QB Rankings Updated

I just made some major changes to the quarterback rankings. You may not notice them at first glance, as the actual rankings didn't change, but I lowered my grade on Matthew Stafford to the 2nd round - only slightly ahead of Josh Freeman.

Upon a superficial glance at Stafford's film its easy to see that he has the tools to play in the NFL. He clearly has the size and arm strength - two things that you can't teach. However, when comparing his sophomore and junior seasons I see very little improvement. As a third year starter Stafford should have taken significant steps towards becoming an NFL-ready quarterback, and he failed to do so.

The area where he is especially lacking is accuracy. I'm willing to cut a guy like Josh Freeman some slack for mediocre stats because of the lack of talent around him, but Stafford has no excuse. His career completion percentage was just 57.1 - well below average for an aspiring top pick in the draft.

A player like Stafford needs time to sit and watch, and plenty of time spent studying film and learning behind a capable starter. His success could very well depend on where he lands. If selected 1st overall he has no hope. Quarterbacks drafted into expansion franchises (and lets be honest, that's essentially what the Lions are) have an exceptionally low success rate. He will be thrown to the wolves and devoured just like players drafted into similar situations - Tim Couch, David Carr, Joey Harrington to name a few.

Chiefs Trade for Cassel, Vrabel

The Chiefs made the biggest splash of offseason thus far by landing Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel from the Patriots for just a second round pick (34th overall). It would seem as though Vrabel is just a throw-in, considering that the Pats were looking for a 2nd-round pick for Cassel originally. But if he's really only throw-in material at this point in his career, wouldn't Scott Pioli be aware of this?

There were originally reports supporting the Patriots basically giving away Vrabel due to the fact that there was no market for Cassel. But if recent reports that the Broncos were interested are true, then what's the Pats excuse?

My guess: the Pats are ready to start a new era on defense and Vrabel's starting job was in jeopardy. Belichick was willing to part with him and figured why not do both Vrabel and Pioli a favor by sending him to KC where he can still be an impact player and help the Chiefs transition into a 3-4 defense.

Jeremy Maclin Postpones Workout

Due to a knee injury that Jeremy Maclin suffered at the combine he will not work out on March 5 as originally planned. Instead he will postpone his workout until March 19.

The knee injury isn't serious, but a lot is riding on his workout so he's making the wise decision to take the time to recover. Scouts were disappointed to see him fail to run in the 4.3 range at Indy, so he'll be expected to reach that level running on his home turf at Missouri.

Even if he doesn't improve his 40 time Maclin is still a potential top 20 selection, but a 4.3 forty would ease the concerns of teams like the Raiders and Jaguars who could make him a top 10 pick.

Pro Days: Florida Atlantic

Perhaps the most intriguing pro day on Friday was FAU's (didn't think you'd ever hear that on the same day as Miami's did you?)

Linebacker Frantz Joseph (one of the top prospects not invited to the combine) finally had a chance to workout in front of scouts. According to Ted Hutton at the Sun Sentinel 16 teams were in attendance. Joseph's numbers were actually a little disappointing. He only ran in the 4.8 range and put up 19 reps on the bench reps; not poor numbers, but nothing to improve his stock either. He remains steady as a potential 5th or 6th round selection.

Running back Charles Pierre impressed scouts with 26 reps on the bench press. He's a oddly shaped running back, standing at just 5'9 but lacking the speed you'd expect from a smaller back. A hamstring injury limited what he was able to do in drills, but he impressed enough with his strength and adequate speed (4.59 in the forty) that he'll likely find his way into a training camp this spring.

Pro Days: Miami FL

The Miami pro day didn't quite have the same feel as in recent years given the unusual lack of talent working out. The Hurricane's top prospect, CB Bruce Johnson, worked out and performed as expected. He ran in the mid-4.4 range and solidified his place as a 5-7 round prospect.

A number of other Hurricanes worked out including linebackers Spencer Adkins and Romeo Davis, but Johnson is the only Hurricane with a better than 50 percent chance of hearing his name called.

Pro Days: Ball State

The Pro Day season is officially underway, with Ball State kicking things off on the 26th and Miami and FAU joining in on Friday.

The Ball State pro day was significantly less exciting than originally anticipated due to the lack of participation from Nate Davis. Davis will hold off until March 20 when he'll host a private workout.

BSU tight end Darius Hill did work out however and was fairly impressive. He measured in at 6'7" and ran in the 4.7 range in the 40s. He isn't anything special, but his size and athleticism make him a viable late round option.

Welcome!

Welcome to the DraftAce Blog,

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