Draft Class: Quarterbacks

We're 5 days away from the draft. I've locked in my draft grades as of about an hour ago, so lets review the draft class at each position. We'll start with the most important position: quarterback.

I give two quarterbacks 1st-round grades this year. That's two more than last year (yeah, I know, I missed the boat on Matt Ryan). Its the first time I've handed out two 1st-round grades to quarterbacks from the same class since 2006 (Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Jay Cutler).

The cream of the crop is Mark Sanchez. He has the size, the arm, the attitude and the work ethic. He's everything you look for in a franchise quarterback. The downside to selecting him is that he needs to sit for at least a year. He only spent one year as a full-time starter at USC and doesn't have the game experience necessary to jump right into an NFL starting lineup.

I also, somewhat begrudgingly, gave Stafford a 1st-round grade. I like everything I see from Stafford in workouts. He has the arm, he has the accuracy. He can even move around a little. What I don't like about him is his lack of production at Georgia. He was surrounded by talent but never took his game to an elite level. In fact, you could argue that he even backtracked from his sophomore to junior. The reason for this could be his lack of work ethic. Not every quarterback needs to be Peyton Manning-like workaholic, but Stafford work ethic is headed down a Matt Leinart/Vince Young path. That said, there's only a handful of players in the NFL with his physical ability and he would be worth the risk in the late 1st round. If I were the Lions, however, I'd stay away.

Josh Freeman comes in at number three on my draft board. He's the most physically gifted quarterback on the board, but was less than productive at Kansas State. He's very, very raw but could be a special quarterback if he's paired with a good quarterbacks coach and given a chance to sit and learn for at least a year, maybe two. I probably wouldn't take a chance on him in the 1st round unless I were a team with few other needs and a veteran quarterback that may not be around in two to three years (similar to what the Eagles did when drafting Kevin Kolb in 2007).

Graham Harrell comes in a distant 4th on my list. I gave him a late 3rd-round grade, but even that is assuming he lands in the right system. His accuracy on short throws and his experience in Texas Tech's system makes him an ideal candidate to run a west coast offense, or some similar version. He could be a nice pickup for a team such as the Panthers that are looking for someone to groom under Jake Delhomme.

Tom Brandstater comes in 5th on the list, but this is where we start to see a drop off from the players that could be starters, to the long shots/career backups. Brandstater has the build of an NFL quarterback but he struggled to develop into an elite college player despite playing against lesser competition in the WAC. You can't overlook his NFL-measurables, which puts him in the mix to get drafted, but he has limited upside.

I gave Pat White a mid-4th round grade. He's one of the toughest prospects to grade and I really wasn't sure where to rank him. He has absolutely zero chance of every being a starting quarterback in this league. The only reason he gets a 4th-round grade is because of his playmaking ability. Someone will draft him and use him a few times per game in the wildcat formation, lining him up at receiver, running back and quarterback and he'll make a few big plays every year. He isn't even close to an every-down player, however, which is why I wouldn't waste anything more than a 4th-round pick on him.

I also gave Hunter Cantwell a 4th-round grade. He's a very similar prospect to Tom Brandstater, but has significantly less experience. As Brian Brohm's backup for three years he saw little action before taking over as a senior. Great things were expected of him in 2008, but it was a miserable season for the Cardinals. He has some upside, given that he's hardly played, but he didn't show much as a senior.

John Parker Wilson also gets a 4th round grade, but for different reasons than Cantwell and Brandstater. Wilson has no upside and won't be a consistent starting quarterback in the NFL. However, he shows the steady game-manager type of attitude that makes him an ideal candidate to be a backup quarterback at the next level. These types of players don't get nearly enough credit, since their work is rarely seen on the field, but every team needs a guy on the bench that they can rely on in a pinch.

Rhett Bomar is my 9th-ranked quarterback and gets a 5th round grade. He definitely has some upside given that he was once an elite prospect while at Oklahoma. He has a bionic arm and can throw the ball all over the field, but his accuracy is a concern. He should have dominated the compition at Sam Houston State, but he was fairly inconsistent. His passing yards were impressive, but his low completition percentage raises some question marks.

Rounding out the top 10 is Nate Davis. In early November I made the poor decision of placing Davis in the 1st-round of my mock draft. However, that was before he fumbled (littlerally) his way out of contention for a top draft pick in Ball State's final two games of the season. There are serious concerns about his ability to hang onto the football and his ability to handle an NFL playbook. He has NFL size, but is a boom-or-bust prospect. It will either all click for him in the next year or two, or he'll be out of the game before he turns 26.

So there you have it, my top 10 quarterbacks for 2009.