{"id":405930,"date":"2011-04-28T22:13:22","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T22:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/28\/top-pick-in-draft-likely-to-be-qb-again-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-28T22:13:22","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T22:13:22","slug":"top-pick-in-draft-likely-to-be-qb-again-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/top-pick-in-draft-likely-to-be-qb-again-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Top pick in draft likely to be QB again (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP)\u2014The last two drafts were topped by quarterbacks and that trend figures to continue with Cam Newton.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Quarterback Sam Bradford of the Oklahoma Sooners holds up a St. Louis Rams jersey as he stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after Bradford was picked numer 1 overall by the Rams during the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 25, 2009 in New York City.
(Photo by Jeff Zelevansky\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Not that there\u2019s a consensus he will be a franchise quarterback the way Sam Bradford<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> appears to be in St. Louis and the Lions believe Matthew Stafford<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> will be.<\/p>\n

Opinions are split about the Heisman Trophy winner who led Auburn to the national title. He certainly doesn\u2019t appear as NFL-ready as other quarterbacks who played in pro-style systems in college.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Place your vote on Grudge Judge<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re dealing with Cam Newton from a spread offense, who has \u2026 a lot of physical talent,\u201d 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said. \u201cHe\u2019s got arm strength, he\u2019s got athleticism, he\u2019s got Ben Roethlisberger<\/a>(notes)<\/a>-type<\/span> stature in the pocket. He\u2019s a piece of clay that needs to be molded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mental part of the game with the system that he\u2019s in, No. 1, he hasn\u2019t played at that level for a long time. That\u2019s going to be a work in progress, but he should get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t sound like a can\u2019t-miss candidate. Nor do the other highly rated quarterbacks: Missouri\u2019s Blaine Gabbert, Washington\u2019s Jake Locker, Florida\u2019s State\u2019s Christian Ponder, TCU\u2019s Andy Dalton, Arkansas\u2019 Ryan Mallett and Nevada\u2019s Colin Kaepernick.<\/p>\n

But with such a heavy need for quarterbacks throughout the league, many of them will go quickly, either Thursday night in the first round or Friday, when the second and third rounds are held.<\/p>\n

Carolina, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Arizona, San Francisco, Tennessee and Washington all have needs at the critical position. And that\u2019s just teams selecting in the top 10.<\/p>\n

Throw in Minnesota (12th overall), Miami (15th), Jacksonville (16th), and Seattle (25th) all could look at quarterbacks early in the proceedings. Hey, even Indianapolis might decide this is a good year to begin grooming an eventual successor for Peyton Manning<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span> That strategy worked pretty well for Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> replacing Brett Favre<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> after a long apprenticeship.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re dealing with a bunch of different elements there,\u201d Baalke said. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to fit everybody\u2019s offense. It\u2019s up to the evaluators to decide who fits the system they want to run the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a half-dozen quarterbacks might hear their names in the first round, it\u2019s entirely possible only three will go Thursday. Many teams believe they can find their starter in the second round or even later. Consider that Tom Brady<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Drew Brees<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Chad Henne<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Colt McCoy<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> David Garrard<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Matt Hasselbeck<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Matt Schaub<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Matt Cassel<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> are starters who didn\u2019t go in the first round.<\/p>\n

Locker is an interesting case because he was projected as a top-five pick had he left Washington after his junior year. He stayed, had injuries and a mediocre season, dropping his stock. But a strong series of workouts impressed personnel directors and scouts, and now he\u2019s expected to be the third quarterback off the board, after Newton and Gabbert.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re taking a look at every quarterback, you\u2019re spending a lot of time evaluating everybody,\u201d Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. \u201cSometimes there may be a quarterback who throws out of the shotgun formation and you\u2019ve got to project him. What can he do underneath the center?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may have a quarterback that runs a short passing game, not a very sophisticated type of offense. You have to go through all the scenarios that you normally do and project them in your system. A lot of times, you have to adjust your system to the talent of the quarterback, and that\u2019s normally what you have to do in the National Football League because you are not going to get that perfect guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

View article:
\nTop pick in draft likely to be QB again (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP)\u2014The last two drafts were topped by quarterbacks and that trend figures to continue with Cam Newton. Quarterback Sam Bradford of the Oklahoma Sooners holds up a St. Louis Rams jersey as he stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after Bradford was picked numer 1 overall by the Rams during the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 25, 2009 in New York City. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":405931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-405930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"\nTop pick in draft likely to be QB again (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/top-pick-in-draft-likely-to-be-qb-again-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Top pick in draft likely to be QB again (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"NEW YORK (AP)\u2014The last two drafts were topped by quarterbacks and that trend figures to continue with Cam Newton. 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