NFL Draft 2011: Andy Dalton Becomes Cincinnati Bengals' Leading Man

There were no character questions about Andy Dalton, the quarterback from TCU, nor was there any moment where he showed enormous flaws in his on-field capabilities.

Why didn’t this transfer to a heightened draft stock? Dalton has the downfall of being in a draft class of quarterbacks with enormous potential that may or may not translate well in the NFL.

Being safe is something that the newest head coaches in the league do not seem to be fond of doing and that has been displayed in choosing Christian Ponder, Cam Newton, Jake Locker and Blaine Gabbert in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. Dalton was the safest choice, which allowed him to be rated lower than his talent should allow.

Now, his wait is over. He is on his way to Bengals camp to replace Carson Palmer as the franchise QB.

As much as the owner is puffing his chest saying that he does not wish to let Palmer out of his responsibilities as the resident quarterback, there was pressure in this year’s draft to get someone capable of filling that seemingly empty position. Andy Dalton is the only surefire QB pick that I see in the entire draft and apparently Cincy feels that way as well.

What will he be like in the NFL? Sure he went undefeated in his last season as a Horned Frog and achieved a rating of 166.48. Of course he threw for 27 touchdowns and accumulated 2,857 yards, 219 that were racked up in the Rose Bowl against the Big Ten’s Wisconsin football team.

Numbers like these may wow college football analysts all over the country, but in the professional league there is much more that goes into determining the face of a franchise.

Dalton has the numbers and experience on his side. He spent four years playing at the college level and maintained an elite status the entire time for his position. His statistics gradually rose as far as percentage of completion and touchdowns are concerned, as well as his mechanics and decision making abilities during game play.

Dalton was dependable and would lead his troops through a firestorm, which makes him such an impressive candidate. He may not be the most charismatic of them all, but when he has his helmet on, the defensive side of the ball knows that they have their hands full as far as pocket containment.

The Bengals are lining up their dominoes only for them to watch how they fall into place as the season begins. AJ Green and quarterback Andy Dalton will be a monstrous duo to contend against and we just may be seeing the beginning of a long running legacy.