Kellen Moore: NFL Gives Further Proof That College Production Means Nothing

Kellen Moore won more games at Boise State than any quarterback in the history of college football, finishing his career with exactly 50 of them. He also ended his career with over 14,000 passing yards and exactly 142 passing touchdowns.

He went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft.

It's my assumption that this probably isn't sitting well with a lot of people. Moore has acquired something of a Tim Tebow-like following, as his fans insist that surely the winningest quarterback in the history of college football could cut it in the NFL. To boot, he's a great guy who would cause any trouble, which is more than you can say about a lot of NFL draftees.

Maybe that's why the Detroit Lions are going to take are going to take a chance on Moore. They obviously didn't draft him, but Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network is reporting that they're going to sign Moore as an undrafted free agent:

"

Source: Boise St. QB Kellen Moore will sign with the #Lions

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 28, 2012"

Good for him. He may not have gotten drafted, but it's nice to know that the NFL isn't completely uninterested in Moore.

But let's be real here. It never was a given that Moore was going to be drafted, and the league's teams had very good reasons to shun him in the draft.

Generally speaking, NFL quarterbacks fit a certain mold. They're tall, for one, as the best quarterbacks stand right around 6'4" or 6'5," allowing them to see over even bigger offensive linemen. The best quarterbacks also have strong arms and they can release the ball quickly while still maintain accuracy.

Moore is not cut from this mold. He's an even 6-feet tall, weighing in at just under 200 pounds, making him a lot smaller than your typical quarterback. Moore also does not have a strong arm, and he has a very funky delivery.

At the college level, these things obviously weren't a problem. In the NFL, they are a problem.

Yes, Moore's delivery is something that can be fixed, and they say that quarterbacks can add arm strength after they get drafted. As for the height issue, just look at what Drew Brees has been able to do. He's only 6'0" too.

True, true and true. But here's the thing: if an NFL team is looking for a project quarterback, why draft Moore over a QB prospect with prototypical height and arm strength and a mechanically sound delivery? There's a lot of money at stake here, so it's in the interests of teams to make the safest picks they can possibly make, and make the safest investments they can possibly make.

Moore would not have been a safe pick, and he's a much less risky investment as an undrafted free agent than he would have been if he had been drafted.

As for the Brees argument, if he's not one in a million, he's surely one in a thousand. Comparing every short QB prospect to him just isn't fair. 

Moore is not the first quarterback to be shunned by the league in the draft, nor will he be the last. He's also not the first quarterback with outstanding career college numbers to be shunned by the league. Heck, Case Keenum, he of the 155 career touchdown passes, also went undrafted this year.

The fact that Moore (and Keenum) went undrafted is just another lesson that what happens in the college ranks means nothing as far as the NFL is concerned. And that's the way things should be, mind you, as college and the NFL are two completely different animals.

The NFL is the tougher of the two. And like it or not, the league just isn't in love with underdogs like Moore.