Let me start out by saying this is not a bash Rex or Beck post. If that's what you want to do go somewhere else. This is about prospects. I love college football and watch whenever I can. I don't have a favorite team so I feel I am pretty unbiased.I am by no means a draft guru but I do enjoy the maturation process of watching a player develop.

I was going to wait to post until after the season but there has been alot of talk about trading for Luck. This needs to stop and I feel it's because that's the only QB most people have heard about. The last thing we need to do is trade picks for Luck. As we showed yesterday we need too many players in too many spots to trade away picks. I would say even trade the Luck pick if we got it for more picks. But we won't be picking that high anyways (hello Miami and Indy).

I believe we are an 8-8 team right now and that we are in desperate need of a franchise QB that can extend plays, help with the redzone problems, and be a leader for years to come. Brady, Manning, Rodgers, and Brees are showing how a great QB can make an alright team a perennial playoff contender. So here are my 9 other QBs ranked in order that could possibly be franchise QBs:

1. Landry Jones, Oklahoma, Junior, Projected Round: 1st

Height: 6'4" Weight: 230 LBs Forty: 4.74

2011 Stats

171-253 (67.6%), 2,177 Passing yards, 16 TDs, 6 INTs, 2 Rushing TDs

Positives: Big, strong arm with great accuracy. Shredded Texas in the Red River Rivalry game. Took over for Sam Bradford as a Freshman. Has all of the tools to succed at the next level. No injury issues. Team Leader.

Negatives: Plays in a spread offense mostly out of the shotgun. Doesn't audible much. Not the most mobile QB. Schedule for rest of year will test him. Has some of the best recievers in college football.



2. Matt Barkley, USC, Junior, Projected Round: 1st

Height: 6'2" Weight: 220 LBs Forty: 4.74

2011 Stats

152-213 (71.4%), 1,782 Passing yards, 16 TDs, 4 INTs, 1 Rushing TD

Positives: Good arm strength with good accuracy. Natural leader that has started since Freshman year. Plays in a pro style offense. Great football IQ. Plays in the high pressure environment that is USC. Deals with Lane Kiffin.

Negatives: Doesn't throw the best deep ball. Hasn't lived up to the hype coming out of high school. Mechanics can get sloppy sometimes. Needs to cut down on INTs. Does he make Robert Woods look good or the other way around?

3. Robert Griffin III, Baylor, Junior Projected Round:1st-2nd

Height: 6'2" Weight: 220 LBs Forty: 4.52

2011 Stats

143-183 (78.1%), 1950 Passing Yards, 22 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 Rushing TDs

Positives: Supremely athletic. Great leader and son of two Army sergeants. Working on his master degree. Shooting up draft boards due to lights out play. Big arm and can make all of the throws. Threat as a runner as well. Started as a Freshman

Negatives: Tore ACL Sophmore year. Wants to try out for Olympics next summer. Wasn't thought of as a top prospect before the season started. Plays at Baylor.

4. Nick Foles, Arizona, Senior, Projected Round: 2nd

Height: 6'5" Weight: 245 Lbs Forty: 4.96

2011 Stats

201-281 (71.5%), 2,255 Passing Yards, 15 TDs, 4 INTs

Positives: Has a NFL arm and can make all of the throws. Team leader that led offseason workouts. Film rat. Played well despite supporting cast. Good pocket presence. Good athelete.Preformed pretty well against a tough stretch of teams this year.

Negatives: Needs to work on accuracy in short passing game. Runs a mostly spread offense from the gun. Needs to work on progressions. Sloppy foot work in the pocket at times. Not the best runner.

5. Kirk Cousins, Michigan State, Senior, Projected Round: 2nd

Height: 6'3" Weight: 205 Forty: 4.80

2011 Stats

114-173 (65.9%). 1,317 Passin Yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs

Positives: Great team leader with good presence in the huddle. Very good arm and can make all of the throws. Good at finish games strong. Good at reading defenses presnap. Runs a prostyle offense with alot of play action passes.

Negatives: Needs to work on not throwing off of his back foot. Forces the ball sometimes causing turnovers. Needs to bulk up a little. Sometimes holds the ball too long. Stares down recievers on occasion. Throws less then other QBs on this list.

6. Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M, Senior, Projected Round: 3rd-4th

Height: 6'4" Weight: 222 LBs Forty: 4.65

2011 Stats

141-210 (67.1%), 1,743 Passing Yards, 13 TDs, 6 INTs, 3 Rushing TDs

Positives: Adequate arm for NFL starting QB. Team player that switched to WR during Redshirt year. Took over as starting QB last year. Excellent athelete. Did well in a difficult situation last year.

Negatives: Extremely raw. Poor deep ball. Makes poor decisions at times. More of a game manager. Would not be ready to start for at least a year or two. Sometimes forces throws into coverage. Mid round project.

7. Ryan Lindley, San Deigo State, Senior, Projected Round: 3rd-4th

Height: 6'4" Weight: 230 LBs Forty: 4.92

2011 Stats

97-192 (50.5%), 1,285 Passing Yards, 12 TDs, 4 INTs

Positives: Good arm and good throwing mechanics. Four year starter in his third offense. Running Pro style offense. Has improved TD to INT ratio each year.

Negatives: Accuracy issues throughout career. Struggled this year against good competition. Plays in the Mountain West. A bit of a gunslinger. Needs to work on touch. Had good WRs to throw to until this year.

8. Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State, Senior, Projected Round: 4th-5th

Height: 6'4" Weight: 220 LBs Forty: 4.90

2011 Stats

189-260 (72.6%), 2,102 Passing Yards, 16 TDs, 6 INTs

Positives: Good arm with decent accuracy and a good deep ball. Athletic enough due to baseball back ground. Good command of the pocket. Mature and a hard worker.If he had not played baseball he would be ranked with as a top prospect.

Negatives: Old. Will be 29 as an NFL rookie. Has mechanics issues based on baseball throwing motion. Plays in spread offense. Did I mention he's old?

9. Russell Wilson, Wisconsin, Senior, Projected Round: 4th-5th

Height: 5'11" Weight: 200 LBs Forty: 4.59

2011 Stats

95-128 (74.2%), 1.557 Passing Yards, 14 TDs, 1 INT, 2 Rushing TDs, 1 Recieving TD

Positives: Extremely athletic. Big arm and can make all of the throws. Great accuracy and good decision maker. Great character guy. Threat with his feet as well as his arm. Plays in a Pro style offense

Negatives: Really short. If he were 4 inches taller he would be a second round pick. Plays behind the Wisconsin O-line and I would look like a good QB behind that line. Probably too short to be a starter in the NFL.

My take is that Jones is soon gone after Luck. I believe Barkley will fall but he won't get past Seattle. RGIII is the wild card here. If he enters the draft and continues to play Maddenesque I think he could rise to the second QB taken.

Shanny likes big QBs and ideal for us would be Jones or RGIII. But if neither are there I see us drafting another position and waiting till the second for Foles or Cousins. They are both a bit of a project but I'm not sure any rookie QB starts for us next year.