2011 NFL Draft: Why Cam Newton Will Have a Jimmy Clausen Draft-Day Free-Fall
April 22nd, 2010: the worst day of Jimmy Clausen's life.
It was the first day of the 2010 NFL Draft. It was supposed to be a day Jimmy and the Clausen family would remember forever; the day he made it.
Clausen woke up with hopes of being selected a few picks after Sam Bradford would be chosen by the St. Louis Rams. First, the Seattle Seahawks passed on him, then the Cleveland Browns, the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks again, the 49ers again, the Denver Broncos twice, the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, and the day was over.
What was meant to be the fulfillment of a dream turned into Clausen's worst nightmare. At the top of the second round, he was passed on another half dozen times or so until he was finally selected by the Carolina Panthers at 48th overall.
Clausen was in shock, Mel Kiper was in shock, and Todd McShay was gloating.
The same tragedy that Jimmy Clausen fell victim to will happen to Cam Newton on draft day. Many of the reasons why he'll fall are different, but the end result will be a carbon copy.
Here are five reasons why he'll fall on draft weekend and an explanation of why each team that needs a quarterback will pass on him:
5. Lacks Deep Ball Accuracy
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Newton's accuracy short and between 10-15 yards is fine. There aren't many complaints out there about his accuracy within that range.
His deep accuracy though leaves something to be desired. Deep throws gave Newton some trouble in the BCS National Championship game against Oregon.
An athletic quarterback like him needs to be able to throw the ball deep to succeed in the NFL. If defenses don't respect his ability to burn them on a deep post or streak, they'll bring a safety up into the box as a spy.
Newton's fast, but he's not Michael Vick fast. He won't be able to get away from NFL defenders in the open field if defenses stack the box.
4. Scrambling Quarterback
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Scrambling quarterbacks just aren't highly sought after players. Who was the last scrambling quarterback to get drafted high? Vince Young back in 2006.
Many teams in the NFL may shy away from selecting an athletic quarterback all together. The breed hasn't proven it can win championships in the past.
The quarterback with Joe Flacco-like height, Tom Brady pocket presence, Peyton Manning intelligence, Tony Romo release, and Aaron Rogers athletic ability seems to be what teams look for the most. Sure it's nice to find a quarterback with Ben Roethlisberger size or Michael Vick speed, but those traits seem to be "added bonuses" instead of actually "needs".
3. One-Year Wonder
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Newton was stuck behind Tim Tebow at Florida for his first two years in college football. He obviously can't be faulted there. At the same time, you can't give him credit for playing against junior college competition.
He's had just one year of success in college football, granted that it was more success than most players have in their entire career, but it was still just one year.
People will call him a "winner." Again, it was just one year. I'll assume everyone who is reading has heard of Akili Smith and JaMarcus Russell.
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2. Spread Offense
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Like selecting a running back out of the triple option, drafting a quarterback out of the spread offense is always a huge risk.
The plays are different. The spread offense in college will produce wide open receivers for the quarterback. Completing a pass in the spread is much different than being able to hit a quick slant route between an outside linebacker and a cornerback in the NFL.
Newton doesn't have any experience under center which the pro game requires. His footwork will also have to be extensively worked with.
Newton has amazing potential, but he's just not a quarterback a team could win with right away.
1. Character Concerns
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This is the exact reason Jimmy Clausen fell on draft day. He had the strong arm, the pin-point accuracy, and the experience in a pro style offense. Teams in the NFL just didn't like something about his attitude.
Of course, the pay-for-play allegations can't be blamed on Cam as much as his father who is to shoulder most of the blame, but those allegations will continue to linger over Cam's head for the next few years, and even maybe for the rest of his playing career.
There's no way not to know if your father was selling you to a college to play football. If Newton actually didn't know, then don't expect a high score on his Wonderlic test.
1st Overall: Carolina Panthers
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Cam Newton isn't worth the first overall pick. There are also at least two quarterbacks that are more pro ready in Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Mallett.
Without a no-brainer to select from the quarterback position, the Panthers must now help out their quarterback Jimmy Clausen by upgrading his weapons.
3rd Overall: Buffalo Bills
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Chan Gailey has made it clear that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills next season. With that being said, the Bills aren't going to select Cam Newton.
They have so many other needs that selecting a quarterback that would serve as a backup next year would be foolish.
4th Overall: Cincinnati Bengals
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The cry for the Bengals to draft a quarterback has died down. Cam Newton definitely wouldn't be an upgrade over Carson Palmer anyway.
The Bengals need to protect Palmer and find him weapons, not replace him.
5th Overall: Arizona Cardinals
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Cam Newton doesn't strike me as Ken Whisenhunt's quarterback of choice to replace Kurt Warner. Warner and Newton's skill sets are polar opposites.
If the Cardinals were to select a quarterback in the first round, they would target Ryan Mallett, Blaine Gabbert, and Jake Locker all before Newton.
7th Overall: San Francisco 49ers
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At seventh overall, at least one of the top two quarterbacks who are more pro ready than Cam Newton will still be available.
Jim Harbaugh isn't going to want to target Newton to run his pro style offense. He's more likely to wait a year and select Andrew Luck than to select Newton.
8th Overall: Tennessee Titans
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The Titans/Oilers two greatest quarterbacks in franchise history in Warren Moon and Steve McNair were each athletic quarterbacks. Tennessee seems like the most likely destination yet, but think again.
Jeff Fisher is in the final year of his contract and is more likely to trust Kerry Collins with his job than Cam Newton.
10th Overall: Washington Redskins
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Mike Shanahan is supposedly a big fan of Jake Locker and wanted to select him last season. There's no way Locker will be chosen by the time the Redskins are on the clock at number 10.
Cam Newton fits the athletic mold of quarterback Shanahan prefers, but unfortunately for Newton, Shanahan would rather have Locker.
12th Overall: Minnesota Vikings
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Leslie Frazier has said that he wants to find the next Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco in the upcoming draft. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco are traditional pocket passers who played in pro style offenses in college.
That doesn't sound like Cam Newton to me at all.
15th Overall: Miami Dolphins
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Take your hands and put them as close together as you possibly can without touching them. That distance is how close Tony Sparano was from being fired this off season.
There's no way Sparano puts the little job security he has left in the hands of a rookie project quarterback.
25th Overall: Seattle Seahawks
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Matt Hasselbeck's playoff brilliance means that the Seahawks don't have to force the selection of a quarterback in the first round this year.
Plus, let's take a look back at Pete Carroll's starting quarterbacks who he recruited at USC: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty, Mark Sanchez, and Matt Barkley. None of them are scrambling quarterbacks; Carroll needs a pocket passer to run his offense.
David Daniels is an NFL Featured Columnist and Writing Intern at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him on Twitter or at One Yard Short.com.
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