NFL DRAFT: Who Is In Your Five? The Quarterbacks

Most people think its inevitable that the Detroit Lions will draft Matthew Stafford. I won't say Stafford is a bust but I don't think he's a smart pick at No. 1. The reason? Stafford doesn't top my five QB list. Nate Davis does. 

Davis does for the same reason Ben Roethlisberger beat out Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning on my list a few years ago. The ability to carry a team. Name a wide receiver off the Ball State roster and you'll likely name Dante Love. Love was out most of this season while Davis led the team to its best record ever. 

Second I'll look at the system, Stafford gets credit for quick reads but Davis has shown a great ability to hit his reads as well, especially the tight end. Stafford's system under Mark Richt has produced big numbers for quarterbacks before he got there. Recruits like David Greene and D.J. Shockley.  

The biggest reason I love Davis is Bellaire, Ohio. That seems silly unless you've known people from Bellaire. It's a little bitty Ohio town, not even a town but a village on the Ohio River. A village with over a quarter of its population below the poverty line in 2000. It's gotta be higher than that now. A village where they mine coal. A village you don't aspire to get out of—you perspire to get out of. 

There's something about small towns and quarterbacks. I don't know if it's playing against older kids because if you want to stay on the field you have to keep up. Or if it's because you're told for years you can't compete with the big schools and the big gyms.

These guys seem to succeed. I think the chip on the shoulder and the specter of small-town life chases them to success. 

You know the towns; Lima, Ohio; Monongahela, Pennsylvania; Burlington, Iowa and Kiln, Mississippi. It matters. 

So here is my top-five quarterback list:

1. Nate Davis, Ball State, 6'1" 220.

2. Matthew Stafford, Geogia, 6'2" 227. Skilled in every facet of the game. He's from posh Highland Park, Texas (median family income is $300,000) and has trained to be a football player his whole life. He's a good player. A stud, but if Stafford, has to go back to Highland Park is he losing anything ?

3. Mark Sanchez, USC, 6'2" 225. Sanchez fits some offenses better than either Davis or Stafford. He works well from a moving pocket. He takes care of the ball. He could be a great game manager. If he NFL doesn't work out he's stuck in Mission Viejo. Poor Kid. 

The next two come with some risk. 

4. Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State, 6'2" 225. Had Bomar stayed at Oklahoma we may be waiting to meet Sam Bradford. He was that good. Maybe having to hit Sam Houston State put that chip on his shoulder. 

5. Josh Freeman, K-State, 6'6" 250. Freeman has everything you want. A rocket arm and athleticism. My problem with him is he reminds me of a guy that was picked high—Byron Leftwich.

I see the same wind-up, stride, and delivery. Leftwich was never a bad player. But the wind-up, stride, and delivery led him to be a banged up player. That led him to be a backup player.  

Honorable Mention - Chase Daniel of the Missouri Tigers. Daniel is one of those quarterbacks that needs to be the next Drew Brees. I still think some coaches would look at Brees and hand him a clip board. Brees can play in the right system though. So can Daniel. 

WTF ? 

Patrick White- West Virginia. I've seen White compared to Michael Vick. Not even close. Vick came out bigger, stronger, faster, and armed with a stronger arm. I've seen him compared to Seneca Wallace but Wallace was more Doug Flutie than White is having functioned in a pro set at Iowa State. Maybe White could be seen as a passing Eric Crouch. But as a starting quarterback in the NFL? Nope. 

Starter on a team running the Wildcat?  Look at the guys who come to the front at the wildcat ? Darren McFadden (around 220) Ronnie Brown (around 250), the reason? The formation lends itself to forcing a safety to play the I-Back.

That frees up the option of passing because of one on one coverage at the wide receiver or tight end slot if they help out. Put a smaller, slower, pass-first guy in there. Different effect. 

White can be a decent backup. But he's not in my five.