2009 Draft Bust: The Story Of Unproven Dollars

As made clear in the 2009 NFL Draft, there are several teams that are in great need of a quarterback including the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets.

While draft analysts and coaches get into the scouting season and draft preparation, however, they often forget about the college season. They watch the workouts and pro days, and lose sight of the fact that some of their highest picks were not even the best players on their respective teams.

In the 09' draft, I saw two quarterbacks in Mark Sanchez and Matt Stafford that were drafted No. 1 and No. 5 overall. The incredible amount of money these players will accumulate over the next five years is astonishing, especially considering they were not the absolute best players on their college teams.

In Sanchez's case, the defense of USC gets most of the credit, and rightfully so. USC's offense also enjoyed a deep core of running backs highlighted by Joe McKnight and some talented young receivers as well.

While Sanchez's draft stock rose considerably over the past two months, is it too long for people to remember that this is the same player who was a backup to John David Booty?

Would you trade up, get rid of two starters on your defense and pay up to $30 million guaranteed for Booty?  Booty sat behind Matt Leinhart, who is a backup to a 37-year-old quarterback who is years beyond his prime despite having a tremendous season last year.

Not to mention that Pete Carroll—who has coached in the NFL and produced quarterbacks such as Carlson Palmer, Lienhart and Booty—has said that it was not in Sanchez' best interest to leave early for the NFL. Although I will admit to being a Notre Dame fan and do not think highly of Pete Carroll, he is nevertheless a legitimate source of advice.

I am not saying that Sanchez will not have a good career in the NFL, or that he is overrated—I am just saying that his body of work up until this point in his career does not at all warrant him such a high selection in this years NFL draft or the large sums of money he will inevitably receive.

Is it too long for people to recognize that there were four quarterbacks in the voting for the Heisman trophy this year and neither Stafford or Sanchez were among them?

Graham Harrell was not even drafted and he was far more productive as a college player than  Sanchez and Stafford in terms of numbers and making plays without much talent around him (with the exception of Michael Crabtree, but as a whole Texas Tech has much less talent than Georgia and USC).

Obviously, I am not saying that Harrell should have been drafted as high as these players, as he does not have the body or mechanics for an elite NFL quarterback the way that Sanchez and Stafford do, but it its noteworthy that he had a better college career and was undrafted.

The case with Stafford is a little more complex. He was successful as a starter at Georgia like Sanchez at USC, but played in a much more competitive league in the SEC.

However, with that being said, he was not even the best quarterback in the league, as Tim Tebow received most of the QB honors and respect in the SEC.

I do think that Stafford is going to be an NFL quarterback, and that he may even have a decent career, but $41 million guaranteed is an awful lot for a player who was not even the best in college, not even close for that matter.

How much is an NFL team going to pay Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford, $60 million guaranteed? This is very similar to the 2007 NFL draft, in which JaMarcus Russell—who had a decent college career but far from special—was selected first overall because of a good bowl game performance and impressive works at the Combine and pro day.

Let's just say it has not worked well for Russell yet.

Some could point to Matt Ryan and say he is the exception to the rule. But even in great rookie season last year, he had the support of a stable running game and completed short, quick slant routes for the majority of his passes.

I am not taking anything away from Ryan, but many quarterbacks would have had success in that offensive scheme, and with that kind of talent at running back and on the offensive line. Stafford will not have the luxury, and could suffer as a result.

In a way, I feel bad for both Sanchez and Stafford, as it is not their fault they are getting all the money thrown in their faces.

However with money comes expectations, and I feel these players are not going to produce at the level their fans and organizations expect them to.

I wish them luck in the upcoming season, but for now, I would say from both a financial and talent standpoint, these are going to be two busts!