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National Football League
Draft King Mailbag
December 2, 2006
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.
From: Brian D'Amato
To: loupickney@gmail.com
Date: Dec 1, 2006 12:37 PM
Subject: Mock Draft
Mr. Pickney,
Asides from Brady Quinn and even Brian Brohm, doesnt the presence of veteran QB's such as Byron Leftwich, Jake Plummer and others drive down the need to draft for a QB? Wont second or third tier QB's like Drew Stanton, Trent Edwards and others suffer from this?
I am always saddened when juniors/red-shirt sophomores enter the draft and are either selected in the later rounds (4th-7th rounds) or not drafted all, and thus fail to make a roster. I always thing to myself: these kids should have only left college if they were a lock to be a Day 1 pick. Do you agree with my analysis that a senior year is worth more than a season of uncertainty? And the "I need money" excuse isnt legit in my minds either.
Where do you see the Jets going with their 1st round pick? I really give them credit for not being suckered into giving up a boat load of picks for Reggie Bush and focusing on fixing up the offensive line. Not only did they get a couple of good OL players, but also Leon Washington and Drew Coleman made an impact and the organization really likes Kellen Clemens.
Your Thoughts?
Lou: There are varying schools of thought on the need for drafting QBs in the first round. Realistically, a team needs to have a steady QB situation for the next season, and that doesn't usually coorelate with a rookie QB taking the helm.
There are medium-level free agent QBs out there every year -- last year teams had Drew Brees, Aaron Brooks, and Daunte Culpepper to choose from, among others. Usually a team that picks up a QB in those circumstances won't snag a first round QB, but there are others that look to the future (think Arizona and Tennessee from this past off-season) despite having QBs in-house who appear to be the incumbents in the starting spot.
As for guys like Drew Stanton and Trent Edwards, who may fall to the second round (or below), I think it takes the pressure off a bit to not be tabbed as a "first round pick" and thus expected to perform immediately. To be sure, they're rather go in the first round, with the longer contracts and more guaranteed money that sits there, but a team with an aging QB can take a second-round QB to back up a grizzled veteran, like Minnesota did with Alabama State's Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson has been quietly learning behind the scenes, ready to potentially take the reigns in 2007 from 38-year-old Brad Johnson.
Until Div. I-A college football players begin receiving a piece of the multi-million dollar TV contracts, I think the desire to be financially compensated beyond a free college education is more than reasonable. If a player legit has a shot to be a first round pick, I think it can be well worth it to turn pro.
The problem is when players receive bad advice about going pro from agents, family, leeches, etc. who don't have a realistic grasp on their situation. This happens far more in college basketball, but from time to time guys will go pro in the NFL and end up not being drafted. The real problem is that the NCAA revokes a player's eligibility if they test the NFL waters, since the NCAA and NFL are in cahoots. That's why Mike Williams got screwed over when he tried to get in on the Maurice Clarett challenge; the NCAA couldn't allow an exception for him and allow potential precedent to be set.
I don't like it, but they didn't ask me. And NCAA football has problems beyond its shady collusion with the NFL, in particular with the BCS mess. There is no NCAA Div. I-A football championship. There's a BCS Title, but to call it a national championship title is silly. It's more akin to the WWE Intercontinental Title than anything. But I digress...
The Jets need a running back in a major way. They've patchworked the position this year, but if the Jets can land Kenny Irons or Marshawn Lynch (or, against all odds, Adrian Peterson), they should be in a good position for 2007.
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