With the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft only hours away, two of the looming questions are both surrounding Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen: Why did he slip out of round one and where will he land?
After Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford was taken first overall by the St. Louis Rams, Clausen was expected to be the next passer taken. Some of the possible destinations that were being thrown around were Washington at four, Kansas City at five, Seattle at six, Cleveland at seven, Oakland at eight, Buffalo at nine, Jacksonville at 10, and Minnesota at 30.
The Redskins and Jaguars can both be ruled out because of their current quarterback situations, with Washington acquiring Donovan McNabb less than a month ago and Jacksonville still having confidence in David Garrard. The Chiefs were reportedly willing to take him, probably because former Irish coach Charlie Weiss is now their offensive coordinator, but taking safety Eric Berry was a bigger need for them. And the Seahawks swapped second round picks with the Chargers in exchange for Charlie Whitehurst, who looks to be the successor to Matt Hasselbeck.
So what about the Browns, Raiders, Bills, and Vikings?
In Cleveland, team president Mike Holmgren came out and said that he wished he liked Clausen more. That’s a sure indication that they weren’t (and probably still won’t be) going after him.
Oakland would have made sense because Al Davis doesn’t make sense. Then again, taking Clausen would be Davis finally admitting that Jamarcus Russell is the biggest draft bust of all time.
Buffalo would have been a great fit for Clausen, but taking RB CJ Spiller was a good move.
And it was supposed to be very unlikely that the Vikings would even have a chance at Clausen, but with Favre probably returning and the coaching staff having confidence in Tavaris Jackson, passing on him and trading the pick was more appropriate.
Not to mention that Clausen has been bashed by analysts and the media lately. Now this doesn’t mean that NFL scouts and front offices are agreeing with the critics and leaking information, but if the first round is proof of anything, it’s that there is at least some truth behind their skepticism.
Issues like the size of Clausen’s hands and his “lack” of leadership were the two big knocks on him that were being publicized primarily. However, I like to think about another quarterback that came out of the same system and had very similar qualities and attributes to Clausen. That man is Brady Quinn.
Coming into the league in 2007, Quinn was said to be “the most pro-ready quarterback” that could be “thrown onto the pro-field immediately” because “he played in a pro-style offense at Notre Dame.”
Although fans and the media don’t seem to remember this, NFL teams do. Quinn serves as a precautionary tale to all teams interested in Clausen. Now presumably buried on the Denver depth chart behind Kyle Orton and last night’s surprise pick Tim Tebow, Quinn shows that quarterbacks that succeed in “pro-style” offenses, don’t always pan out in the NFL.
As for where will Clausen land? That will be answered tonight. I would put my money on Cleveland not being his new home though. That wound is still pretty fresh.
But if I were Jimmy Clausen, I’d be calling Brady Quinn asking him for some money, because his failure may have cost Clausen millions.
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