pick in next week’s draft, says NBCSports.com. But with Donovan McNabb on the roster, that’s going to be a tough sell for Washington.

      After acquiring McNabb, the Redskins’ biggest need became offensive tackle. (If you want to get technical, offensive tackle has always been their biggest need.) And with Russell Okung, Trent Williams, Bryan Bulaga and Anthony Davis all receiving first round grades, Washington will have plenty to choose from as long as it stays within the first 10-12 picks.

      The hope for the Redskins is that some team is in love with Jimmy Clausen and wants him bad enough to trade up to the No. 4 spot to get him. It would be an ideal situation for Washington if it could trade down and still wind up selecting one of the top tackles, all while acquiring more draft picks in the process. Of course, if they miss out on taking one of the four tackles mentioned above, guys like Vladimir Ducasse and Bruce Campbell (two players with late first round, early second round grades) should still be available depending on how far the Redskins trade back.

      Presumably, the Raiders, Bills and Jaguars would all be interested in Clausen. But whether or not any of them would be willing to trade up to get him is the question. The Raiders hold the eighth overall pick, while the Bills have the ninth and the Jags have the 10th. Unless the Browns surprise everyone and snag him at No. 7, Clausen should be there for the Raiders at No. 8 and they don’t have to trade up to get him. Of course, that’s where the gamble comes in, because either the Bills or the Jaguars could trade up to No. 4 in order to get ahead of Oakland.

      If the Redskins can’t find a trade partner, then they’re not fooling anybody by saying they intend to draft a quarterback with the fourth pick. They’re currently trying to sign McNabb to an extension and therefore, taking Clausen at No. 4 would be a waste.

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      NFL

      Jaguars need Clausen, Bryant to fall in order to shop pick

      April 16, 2010 /

      Jaguars GM Gene Smith confirmed on Thursday that the team has been shopping the 10th overall pick in this month’s draft. The Jags don’t have a second round pick and would like to recoup one in a trade, but in order for them to have success swapping picks on draft day they’ll need a couple of predominant prospects to fall.

      Jacksonville is still very much a candidate to select Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen, although it appears that they’d rather trade the pick and stick with incumbent starter David Garrard. But if Clausen falls past Oakland and Buffalo, then there may be a team in the teens that would be willing to move up in order to snag the potential franchise quarterback.

      The same could be said for receiver Dez Bryant, whose stock is apparently falling but could still be a hot commodity on draft day. Bryant is clearly the best receiving prospect in the draft, although his character concerns have scared away multiple teams. Denver seems like the most practical landing place for Bryant and considering they pick 11th, the Jags could shop their pick to a team that wants to get ahead of the Broncos.

      Perhaps the most intriguing team that may want to deal with the Jaguars is the 49ers, who have two first round picks (No. 13 and No. 17). If they have doubts about Alex Smith, they might pull the trigger on Clausen by moving ahead of the Broncos and Dolphins. Of course, they could always stay put as well and hope Clausen falls to them at No. 13.

      A couple of teams could be interested in Bryant, including the Titans (No. 16), Cowboys (No. 27) and/or Bengals (No. 21). All it takes is one team to deal with and if both Clausen and Bryant fall, the Jaguars’ phones might be ringing off the hook once they get on the clock.


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      NFL, NFL Draft

      Seriously interested or smokescreen? Browns talk to Rams about No. 1 pick.

      April 15, 2010 /

      ESPN.com reports that the Browns have had discussions with the Rams about the No. 1 overall pick.

      “We’ve actually played a little phone tag,” Heckert said. “We’ve talked to them throughout the process and have been at workouts with the Rams people and kind of mentioned stuff to them. Just talks. We’ve talked to all the teams ahead of us and all the teams immediately behind us.”

      Mike Holmgren is a big believer in Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, although he was quick to suggest that the Browns will likely go in another direction.

      “He’s the whole package,” Browns president Mike Holmgren said. “Whoever gets him is going to be a lucky team.”

      “Absolutely we love the player, as do a lot of people, but in the real world we’re probably going to go in a different direction there.”

      Teams rarely (if ever) divulge their draft plans, so it’s interesting that Holmgren would talk up Bradford this much. He must know that there’s no way the Browns will move up to get him, so it’s wise for him to talk Bradford up in order to generate more interest in the No. 7 pick.

      Think about it, if Holmgren makes other teams believe that he’s interested in taking a quarterback that high, he might be able to get a package deal for the seventh pick and move out of the top 10. Jimmy Clausen will presumably be available at No. 7 and if teams are worried about the Browns taking him, then maybe they’ll be willing to part with extra picks in order to jump ahead of the Raiders, Bills and Jaguars – three teams that may be interested in Clausen and that pick directly behind Cleveland.

      Holmgren has been known to deal first round picks in the past, so if he wants to do it again this year, he needs to use Clausen as bait. If he’s able to find a trade partner for the seventh overall pick, then he swap first rounders, pick up a cornerback, safety or offensive tackle later in the first and then still get a quarterback like Colt McCoy in the second. It makes sense – if he can find a trade partner, that is.


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      NFL, NFL Draft

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