Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen and the Top 2010 NFL Draft Disappointments

We're 13 weeks into the NFL season—more than enough time to make a judgment on the top rookies who have risen to the occasion and the rookies who, well, played like rookies.

Some rookies, like Detroit's Ndamukong Suh, Dallas' Dez Bryant's, Tampa Bay's Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount, New York's Jason Pierre-Paul, St. Louis' Sam Bradford and Cleveland's Colt McCoy have been immediate contributors for their team who have only seemed to have gotten better as the season has progressed.

But not all teams have been so lucky with their rookies, some of which have been disappointing so far this season.  Their respective teams may be second-guessing some of their draft day decisions.

Here are the rookies who may want to budget their money wisely...you know...just in case.

QB Tim Tebow

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KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 05: Quarterback Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos during warm-ups prior to the start of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 5, 2010 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty

You knew Tebow was gonna have to be on this list.

The problem is this: I love that Tebow is a winner, and I love his attitude and his respect for the game. He's certainly a talented player in the RIGHT system—which is a COLLEGE system.

Tebow's mechanics are way off, he's listed as a very generous 6'3" and his arm strength is questionable at best.

Is he a freak athlete? Of course he is. But the way Kyle Orton is playing right now for the Broncos, I can't see Tebow conceivably starting anytime soon.

Let's remember, Tebow was the second quarterback in the draft taken. In six games, Tebow is 1-of-1 for three yards and one passing TD, plus 12 carries for 28 yards and three TDs. His biggest supporter, Josh McDaniels, was just fired. There's a chance that Tebow is shown the door after the season so the Broncos can save some money that they'll have to pay to McDaniels...and whoever their new head coach is...and STILL Mike Shanahan.

Tebow sold some jerseys and maybe even some tickets for the Broncos, but his production on the field doesn't begin to equal out the draft pick he was taken overall (25th) OR what Denver had to give up to even get the pick (second, third and fourth-round draft picks).

CB Kareem Jackson

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HOUSTON - OCTOBER 10: Wide receiver Steve Smith #12 of the New York Giants races down the sidelines as cornerback Kareem Jackson #25 pursues at Reliant Stadium on October 10, 2010 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Maybe it's not fair to pick on Jackson, the Texans' rookie CB and 20th overall pick of last year's draft. His 54 tackles are tied for fourth most on the team, his two INTs are tied for second on the team and rarely are rookie cornerbacks pressed into this much action.

With that said, Houston boasts one of the worst secondaries in football, and Jackson has been a main target of quarterbacks all season.

Houston ranks dead last in passing defense, which is a shame considering how much talent they have on both sides of the ball. But with teams throwing for nearly 300 YPG against you, you won't be successful. A main culprit of that is Jackson, who has been torched seemingly all season.

You have to think the Texans may be kicking themselves for passing up on Boise State's Kyle Wilson, who slipped all the way to the Jets with the 29th pick in the draft.

QB Jimmy Clausen

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CLEVELAND - NOVEMBER 28: Quarterback Jimmy Clausen #2 of the Carolina Panthers is hit by defensive lineman Shaun Rogers #92 of the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on November 28, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Now Clausen gets a bit of a pass because he was a second-rounder. With that said, he slipped to the second round, and I don't know any expert or pundit who put Tebow ahead of Clausen coming into the draft (except those working for the Denver Broncos).

But even though he is a second-rounder, the Panthers had to be expecting A LOT more from their future quarterback than what they've gotten.

His stats aren't bad—they're horrendous. In nine games, he has one TD. One. He has six interceptions, eight fumbles (two lost) and a completion percentage of 50.5. He's stunk.

Now the Panthers as a team have also stunk and have battled injuries and ineptitude all year. But Clausen takes a ton of sacks (he's been sacked multiple times six times this season), and while it's easy to blame a weak offensive line and poor blitz pickups, part of the blame has to be put on Clausen.

I liked Clausen coming out of the draft and thought it was a great pick by the Panthers. But Clausen has looked nothing like the polished product he was while at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis. I know quarterbacks take longer to develop than other position players, but I'm starting to think that Clausen was more a product of the talent at Notre Dame and Weis' offensive schemes than actual talent.

Doesn't that sound an awful lot like...Brady Quinn?

Last fact: Panthers are 0-9 in games in which Clausen appears. That isn't totally his fault, but definitely worth pointing out.

