Will Matthew Stafford Be This Year's Matt Leinart?

Top 10 QB in the NFL Draft. Drafted by a rebuilding team with a big-name receiver. Sharing snaps with a veteran journeyman QB.

Matthew Stafford?

No, Matt Leinart.

The situation Stafford falls into is eerily similar to the same one Leinart fell into after being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals seventh overall in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Everyone knows the deal with Leinart; he got outplayed by Kurt Warner, who doesn't look like he is slowing down anytime soon. Then his work ethic was questioned when everyone couldn't figure out why he wasn't starting over Warner.

Fact of the matter is, Warner is a great QB, and Leinart wasn't ready at the time to take the reins. Not saying he won't ever lead the Cardinals, but he will have to continue to wait until Warner stops succeeding.

Enter Matthew Stafford, first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions. He will be competing with Daunte Culpepper for the starting QB job. Everyone knows at some point Stafford will be starting; the question is when? Will it be from day one, halfway through the season, or a few years down the road?

The latter is very possible, seeing as once upon a time Culpepper was a good QB. Since injuring his knee, Culpepper hasn't put up the big numbers he did when in Minnesota. But was it the knee as much as it was the loss of Randy Moss? The last time Culpepper had a Pro Bowl-worthy season, he was chucking it up to Moss.

Well, now he has Calvin Johnson, and Culpepper is smiling a little more. If Culpepper has a respectable season, Stafford could be looking at riding the pine a little longer than expected. After all, all the pieces are there for Culpepper to do it; now we just have to wait and see if he does.

Who knows what will happen? Culpepper might flop or shine. Maybe Stafford wins the job from the start, or maybe pictures of him in a Jacuzzi surface on the Internet.

One thing is for sure—it's the NFL, which means anything is possible, and either we will love it or hate it.