2009 NFL Draft: Will the QB's of 2009 Be Anything Like the QB's of 2005?

With talks of the draft heating up as April approaches, the Detroit Lions are now becoming poised to make the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. Questions loom about whether they will take their pick to a safer offensive lineman or will grab their franchise QB in Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez.

The question is a puzzling one, but it is easy to remember what a risk grabbing a QB No. 1 overall can be. Much like the 2005 draft, a QB will most likely be taken as the No. 1 overall pick, overshadowing wherever the No. 2 QB lands, which predictably will be the New York Jets for the former USC standout Mark Sanchez.

This begs the question, who will have the better career? The solid and durable Matthew Stafford of Georgia, or the round and balanced Mark Sanchez of USC?

In 2005, such a comparison could easily have been made in regards to Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith. With the first pick of the 2005 draft, the San Fransisco 49ers selected Alex Smith over the closely second Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers then plummeted to No. 24 of the draft, got selected by the Green Bay Packers, and became nothing more than a footnote.

Now, four years later, an obvious comparison can be made as to how they turned out.

Alex Smith was grabbed as an answer. He was to be the for sure fit as a starter ready for Week One in San Fransisco. Four years since, Smith has only played three seasons, only one of which was complete, and has been a bust for a No. 1 pick.

Smith has had a questionable career with a QB rating of 63.5, completed 435 of 800 pass attempts for 19 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. Smith also had a season-ending injury this past preseason and didn't even play a game in 2008.

Recently, Smith made agreements with the 49ers for a restructured contract down from his original $10 million a year contract. Although details have been mum, Smith is to remain on the 49ers squad fighting for his starting position, claiming he can still lead the team like Steve Young or Joe Montana did back in the day.

Aaron Rodgers dropped like a rock over 20 picks to the Green Bay Packers, who already had a legendary starting quarterback in Brett Favre. At that time, Rodgers was slated to be a backup to a future hall of famer, a great place for a young QB to be groomed into a future leader.

Many, including the Packers, thought that Favre would be retiring after the coming season. Lo and behold, Favre remained with the Packers through the 2007 season and, after a near-miss of retiring, threatened a return to the Pack to compete with Rodgers for the starting job. The Packers, as you can recall, shipped him to the New York Jets for the 2008 season. Favre then retired again after the season ended.

In that time, Rodgers was used sparingly and ended up only playing in a total of seven games between 2005 and 2007. He threw for just over 300 yards and just one touchdown.

Rodgers then was named as the starter after Favre first announced retirement. Since that point, the Packers stood by Rodgers and stood their ground by sending Favre via trade to the Jets.

The 2008 season went down much better than any could have foreseen. Rodgers achieved a 93.8 QB rating, 4,038 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. An outstanding season considering his inactivity and patience behind Favre.

The comparison between Smith and Rodgers isn't even close. Rodgers has achieved significantly more in one season of work than Smith had a chance to do in three seasons.

Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez approach a similar situation as draft day approaches. Stafford will likely go to Detroit to be their franchise QB and, in all likelihood, compete for the starting job with long time veteran Dante Culpepper.

Sanchez, however, is expected to drop to pick 17 with the New York Jets. You'd think that I could avoid mentioning Brett Favre again. With Favre on his way out of the NFL, hopefully for good, Sanchez will be entering to stop the bleeding and hopefully bring a much-desired playoff berth to a hungry New York Jets team.

The big question everyone is asking is how will the two compare?

Will they be like the 2005 QB's, where the No. 1 pick will be a flop and the underrated QB surprises everyone? Or will Stafford come out firing and Sanchez falter?

Leave your thoughts below.