Cam Newton: What Are the Auburn Star's NFL Chances?

Cameron Newton, star quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, currently tops most Heisman Trophy predictions, despite his involvement in a recent series of scandals. Newton is a fast and surprisingly physical runner, as well as being an accurate passer, and he runs the option system at Auburn perfectly.

Newton has been the difference-maker this year for Auburn, and he has them poised to play against Oregon in the BCS National Championship game in January.

There is no doubt that Cam Newton is one of the most exciting players in college football right now. Newton is an excellent runner. So far this season, Newton posted 1146 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground, utilizing his surprising speed to beat defenses to the outside.

Newton is also a very accurate passer. Watch these highlights from Auburn's shootout win against Arkansas. At about the 1:00 mark, you'll see Cam Newton make a very good pass into a very tight window. His typical passes are not this difficult, but it is comforting to know that he is capable of putting the ball on the money, especially in tight games such as this one.

With an arm like that, coupled with the speed and elusiveness of an option quarterback, people are starting to wonder whether or not Cam Newton could be a legitimate NFL prospect.

To answer that right off the bat, Newton will most certainly end up in the NFL. He is simply too impressive as an athlete to pass up. That having been said, his future as an NFL quarterback is somewhat murky for two main reasons.

For one, as for as most NFL teams are concerned, they would prefer it if they never saw their quarterback pass the line of scrimmage.

Much like Tim Tebow, any NFL team that takes a chance on Newton will first have to break him of his college habits and force him to play more behind the line. NFL level athletes are just too big, too fast and too strong for teams to risk running their quarterback (even Michael Vick gets hurt sometimes).

There are also big question marks surrounding how Newton would perform within a professional system.

Auburn, as most of you likely know, runs an option attack. While there certainly are successful players that come out of offenses like that (such as the previously mentioned Michael Vick), it casts a lot of doubt on a players ability.

As an option quarterback, Newton has the benefit of essentially running a play action fake on almost every snap. Often times that leads to open receivers down the field, which allows Newton to make easy throws to wide open receivers.

Often, though, Newton is forced to make plays with his feet, something he is very good at. This part of his game is what really affords him an advantage through the air. Since he is such a threat on the ground, every time he steps up in the pocket or starts to scramble, linebackers (and defensive backs in some cases) start to cheat up, which allows receivers to come open over the top.

Taken out of the option system, Cam Newton seems to be just another great athlete with a decent arm.

In the end, he will play in the NFL without a doubt, but his NFL potential is murky. On the one hand, there is the fact that he is an amazing athlete, and is currently at the helm of one of the deadliest offenses in college football right now.

One the other hand, however, it is hard to gauge how well he would adapt to a professional system, and how well he could perform without the coverage benefits afforded to him by the option system.

As it stands, Newton seems to be no better than a second round prospect, and bottoms out likely around the fourth or fifth round. He has a lot of upside, which will keep him out of the bottom rounds, but there is way too much risk in this pick, which will keep him from first or high second round consideration.