2010 NFL Draft: Quarterback Stock May Drop By Not Throwing at NFL Combine

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, and now Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour have all declared that they will not throw at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis putting themselves in a position to drop in April's draft.

What is with this recent trend of quarterbacks refusing to throw at the combine?

It has everything to do with a quarterback being in the best possible situation to show all the NFL scouts and coaches all the positives and not the negatives to help retain draft stock.

With this trend of quarterbacks refusing to throw, they all would rather throw at their Pro Day, where there is less pressure and they can throw more comfortably to the same receivers who have caught passes from them the past season during practices and games.

A quarterback can manipulate a better outcome on his Pro Day performance due to the fact he is on his home field which is also more familiar to him and less stressful, but can also hurt one's stock with a bad performance.

At least if a quarterback throws at the combine and Pro Day, then if he has a bad combine, he has a chance to redeem himself at his Pro Day.

Not in the case for these three, it's Pro Day or bust.

Bradford's durability has come into question since he was out for most of the 2009 season by sustaining shoulder injuries and his ability to run a pro-style offense has come into play since he ran a spread offense in Oklahoma.

To defend Bradford, Saints quarterback Drew Brees had a very questionable shoulder injury before the Saints signed him and he also came from a spread offense in Purdue. Brees just won a Super Bowl so that proves a quarterback can not only recover from a  shoulder injury, he can also learn a pro offense and run it successfully.

All positives for Bradford's future in the NFL.

Clausen on the other hand, has been running a pro offense at Notre Dame under former coach Charlie Weis and he has not has any glaring issues with injuries with the exception of a toe. There was also another quarterback that recently came from Notre Dame's pro system and that was Brady Quinn.

Clausen and Quinn are really apples and oranges, but Quinn did not throw at the combine and that hurt his stock which led to a free-fall in the first round on draft day which may happen to Clausen too since there is a Notre Dame connection.

He isn't even ranked in Scouts Inc.'s top 32.

LeFevour is the biggest head-scratcher because he could have easily increased his stock by throwing but would rather throw to his own receivers as well.

Projected by many mocks in the middle rounds of the draft, LeFevour could have boosted himself much higher, but instead he would rather take the risk of having a bad pro day and dropping him deeper into the depths of the middle to late rounds.

Still, all three quarterbacks face an uphill battle and saying they will not be throwing at the combine is not helping their stock much.

Most mock draft have both Bradford and Clasuen getting selected somewhere in the top fifteen, but do not be surprised if both are still sitting on their butts without a team hat on their head once pick No. 15 comes and goes.

LeFevour is an even bigger mystery now.

Don't be surprised if teams that need a quarterback pass on one in the first in order to draft a much less riskier lineman for the huge amount of money will be invested which means that quarterback stock will drop off the map.