Jimmy Clausen vs. Sam Bradford: Who Will Be The Better Pro?

With respects to Zach Robinson (New England Patriots), Mike Kafka (Philadelphia Eagles) and Rusty Smith (Tennessee Titans), the two most important quarterbacks that came out of the 2010 NFL draft were Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford.

Those are the two that are destined to be the most important. Colt McCoy was a great college player, but he won't be playing for Cleveland for a couple years. Unfortunately for Denver fans, unless Tim Tebow suddenly changes everything about his playing style (gets a new arm, learns how to not take hits straight on . . .) then he has as much chance of being a star quarterback as I do of banging Natalie Portman.

So, that leaves us Clausen and Bradford, two huge prospects out of big football schools that were chosen to lead their respective professional teams to victory.

Let's, compare and predict how these two players will turn out:

Sam Bradford:

Usually when a team picks first in the NFL draft, they try to go for the "sure thing." At least for the "surest thing" possible. Well, unfortunately, Bradford is about as far away from a sure thing as a team can possibly go. Taking a quarterback is always risky business. Taking a quarterback with the first overall pick after said quarterback just missed an entire season in college because he hurt his shoulder is beyond idiotic. Wouldn't it have been weird if John Wall broke his ankle in his first game at Kentucky, sat out the entire year, and then the Washington Wizards still took him number 1 overall. 

Wouldn't that seem a bit odd? Especially since they're better options left on the board. If I were St. Louis I wouldn't take a player until I was ABSOLUTELY SURE that the player would be a star. Ndamukong Suh is a year removed from turning Big 12 quarterbacks into his own little punching bag, and Eric Berry was considered, by a large margin, the most skilled player in the draft. It was an especially strange decision considering that A) 2011 is supposed to be huge quarterback draft, and B) St. Louis will probably be picking top 5 again next season. Instead of being patient, grabbing a good offensive lineman or defensive player, and then scoring BIG next season with a Jake Locker, Andrew Luck, Ryan Mallett or Christian Ponder (all of who are going to be better then Bradford) they went to the one guy with major question marks. 

Still, St. Louis takes Bradford, puts him up behind a makeshift offensive line and a bunch of castoffs for wide receivers. They're setting this young kid up to fail. 

Jimmy Clausen:

Clausen will definitely have a rough rookie season, as all rookie quarterbacks do except for (strangely) Matt Ryan, but in a few years I think he'll be one of the better passers in the NFC. Because Notre Dame played a pro-style offense, Clausen was already one-step ahead of the system upon reaching the NFL.

Clausen slipped in the draft because of attitude issues. CBS Sports columnist referred to him as a "jerk," and he has been in some (minor) altercations. He was cited for alcohol transportation in 2007, and was involved in a small fight with another man who reportedly punched Clausen in the face.

That being said, Clausen goes to one of the better situations in the NFL. He goes to a team with the best running game in his division (DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart) and gets to throw to veteran Steve Smith and talented rookie Brandon LaFell. Among the teams that were desperate for a quarterback, there wasn't a better place that he could've gone to.

Decision:

Unfortunately for St. Louis fans, Bradford will be a project. Unless the Rams suddenly acquire a capable offensive line, two- wide-outs and a tight end, they will be disturbingly untalented across the board. For a player who has had problems with injury, there wasn't a worst place to go. Bradford and the stadium turf we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few years.

In terms of Clausen, he is a more talented player and will be a better pro. It was shocking that 32 teams let Clausen drop that low in the draft. Carolina will reap the benefits.