Like me, McShay seems to believe that Clausen has the highest bust potential in the draft. He focuses on maturity, which is another way of saying he is a true junior, and too young to be in this situation. He also focuses on the fact that Notre Dame has not produced a QB in a very long time. We just had that very same discussion in 2007 over Brady Quinn. The Quinn story just reached a major negative milestone. Teams would be crazy to ignore this outcome.
As always, Kiper continues to propound the notion that Clausen is the most NFL ready QB in the past 5 years. Why? Quinn was drafted 3 years ago with the exact same specifications. Weren't they equally ready? We know how that story turned out.
McShay and Kiper agree that Clausen will probably go in the top 10. What they don't agree on is whether that is justified. Kiper says he should go in the top 10. McShay says he will in the top 10, but he should not. Kiper is an advocate. McShay is not.
How about if we reach for a tie-breaker? Mike Mayock says Clausen is the #2 quarterback prospect, but he doesn't really like the kid. He rates Clausen outside his top 20 prospects for this draft. He too believes that Clausen will probably go high, but he should not. He has not used the dreaded bust word, but he raises many of the same issues that McShay does. So far, Mayock does not seem to think that Clausen will go in the top 10. Neither does Charlie Casserly. You can see his Mock Draft here:
I get the impression that Clausen's stock is sagging. Kiper is doing what he can to keep it afloat, but he is ice skating uphill. The tide is going the other way. It is my impression that Mike Holmgren's all-out purgative dump of Brady Quinn has rattled the league. Jamie Dukes (one of my favorite guys) was an exponent of Clausen during the combine. Now he has gone silent. In Jamie's case, I know it was the Quinn-dump that stopped the train. Jamie was astounded that Holmgren saw no value in Brady at all.
Ad meanwhile, both Bradford and Tebow seem to be rising. Bradford doesn't have much headroom to rise before he reaches the top. It looks like he is going to get there. It looks like Tebow has silences the 5th & 6th round talk. It looks like he is going no later than the 3rd, and probably in the second. Colt McCoy keeps trucking along as a steady 2nd round pick.
It will be interesting to see who goes first: Tebow or McCoy. I would suggest Tebow, but you never know.
The Rams will be hosting Colt McCoy soon. If we should deal the #1 and go for a QB in the 2nd, it will likely be Colt McCoy. So far we have showed no interest in Tebow, save for a few web pages.
