The NFL's Quarterback Future: Part 1

**Warning: This post is long. As in the Great Wall of China IS long or Jason Kidd IS old or Blake Lively IS attractive or Elijah Dukes IS a thug.**

Due to the evolution of the sport and the NFL itself, the most important position on a roster to fill, with no question in anyone's mind who has any remote knowledge of the sport, is the quarterback. By my count, in the last 15 years, only twice (and both times the teams' defenses were other-worldly) has a quarterback of mediocre skill level held Lombardi's trophy: Trent Dilfer with the Ravens in 2001 and Brad Johnson with the Buccaneers in 2003. Quarterbacks get paid ridiculous amounts of money to sling the ball down the field in complex offensive systems to ensure a machine-esque offense to attempt to conquer their respective division and attempt a run at the Super Bowl. To further emphasize the importance of the quarterback, blind side tackles are getting paid incredibly lucrative sums to protect the most important asset of the team from concussions and other injuries.

The NFL is, without a doubt, a quarterback's world. Who says they're going to Disney World when they win the Super Bowl? No, its not Darren Sharper on the Saints, its Drew Brees. You think Greg Jennings had a date with Minnie Mouse? Wrong sir. Aaron Rodgers was obviously the one headed to Walt's world of wonderment.

Now that we've established the painfully obvious, (Right now you are either nodding your head up and down or have just decided to leave the page before finishing reading this post because you are sick of reading things you already know.) let us delve into the slightly less known area of quarterbacks of the future. And by future I mean let's look at the quarterbacks drafted in the last two drafts (2010 and 2011) and figure what they heck they are capable of in the league. Half of these players have already seen action in mini-camps, preseason games, and, for a lucky few, actual NFL games. Some haven't even really talked to their coaches legally. Trust me, they've talked to their coaches but the legality of such an event is questionable due to the lockout.

Here are the list of the gunslingers of the future:

Quarterbacks Drafted in 2010 NFL Draft

Sam Bradford (1st overall, 2010, St. Louis)

Tim Tebow (25th overall, 2010, Denver)

Jimmy Clausen (48th overall, 2010, Carolina)

Colt McCoy (85th overall, 2010)

Mike Kafka (122nd overall, Philadelphia)

John Skelton (155th overall, Arizona)

Jonathan Crompton (168th overall, San Diego)

Rusty Smith (176th overall, Tennessee)

Dan LeFevour (181st overall, Chicago)

Joe Webb (199th overall, Minnesota)

Tony Pike (204th overall, Carolina)

Levi Brown (209th overall, Buffalo)

Sean Canfield (239th overall, New Orleans)

Zac Robinson (250th overall, New England)

Quarterbacks Drafted in 2011 NFL Draft

Cam Newton (1st overall, Carolina)

Jake Locker (8th overall, Tennessee)

Blaine Gabbert (10th overall, Jacksonville)

Christian Ponder (12th overall, Minnesota)

Andy Dalton (35th overall, Cincinnati)

Colin Kaepernick (36th overall, San Francisco)

Ryan Mallett (74th overall, New England)

Ricky Stanzi (135th overall, Kansas City)

T.J. Yates (152nd overall, Houston)

Nathan Enderle (160th overall, Chicago)

Tyrod Taylor (180th overall, Baltimore)

Greg McElroy (208th overall, New York Jets)

(Before I get any further into my analysis, I have a public admission to make: I was vehemently against the Rams drafting Sam Bradford with the #1 overall pick in last year's draft. I compared Bradford to Alex Smith. I am now admitting this in a public forum because I love the Rams and honestly, I'm glad I was 100% wrong. I apologize to Sam for doubting his abilities, the Rams' front office for thinking I knew more about football than they did, and my friend Bart for having to put up with multiple mindless debates on the topic. I'm just glad I was wrong. And yes, you can completely disregard anything I have to say from here on out due to the fact that I just admitted to making a huge blunder concerning football knowledge.)

So what I'm going to do is make some small analysis on each quarterback, by year, and then at the end I'll rank the 10 who I think will do the most in their NFL careers. Not who will do the most immediately or who will have the best upcoming season. The best CAREERS. I just wanted to make that clear so you don't think I'm a complete whack job when I compile the list.

(Note/Addendum: This post, due to its ridiculous length, will be split into three parts. First part is introduction and 2010 draft class, second part is 2011 draft class, third is top ten rankings.)

So with out further ado, as the Joker so eloquently said, "here... we.... GO."

