No. 3 QB? Those in the know give Heisman stiff-arm to Smith
INDIANAPOLIS -- So JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn are the top two quarterbacks in this year's draft. My question: Who's the third?
I can tell you who isn't: Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith. The Ohio State quarterback wasn't mentioned once by scouts, general managers and coaches I polled when asking who's the next best thing to Russell and Quinn.
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| When will Troy Smith get the call during April's NFL Draft? Depends on who you talk to. (Getty Images) |
Anyway, I think you get the idea: There will be no bronze medal in this year's draft for Smith.
So who does that leave? Well, you can start with Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards. He was the most popular choice of the 10-12 people I consulted, with one AFC offensive coordinator so smitten with the guy he had him graded as the top quarterback overall.
You heard me. Ahead of Russell. Ahead of Quinn. Ahead of everyone.
There there's Michigan State's Drew Stanton. And Houston's Kevin Kolb. And BYU's John Beck. All were mentioned as possible third-place finishers in a draft that is knee-deep at the position.
"There are more quarterbacks in this draft that have a chance to play and have a chance to star in this league than I've seen in a number of years," said Detroit offensive coordinator Mike Martz.
Russell and Quinn are at the top of that list for obvious reasons. Both were productive. Both were accurate. Both were successful. And both should be gone by the time teams in the middle of the first round step up. That means we're looking for the next rung ... and you drop into the bottom half of the second round or the beginning of the third to find that individual.
Edwards is the popular choice despite a disappointing performance at Stanford, where he threw 36 touchdown passes and 33 interceptions and ended each of his four seasons injured.
"He got killed there," said one scout. "I don't penalize him for playing with a bad team and a bad offensive line. The way I see it, he's this year's Jay Cutler."
Cutler was the third quarterback taken a year ago, and he was taken with the 11th choice. That's not going to happen here. Don't look for anyone to reach for the draft's third quarterback until the middle of the second round ... and that might be stretching things.
"It's your choice of flavors," said an NFC head coach.
