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.