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Draft King Analysis

October 13, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com

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With the Dolphins thrilling win over the Jets last night, Miami moved to 2-3. And, perhaps more importantly, the team moved to 2-0 on the year with Chad Henne as the team's starting QB. Say what you will about the Wildcat formation, but with the right personnel it can be quite effective, even on the NFL level. It worked very well for the Dolphins last night, even in their game-winning drive. Between Henne and Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams and Pat White, it became tough to keep everything straight as a viewer.

This is good news for fast QBs still in college football. White ended up being a second-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and other players with similar skillsets to him (like the Jets' Brad Smith) could see their value increase.

It's noteworthy that Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead threw four interceptions in Saturday's home loss against Alabama. In Snead's defense, he was facing one of the most talented defenses in the country, but hopefully that game will help him to decide to return to Ole Miss for his senior season. I feel strongly that it would be his best move, at least from a football standpoint.

Jake Locker
Jake Locker may be a first round pick in the NFL Draft. (Icon SMI)
Another potentially draft-eligible quarterback in Washington's Jake Locker. He is having a strong 2009 season (after an injury prematurely ended his 2008 season), and Locker certainly has NFL size. Locker's completion percentage has increased in each of his three seasons with the Huskies, and while 57.1 percent (his 2009 percentage as of now) isn't particularly high, he has the look of a guy who could be a solid pro. I'm not sure if Locker would be a first round pick if he came out early, and where he'd go also depends on the other quarterbacks in the draft, but his stock is on the rise if he does opt to leave early for the NFL.

What will be interesting is to see how potential junior entries into the 2010 Draft (which includes Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, a redshirt junior) will match up with guys from the senior class. Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour and Cincinnati's Tony Pike both have strong pro potential, and there could be some very tough decisions on draft weekend for teams looking for a young signal-caller.

There is plenty of talk about the Jaguars considering taking Florida QB Tim Tebow, perhaps even with their first-round pick, because of what he would mean both as a quarterback and also as a regional draw. I don't buy it -- maybe in round two, but stretching to use a top 10 or top 15 pick on him would surprise me.

There are issues with Jacksonville as far as attendance goes, but drafting Tebow in an attempt to boost attendance would likely only work for a short period of time unless Tebow is able to find success out of the box. How that situation plays out is likely going to depend on how the Jaguars do this season, and the team's 41-0 humbling loss at Seattle certainly didn't do any favors for the incumbents.

Here is a list of franchises that might be looking to draft a quarterback in rounds one or two of the 2010 Draft: Buffalo, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Denver (though they are 5-0 with Kyle Orton), Oakland, Washington, Minnesota, Carolina, San Francisco, Seattle, and St. Louis. That's 12 of the 32 teams in the NFL. Some may fill perceived needs via free agency or by elevating a player already on the roster, though there may also be teams (like the Dolphins with Pat White in April) that don't have a perceived QB need that draft one anyway in rounds 1-2.


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