Cam Newton isn’t the only quarterback in this class under the microscope.
A pair of national columns came out Friday vivisecting the top quarterback prospects. This is a group that inspires a lot of differing opinions.
“All I will say is that I’m glad I don’t need a quarterback this year,” one NFC general manager told Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports. “If you’re telling me I have to bet the future of my team and my job on one of these guys, I would be really nervous. It’s tough enough to take a quarterback to begin with. But then you put these guys in the equation? No, thanks.”
With that comment setting the table, let’s take a tour to find out what others are saying.
One NFC executive on Ryan Mallett, via Albert Breer of NFL.com: “He’s the best pure passer in the draft, hands down. He’s Jeff George as a passer, Jim Everett as a person.” (That’s not a compliment.)
An AFC personnel man on Blaine Gabbert to Cole: “When I look at Gabbert, I think of Ken O’Brien. That’s the best you’ll probably get, and that’s not good enough if you’re at the top of the draft. Are you really going to build the future of your franchise around that guy? To me, it feels like settling.”
An AFC G.M. on Jake Locker to Cole: “Generally, if a quarterback isn’t accurate, you cross him off your list. It’s not worth the time. . . . The only way I’d take Locker is at the end of the second round.”
Breer on Locker: “I’ve heard everything ranging from, ‘He’s not a quarterback’ to ‘You can win with him.’'"
And finally, a G.M. on Mallet via Cole: “I would never take him. Never. He’s irresponsible, selfish and not a leader.”
Your 2011 rookie quarterback class, ladies and gentlemen!
Now we know that it only takes one team to fall in love and there are widely divergent views on this class.
But after three straight solid crops of rookies high in the draft, taking one this year feels more like a boom or bust proposition.