wetdogbillsfan Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Espn insider...no link. 1. John Elway, Stanford (No. 1 pick, 1983) Grade: 9.9 A generation later, Elway's skill set and pedigree would look just as impressive. His arm strength was legendary and would stand up to the strongest arms in the current NFL. He wasn't just smart in a traditional sense with obvious academic intelligence; he also was the son of an innovative coach in Jack Elway and was perfectly tailored to enter an era in part defined by the growth of the passing game under innovators such as Bill Walsh. It's fair to say Elway made his draft grade look accurate. 2. Andrew Luck, Stanford (No. 1 pick, 2012) Grade: 9.8 Highly accurate, highly intelligent, highly prepared and highly adaptable, Luck was a true modern prospect in the sense that the innate skills became obvious early in his career at Stanford. His NFL rookie season showed off not just what we all could see, but fans also got to see what kind of an athlete Luck is. Great size, strength and durability are just add-ons to an already exceptionally promising profile. 3. Jim Kelly, Miami (No. 14 pick, 1983) Grade: 9.7 The third QB off the board in 1983, Kelly was a great prospect not just because of the arm, accuracy and good size (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), but because he was extremely competitive and could read the field from both sides of the ball. I've noted it previously, but he wouldn't have gone to Miami if Penn State and Joe Paterno had recruited him as a QB; Paterno wanted him to play linebacker. Kelly was one of the big early names in the USFL, but he proved Hall of Fame-worthy in the NFL. 4. Drew Bledsoe, Washington State (No. 1 pick, 1993) Grade: 9.7 Just a natural QB. Bledsoe had a low arm slot and wasn't going to beat most of the guys blocking for him in a race, but he had uncanny accuracy, a very strong arm, and the ability to make quick reads and snap off throws all over the field with ease. He quietly put up major numbers, too. Bledsoe is 10th all-time in passing yards, seventh in completions and 15th in touchdowns. 5. Peyton Manning, Tennessee (No. 1 pick, 1998) Grade: 9.7 6. Ryan Leaf, Washington State (No. 2 pick, 1998)The Colts … chose wisely. I'll hear Manning described retrospectively as a perfect prospect, but there were questions on arm strength and about performance in big moments. Manning's arm got stronger in the NFL, and it's almost impossible to project the level of professionalism -- obsession, even -- that Manning has when it comes to preparation and the science of passing. A first-ballot Hall of Famer. Grade: 9.7 The mistake you can make with Leaf is assuming you wouldn't make the same mistake again. That's wrong. Leaf was a fantastic prospect and would be one today based on what we knew. Huge arm, great size, even the intangibles were there. He was a winner, a player who made others around him better in college and played well on big stages when given the chance. Who knows what would have happened to Leaf if he hadn't started on an awful team as a rookie. He simply wasn't prepared to fail and bounce back. He failed and never truly recovered. 7. Vinny Testaverde, Miami (No. 1 pick, 1987) Grade: 9.7 A big, accurate, smart passer, Testaverde had such an odd NFL career. He was practically a bust given his draft slot, and yet there he was in 1998 at age 35, going 12-1 as a starter with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He could never truly carry a team or make a lot of really bad teams good on his own, but I think few will ever doubt his ability to play QB, which is why he did it for so long. 8. Andre Ware, Houston (No. 7 pick, 1990) Grade: 9.7 I loved Ware. We now see the type of college system he was in as a potential warning sign -- the Houston Cougars under Ware could put up 70 points like nothing, and defenses simply weren't prepared to stop them at the time -- but we didn't know that at the time, and Ware really was an accurate passer with an above-average arm. He was smart and capable of good reads. But he too never really recovered from a bad start to his NFL career. And yes, this was the famous Jeff George draft -- I had him No. 84 on my board and he went No. 1. I still like my grade. 9. Troy Aikman, UCLA (No. 1 pick, 1989) Grade: 9.6 Great arm, and great, great accuracy. It can't be underscored enough just how precise a passer Aikman was in the era in which he played. The NFL of today would make Aikman dominant, and he was very good for the era in which he played. People forget he transferred out of Oklahoma to find a better place to develop as a passer. A cinch for the No. 1 pick in 1989, and he went on to have a great career. 10. (Tie) Boomer Esiason, Maryland (No. 38 pick, 1984) Grade: 9.6 Now we'd see Esiason's 54.2 completion percentage in college as a disastrous number, but it wasn't a bad one then. Esiason wasn't surrounded with great talent at Maryland and willed his team to an ACC title. I loved the upside and the competitiveness, and he put together a great NFL career. 10. (Tie) Steve Young (No. 1 supplemental, 1984) Grade: 9.6 Extremely accurate, Young didn't have a huge arm and really had to learn the position after being recruited as an option quarterback, but the natural ability was there. Young wasn't brilliant in any one area save for his remarkable ability as a scrambler, but he made himself great, at both the college and NFL levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Drew Bledsoe coming out was unreal, the first big hyped QB I remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Wonder what he graded Marino at? I also don't think Jimbo was ever 6'3" - that's a generous measurement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamrock Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Stand next to him, he's easily 6'3" as I'm 1.88m & he's taller than me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Good list. Only one looked out of place to me was esiason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Great list CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellyto83TD Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Wonder what he graded Marino at? I also don't think Jimbo was ever 6'3" - that's a generous measurement. I have talked with Jimbo and I guarantee he is all of 6'3". Great list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve O Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Good read, thanks for posting it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 wow that's high praise. was it known that Jimbo was going to the USFL before the draft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrags Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 He also had Andre Ware ranked very high. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I remember there were some questions about Jim Kelly's shoulder injury and he had a camp workout to show he had recovered. Of course he was in maybe the greatest class for rookie quarterbacks of all time. Kelly had everything it takes to be a real team leader and the physical and mental attributes to be a truly great qb. I too wonder why Marino wasn't on the list? He would have gone with or even (possibly) before Kelly except for rumored drug use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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