DE Brandon Graham

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CINCINNATI - AUGUST 20: Brandon Graham #54 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates after making a tackle during the NFL preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on August 20, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty

This isn't a total knock on Graham, as you can see the upside in him. But here's my problem: He disappears way too much at times.

He's a great athlete, and the Eagles had to like that about him, but for a guy who's played 12 games, he only has 13 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.

Granted, he's playing mostly passing downs, but I feel that he hasn't done enough to push Juqua Parker out of his starting spot. Considering how much talent Graham has, I think that's a downer.

Another reason Graham is on this list: Jason Pierre-Paul. Pierre-Paul, like Graham, is a guy who plays mostly on passing downs. But the Giants' defensive line was more crowded than the Eagles' line until Mathias Kiwanuka went down with an injury, moving Pierre-Paul from fourth DE to third DE on passing downs. Pierre-Paul has responded, as his line so far this season is 22 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles.

Is it significantly better than Graham's? No. But Pierre-Paul was pegged with a lot more raw potential, and Graham was supposed to be more NFL-ready. I think, looking at Pierre-Paul, it's easy to say the Giants have the guy with more upside, but also more production so far this season.

Rookie Running Backs

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 05: C.J. Spiller #21 of the Buffalo Bills rushes against the Minnesota Vikings at the Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on December 5, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

I was thinking of picking one or two, but I decided that's not fair. I'm calling out all rookie running backs. Here's the list of running backs taken in the first two rounds of this year's draft: 

C.J. Spiller

Ryan Mathews

Jahvid Best

Dexter McCluster

Toby Gerhart

Ben Tate

Montario Hardesty

Now right off the bat, I'm going to take McCluster off the list. He plays WR for the Chiefs and would be their third-string running back behind Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. He was drafted with the intention to play WR.

So let's start at C.J. Spiller. He's had basically no luck unseating Fred Jackson in Buffalo. Now Jackson is a good player, but when you're a 2-10 team and your coach still isn't featuring you in the game plan, something ain't right. Spiller has the tools to be a dynamic threat, but he is WAY too injury-prone, and at 5'11", 196 pounds, he has shown nothing to indicate that he can maintain the hits of a 20-carry per game guy.

Considering how many needs Buffalo had coming into the draft (and still has), going for a guy like Spiller when they had Fred Jackson (and Marshawn Lynch at the time) was a bit of a head-scratcher. Now it's just disappointing.

Next is Ryan Mathews. This guy finds a new way to sprain his ankle basically every other week. He's a bit bigger than Spiller (6'0", 218), but the more I watch him play—the times when he ISN'T hurt—I don't see anything that special. He has three lost fumbles in 87 carries (a very bad ratio) and isn't much of a factor in the passing game.

Judging off what I've seen from Mike Tolbert, I think the Chargers have their starting running back for the future—and it isn't Ryan Mathews.

Jahvid Best is very similar to Ryan Mathews—a walking injury. To his credit, he's only missed one game, but he's very small (5'10", 199 pounds) and has not gotten a huge workload (136 carries, 50 receptions) to where he should be struggling so much with wear and tear.

The talent is definitely there with Best, who is already one of the better receiving running backs in the league. But again, if you watch him play, you know he'll be a platoon guy, not a guy who can shoulder the workload himself. He hasn't had a game where he's had more than 17 carries, and I can't see that trend changing. He's going to be Reggie Bush Lite in my eyes—a nice guy to have on my team, but not a guy I'd be rushing to use my first-rounder on, especially if I'm the Lions.

Toby Gerhart has been a nice change-of-pace guy for the Vikes. That is if the pace is fast to slow. There's just something about Gerhart that I don't like. Granted, it's tough to compare when you watch A-Pete run and then Gerhart come into the game.

The Vikes never envisioned Gerhart having to take over for Peterson anytime soon, which leads me to question why they wasted a second-rounder on him. Yes, I know Chester Taylor left in free agency, and they needed a guy to spell A-Pete. But this team could have used some help along both lines, and I think to use a luxury pick in the second round was not too wise.

Ben Tate and Montario Hardesty both went down with injuries before the season started. The current running backs for their respective teams? Arian Foster and Peyton Hillis. For some reason, I can't see either Tate or Hardesty seeing much playing time when he comes back.

Michael Perchick is the writer/editor of TheJockosphere, a sports/Twitter site, reporting the top tweets and news directly from athletes. Follow him on Twitter @TheREALPerchick and at http://thejockosphere.com/.