Quarterback Class of 2010

Sam Bradford (1st overall, 2010, St. Louis) - Former Heisman winner, who put up ridiculous numbers at Oklahoma but was injured for most of his junior (final) year. Luckily for Rams fans, this didn't deter the front office from selecting him #1 overall. He then went on to win Rookie of the Year while transforming a 1-15 doormat to a 7-9 competitor. Had one of the several last-minute games the Rams were in gone the other way, they would have been a playoff team. Obviously the most talent pure quarterback we will discuss. Should have a fantastic career. I'm sorry I ever doubted you, please please please don't hate me.

Tim Tebow (25th overall, 2010, Denver) - A quarterback which stirs up great love, hatred, and controversy. Say what you want about him, but he does play extremely hard and is probably working his ass off to try and get the starting job in Denver. While vertern Kyle Orton seems to be who the franchise favors currently, Tebow isn't far behind. Luckily, Brady Quinn is his other competition which is kind of like saying Usain Bolt had other competition at the 2008 Olympics. He really needs to work on his accuracy but his ability to run does present some intrigue and wrinkles if the Broncos so chose to utilize these.

Jimmy Clausen (48th overall, 2010, Carolina) - I'm not sure what to say about Clausen. It pretty much speaks for itself when Carolina drafted Cam Newton 1st overall this year that they don't have much faith and him. And to make it more obvious, the Panthers drafted another quarterback in 2010 in Tony Pike. "We really like you Jimmy. So much so that we want you to compete for the starting job with another quarterback we drafted 1st overall. Love, the Panthers front office" Everyone said he would be great because he ran a complex pro-system at Notre Dame but if you haven't notice, the guy who was in charge of that system (Charlie Weis) is back working in college football at Florida. At this rate, that's probably where Jimmy is headed as well.

Colt McCoy (85th overall, 2010, Cleveland) - After relics Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace (seriously, this guy is still in the league? I remember watching him run on the blue turf in the Humanitarian Bowl with Iowa State like 15 years ago) both had a go, McCoy got his chance to start 8 games last year and certainly raised some eyebrows. While he did throw 6 TDs to 9 INTs, he did at least reach a 60% completion percentage. While this isn't stellar, it is a solid step for a rookie in the right direction. With newly annoited Madden cover star Peyton Hillis in the backfield, McCoy might present a plausible option for the Browns. He's an extremely hard-worker and, at times, reminds you of the "Drew Brees as a small guy who people doubted but ended up winning the Super Bowl" kind of story. But if this is to happen, he'll probably have to get traded. Because let's be honest, though the Cavaliers just won the Draft Lottery, that town is cursed something awful.

Mike Kafka (122nd overall, Philadelphia) - To be honest, I didn't even know Kafka got drafted. Though he shredded my beloved Gophers' defense for something like 300 rushing yards one time, that's like saying he beat a 6th grade girl's basketball team by himself. Not really surprising. Anyways, he took no snaps in an actual game last year and with Vick at the helm, he won't be seeing many in the future. Unless the run-happy Vick returns, injures himself, Kevin Kolb is either traded or also goes down with an injury (1 is more likely than 2), and the starting spot falls into Kafka's lap. His arm was never too impressive in college but spending time on the scout team may have developed some talents were aren't used to seeing. He must continue to hope for a Metamorphosis if he ever wants to see an NFL field (get it? badump ching!).

John Skelton (155th overall, Arizona) - In order to illustrate how bad the QB problems are in the desert let me tell you this. John Skelton, a graduate of Fordham, actually started 4 games. Probably more surprising is the fact that the Cardinals somehow won 2 of those games. But it certainly wasn't because of Skelton. He posted a 48% completion percentage to accompany 2 TDs, 2 INTs, and an awesome 62.3 passer rating. Hopefully, Skelton has seen the last starts of what I'm sure will be an illustrious bench-warming NFL career.

Jonathan Crompton (168th overall, San Diego) - I saw Crompton play a few games in college. My cornea are still recovering from the burn. I would put it somewhere between looking straight at Medusa and watching William Hung sing. Needless to say, he is no longer with the Chargers. But has somehow found himself on the Patriots roster. I thought Belichick was a genius. I'm going to start second-guessing his every move from now on.

Rusty Smith (176th overall, Tennessee) - Several things of note when talking about ole Rusty here. One, I actually saw him play in person in college. Because Minnesota loves to schedule extremely challenging non-conference foes, we had the pleasure of welcoming southern football creampuff...er.... I mean powerhouse Florida Atlantic to the Metrodome. Yes, ole Rusty played at Florida Atlantic. Can anyone tell me what city that's in? (Insert first Florida city that pops into your head here) Two, he actually started an NFL game last year. You read that right. He has an NFL start. It goes without saying that the Titans were shutout in that game. With the Titans taking Jake Locker in the 1st round this year and 6 quarterbacks listed on the current roster, ole Rusty's days on the squad could be numbered. Then again, if we were to continue where this story was going, he'd probably win the starting job in a shorten training camp and lead the Titans to the AFC South title.

