Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Buyer Beware!

Here’s a question. Why all the hype about Brady Quinn? I gotta tell you with the NFL draft coming up this weekend I’m not seeing it. While I do believe that there are some can’t miss players in this draft (Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson to name a few) I also believe that Quinn is not one of those players.

A team that selects Quinn in the top five of this year’s draft is not only going to have to pay him top pick money but top quarterback pick money. That’s a lot of money for a guy who is indecisive, has a slow release, can’t throw the deep ball consistently, and was sacked an average of 22 times a season at Notre Dame.

I guess Quinn is your man if you want a guy who can’t win a big game but can post some impressive numbers in the bench press. As long as your team doesn’t plan on suiting up against anyone better than, say, USC or winning a game bigger than a college bowl Quinn could be your man. However, if your team has bigger aspirations then you might want to take a pass on the former Irish QB.

I don’t want to come across too harsh on the guy but I wouldn’t want my team to draft him (and the Dolphins could use a young quarterback). Here’s why. Quinn should be labeled as a “big risk” guy instead of a top five guy. If he is a can’t miss pick then explain to me why he didn’t have a better college record? Explain to me why Charlie Weiss has to try to sell the kid?

Peyton Manning was a can’t miss quarterback. However, Brady Quinn reminds me more of Ryan Leaf than Peyton Manning at this point. He is what he is, a solid college quarterback who has a lot to prove in order to live up to the massive hype he as already received.

Making a bad decision with your number one pick in the draft in any other position may set you back a few games but making a bad decision at quarterback with that number one pick will set you back a few seasons.

Saturday morning an NFL franchise is going to have to answer this question and then make the right choice about their future. If it weren’t for the Notre Dame hype machine would Brady Quinn be considered as one of the draft’s top choices?

Remember in the NFL you don’t always get what you pay for.

Bring your thoughts on this post and the NFL draft into the forum.