NFL Draft At Radio City Music Hall, New York
By Anthony “Mini-Kiper” Carillo-Football Reporters Online Contributing Writer/Radio Host
1) Andrew Luck-Stanford University/6’4’’/234 Lbs./4.67 40/Senior
Andrew Luck is the most complete and NFL ready player in this year’s NFL draft. He is projected to go first overall to the Indianapolis Colts to replace Peyton Manning. He is a tough, durable quarterback with great pocket awareness, and his release is quick and effective. He has the necessary speed to take off and run if necessary, and he makes few mistakes on the field. If he does go to the Colts at number 1, he will have big shoes to fill, but over time we will watch him develop into the franchise quarterback we all think he will become.
2) Robert Griffin III-Baylor University/6’2’’/223 Lbs./4.41 40/Junior
Griffin is one of those players that teams will have wished they would have taken in this year’s draft. RG3 has blazing speed, as well as a very accurate arm. At one point during his 2011 Heisman trophy season he had more touchdowns than incompletions, and that was 5 games into the season. Just like Luck, Griffin has excellent pocket awareness, he can throw on the run, and he also has a very strong arm to complete the deep passes. Griffin is someone that will make an immediate impact on whatever teams he goes too, and if he can stay healthy in the league, look for him to be one of those once in a decade type playmakers.
3) Brandon Weeden-Oklahoma State University/6’4’’/218 Lbs./Senior
Most people would have put Ryan Tannehill as their number 3 quarterback for this year’s draft, but not me. Weeden led Oklahoma State to a 11-1 season, and caped it off by beating Andrew Luck’s Stanford team in the fiesta bowl. Weeden is 28 years old, which will raise questions about his longevity in the NFL, but never the less he still is a great quarterback. He has a strong, accurate arm, as well as great decision makings. This past season he completed 72.3% of his passes and throwing 37 touchdowns to only 13 interceptions. I believe that Weeden may sneak into the first round, but he will definitely be off the board in the second round.
4) Ryan Tannehill-Texas A&M University/6’4’’/221 Lbs./4.65 40/Redshirt Senior
Tannehill started his college football career as a wide receiver for the Aggies, before switching to quarterback. He is a dynamic athlete at quarterback, who has the quarterback size and speed to be an effective player in the NFL. He has a great drop back, and has a good feel for pressure in the pocket. He can extend any play with his legs, and he has improved greatly on accuracy and arm strength. The only question mark for this quarterback is that he only played a short time as a starting quarterback, so if a team does take him in the first round, they are going to have to coach him the right way if he is to grow and mature into a starting quarterback in the NFL. My opinion is that he is very over rated, but with a lot of teams with big needs at the quarterback position, he will most likely get drafted in the first round, possibly the top 10.
5) Nick Foles-Arizona University/6’5’’/243 Lbs./5.14 40/Redshirt Senior
Foles has been a very effective starter for Arizona, where he started for 3 years at quarterback. He has the prototypical size for the NFL quarterback, and has the arm strength to get the ball where it needs to go. He has decent pocket pressure and can elude the defenders in the pocket, but does not have that great speed to extend the play for long. He is a perfect quarterback for a team with a West Coast offensive game plan because he is very accurate in the short to intermediate throws. The only down side to Foles is his mobility, because in the NFL mobility is big, even more so when you have fast and athletic linebackers and defensive lineman coming after you. I see Foles getting drafted somewhere in the first few rounds, and will be a good backup in the beginning of his career.
6) Brock Osweiler-Arizona State University/6’7’’/242 Lbs./4.83 40/Junior
Brock Osweiler is a tree that can throw the football. At his height at 6’7’’, he is taller than most of the lineman in the NFL, so field vision is not a problem. He declared early into the draft after his junior season due to the huge overhaul of coaches at ASU, but he still has 2 years of starting quarterback under his belt. He has a very compact and quick release, and throws the ball in a very natural throwing motion. At his height, he has fantastic arm strength, comparable to Joe Flacco when he came out of Delaware. The only knock on Osweiler is his decision making. He has shown throughout his college career that the more he throws and gets into a rhythm, the more he can believe that he can fit the football where in reality he cannot, which causes him to throw interceptions.
7) Kirk Cousins-Michigan State University/6’3’’/214 Lbs./4.93 40/Redshirt Senior
Cousins was a three year starter as well as a three year captain for the Spartans, so you know he has great leadership. He played in a Michigan State offense which is similar to an NFL type offense, so the transition to the next level for him will not be as drastic compared to other quarterbacks. He has the brains, the arm strength and accuracy to be productive at the next level. He is a quarterback that has not really shown us that he can be a playmaker, but more of a game manager, so teams will look to draft him possibly in the later rounds to be a backup for their team. He has decent speed to extend the play if he needed to, but don’t look for this quarterback to break off any 50 yard runs and run away from defenders anytime soon.