Dan LeFevour (181st overall, Chicago) - Honestly, after watching a few of his college games, I thought LeFevour might be a solid NFL quarterback straddling the good backup to starting for a really crappy team line. I liked his abilities but his current situation is a curious one. While drafted by Chicago and waived, he was picked up by the always entertaining Bengals. Currently, Palmer wants out so the starting job there is opening auditions, though this year's second round pick Andy Dalton may be on the fast track to the starting spot. It will be interesting to see if the Bengals throw a rookie straight into the fire or let a backup, maybe LeFevour, get knocked around while Dalton figures out the offense. So Dan could be headed for a career as a sacrificial calf. Would that make it on Dirty Jobs?

Joe Webb (199th overall, Minnesota) - You can't really make up these stories. Due to Brett Favre's corpse literally being tossed around on the icy field of TCF Bank Stadium, and a coaching change which meant Tavaris Jackson was no longer coach's pet, Joe Webb somehow stumbled into three starts. Yep, that's right, a rookie quarterback from UAB started three NFL games last year. While it probably wasn't the ugliest three-game stretch of quarterbacking in league history, it wasn't anything to instill confidence in Webb going forward. Though he did "lead" the team to surprise victory over the Eagles, Webb didn't really increase the value of his stock as an athletic scrabbling quarterback with a sub-par arm and little hopes for a future in the NFL.

Tony Pike (204th overall, Carolina) - I originally thought that Tony Pike might be a late round steal as a solid NFL backup. While he still could be on that path (he started a game for the Panthers when Clausen got injured), he is getting buried in the strange depth chart that is the Panthers quarterback situation. With the franchise putting all its chips on the flush draw that is Cam Newton, Pike's future is greeting with uncertainty. I think he has capable skills but probably not to the same extend as the Heisman winner. I'm sure you'll all be waiting on pins and needles to discover Pike's future.

Levi Brown (209th overall, Buffalo) - Alas, finally a quarterback I have yet to see take a college or pro snap either on TV or in-person. Though it shouldn't really surprise anyone because he played his college ball at Troy and scored a few pity snaps at the end of the last game of the season for the Bills last year. I literally know absolutely nothing about this guy which doesn't bode well for his future because if he was any good I would have heard of him. The name does have kind of a ring to it though, like it should be in a song about some southern honky-tonk. Just picture it: it's about a young man, approximately 20 years old, who is a traveling guitarist, kind of a mix between Johnny B Goode and the guy in the Devil Went Down To Georgia. He meets a girl who he falls in love with but she leaves him for reasons unknown. Then they met again several states away and several years later in a run down old bar. The meeting gets emotional. She admits to being scared due to her abandonment issues as a child and fleeing him. He convinces her to try love. They get married, have children, and restore the bar they met in to its old original glory. Some one please write this song and title it, "Levi Brown and the Girl in Town."

Sean Canfield (239th overall, New Orleans) - The snaps I saw this guy take in college were slightly encouraging though I don't think his accuracy is good enough to keep him afloat in the NFL. I wouldn't mind hanging around as a backup for the Saints though. Two interesting perspectives from quarterbacks Drew Brees and Chase Daniel. Plus, there's always a chance you get to earn a ring by doing absolutely nothing like Chase did two years ago. It's not the worst situation to be in. And since those are the three quarterbacks on the roster, Canfield seems as though he can stick around for a while if he's satisfied with that role. But those brutal off-season workouts that Brees is putting together might be perturbing him ever so slightly.

Zac Robinson (250th overall, New England) - The last quarterback taken in 2010, Zac Robinson was one of those guys who put up pretty good college stats that were inflated beyond belief by playing in the "The only team that plays defense is Nebraska and they are no longer going to be here" Conference (TOTTPDINATANLGTBH Conference for short). Or more popularly known as the Big XII. Though drafted by the Pats (a decent situation for any likely journeyman quarterback), he was released, then signed to Seattle's practice squad, then activated by the 'Hawks, then released, then claimed off waivers by the Texans, then released, then claimed by the Lions. I guess this kind of treatment is to be expected when you're the 250th overall pick and the last quarterback taken in the draft. He must be building some serious abandonment issues right now.

To summarize thus far, outside of Bradford, and maaaaaaybe McCoy/Tebow, the class is pretty much weak sauce. So if these are the guys that we have to look forward to in passing pockets across the league, both QB and TV ratings could get ugly. Though I'm sure the lockout won't have anything to do with the latter....