This Year's Draft Class of NFL Quarterbacks

Last year, only two quarterbacks went in the first round, compared to three in each of the two previous season. This year, it may be down two QBs in the first round again, as only Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm are getting the "first round" grades as we approach the NFL Draft set for late April. Nonetheless, it's worth it to examine some of the other top QB prospects that will be drafted in later rounds, as well as the two frontrunners.

1. Matt Ryan, Boston College, 6'4", 221 - he has all the intangibles that everyone is looking for, and he was very accurate throughout his college career. His interceptions went up a little bit in his senior, which would usually be a cause for concern; however, a new offensive system that asked him to be more of a gunslinger encouraged him to take riskier throws. Moving past that, scouts just love his mobility and on the move decision making that resulted in a lot of big plays for his Boston College squad. However, his arm strength isn't the greatest, but many suspsect it will be more than enough to operate at the next level.

2. Brian Brohm, Louisville, 6'3", 225 - He was definitely the leading candidate to be the first pick of the draft heading into the 2007 college football season, and quite frankly, I'm not sure why he dropped other than a few losses by a team that just couldn't play defense. That 6-6 record has many people questioning his ability to win, so I guess that has dropped him into this second slot. Nontheless, he did show that he could battle back and that his team was never out of a game as long as he was on the field. And his arm strength was a testament to that as he made throws to hit wide receivers behind the defense that not every NFL quarterback can make. Brohm should go late in the first round, and maybe even higher if there is bad team out there looking for a good quarterback.

3. Chad Henne, Michigan, 6'3", 228 - He started all four years at Michigan and never was quite able to deliver that championship that was expected of his class. Nevertheless, his talent was on display every game, and he led the Wolverines to some of the better comebacks of the past 4 years. He has great arm strength and tremendous accuracy, and as he proved at Michigan, if you put some wide receivers around this kid, he will make the right throws. He had an injury-riddled senior year, which may have hurt his stock, but luckily for him, there were a few quarterbacks that took a step back over the past few months.

4. Andre Woodson, Kentucky, 6'4", 234 - Everyone is knocking Woodson's poor showing in the Senior Bowl this past month, and that is why he finds himself as the 4^th rated quarterback as opposed to the first rounder he was projected to be during the season. However, most of the Senior Bowl criticism comes from his inability to work well with Mike Martz's system that was being taught during that week, but there are very few young quarterbacks out there who can run that offense, nevermind with only a week of preparation. Woodson's arm strength and decision-making should overshadow a lot of that once he is in the NFL, and his ability to buy time with his feet is something that could serve him very well, too.

5. Joe Flacco, Delaware, 6'6", 232 - Flacco's arm strength is the best in the draft, and he proved that during the College Football skills contest where he won the arm strength contest with little competition. He also has much better feet than many people would have expected from a 6'6" quarterback, and that mobility, which he displayed in the skills contest, may ease some of concerns many scouts have about drafting statues for quarterbacks. If Flacco falls to the 3^rd or 4^th round as projected, somebody could be getting a real steal in the draft given that he has all of the skills of a top-flight quarterback, and the only thing holding him from a high round selection is the fact that he didn't go to a big name school.