8) Ryan Lindley-San Diego State University/6’4’’/229 Lbs./4.90 40/Redshirt Senior
Ryan Lindley has one of the strongest arms in this year’s draft for quarterbacks. He can make every throw on the field with ease, and is not afraid to throw the ball into the tight spaces. He has decent mobility and can throw on the run accurately, as well as he can be very accurate with the deep throws as well. Lindley has had some questions with his accuracy, and whatever team drafts him will need to work on that before he can become a solid starting quarterback. He will most likely get drafted in the later rounds as a development project, and he will sit behind an established starter as he continues to grow and mature as a passer.
9) Kellen Moore-Boise State University/6’0’’/197 Lbs./4.94 40/Senior
Moore has proven to all of us during his career at Boise State that he is a winner. He set the record for most wins as a starting quarterback with 45. He has fantastic pocket awareness, and has a quick release. He showed us that he is a very accurate passer and does not make a lot of mistakes when throwing the football. Moore is just below six feet tall and has some trouble throwing on the run, so that will hinder his game greatly as he tries to make the transition over the NFL. He also does not have that arm strength to drive the football down the field. Moore will most likely get picked up in the 6th or 7th round, but any team will be very happy because he is a very smart quarterback and spends a lot of time in the film room studying up on opponents.
10) Russell Wilson-Wisconsin University/5’11’’/204 Lbs./4.55 40/Senior
Wilson is this year’s big-time question mark at quarterback. Unlike those who have held this title in the past, Wilson is a stellar passer who shows arm strength and accuracy when he is able to deliver the ball without a problem. He transferred to Wisconsin after spending three years at North Carolina State, and has the football intelligence that in just a short period a time learned the whole offense and was the Badgers opening day starter. He is a very accurate passer who has great mechanics. He has great speed to elude defenders, and can throw very accurately on the run. The only problem with Wilson is his size. At 5’11’’ he is very undersized to be a quarterback in the NFL, and a lot of team will pass on him due to that.
11) Chandler Harnish-Northern Illinois University/6’2’’/219 Lbs./4.76 40/Senior
Harnish is being compared to Tim Tebow’s style of game, but he is not as much of a bruising runner like Tebow. He has great speed, and has a decent arm, and does his best work on the run outside of the pocket.
12) Case Keenum-Houston University/6’1’’/208 Lbs./4.82 40/Senior
Keenum set pretty much every passing record in college football. He is an accurate passer and has very good football intelligence. Keenum being at 6’1’’ will cause teams to pass on him due to his height.
13) B.J. Coleman-Tennessee-Chattanooga University/6’3’’/220 Lbs./4.93 40/Senior
Very quick set up while passing and is a good passer out of the pocket. He needs to work on scanning the whole field and finding his second and third receivers.
14) Austin Davis-Southern Miss University/6’2’’/219 Lbs./4.76 40/Senior
He has quality arm strength and accuracy. Some team may take him in the later rounds to put on the roster as a developmental quarterback.
15) G.J. Kinne-Tulsa University/6’2’’/215 Lbs./4.69 40/Senior
Kinne preyed on weaker competition, but he has the physical tools to play quarterback at the next level. He needs to work on his accuracy and his footwork.
16) Dan Persa-Northwestern University/5’11’’/212 Lbs./4.70 40/Senior
Persa is a very tough quarterback, but his lack of size is going to hurt his draft stock. He did not look good in the East-West shrine game.
17) Dominique Davis-East Carolina University/6’3’’/215 Lbs./4.70 40/Senior
Davis is an athletic quarterback and someone who can make plays, but he needs to work on his pocket passing skills. Some team may take a chance on him in the later rounds.
18) Jacory Harris-University of Miami/6’3’’/203 Lbs./4.72 40/Senior
Harris has had a shaky career at Miami, where his decision making has been below average. He ended his career with an awful four interception game against Boston College.
19) Jordan Jefferson-LSU/6’4’’/223 Lbs./4.65 40/Senior
Jefferson is a quarterback that some team will take a chance on to run their wildcat offense and other specialty sets.
20) John Brantley-University of Florida/6’3’’/217 Lbs./4.69 40/Senior
Brantley had an up and down career at Florida. He has good size and a strong arm to be a pocket passer.
21) Darron Thomas-Oregon University/6’3’’/220 Lbs./4.80 40/Junior
22) Aaron Corp-University of Richmond/6’4’’/215 Lbs./4.72 40/Senior
23) Jarrett Lee-LSU/6’2’’/206 Lbs./4.82 40/Senior
24) Patrick Witt-Yale University/6’4’’/225 Lbs./4.87 40/Senior
25) Tyler Hansen-Colorado University/6’1’’/218 Lbs./4.85 40/Senior
26) Matt Blanchard-Wisconsin-Whitewater/6’3’’/223 Lbs./4.70 40/Senior
27) Bo Levi Mitchell-Eastern Washington/6’0’’/198 Lbs./4.95 40/Senior
28) Zach Collaros-Cincinnati University/5’11’’/217 Lbs./4.66 40/Senior
29) Bryant Moniz-Hawaii/6’0’’/213 Lbs./4.79 40/Senior
30) Matt Simms-Tennessee/6’3’’/212 Lbs./4.87 40/Senior
