The biggest question mark in the 2010 NFL Draft is Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who’s viewed by some as a future franchise quarterback and by others as a guy who will need to move to another position if he’ll ever make it as a pro.
Count Tony Dungy as emphatically believing that Tebow will be an NFL superstar.
Appearing Friday morning on The Dan Patrick Show, Dungy said he believes the combination of leadership and athletic ability that Tebow has will make him an elite NFL quarterback -- and more than make up for any questions about his throwing motion.
“As a coach, I always like winners,” Dungy said. “Tim Tebow doesn’t have the classic throwing motion, he doesn’t have the accuracy, maybe, right now that some people are looking for, but I think when he gets into a pro system that really stresses throwing the ball accurately, the big thing is he makes the people around him better. And he’s won. ... I think he’s going to be a great player in the NFL.”
Dungy said that if he were running a team with a Top 10 pick, he’d take Tebow. Patrick then asked Dungy who he’d pick for his team if he could have any of the top college quarterbacks, including Washington’s Jake Locker, Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’s Colt McCoy. Dungy didn’t hesitate and said, “I’m taking Tebow.”
One of the knocks on Tebow is that during his stellar career in Florida’s spread offense, he’s never been asked to make the kinds of throws that quarterbacks in prototypical NFL offenses have to make. But Dungy said a good coach can take advantage of Tebow’s strengths.
“Is it ever going to be Peyton Manning-ish? Maybe not,” Dungy said of Tebow’s throwing motion. “But I just think what you can do with him, the problems he creates for a defense, the combination of leadership and what he’s shown, if I have him, defenses have to prepare for a totally different offense. ... He’s going to give teams the most headaches getting ready for him.”
Dungy also said he thinks the Titans are making the right move by starting Vince Young over Kerry Collins, and that if he were the coach of the Chiefs he’d get rid of Larry Johnson.