Why Blaine Gabbert Isn't in the Same Class as Cam Newton, Christian Ponder

When the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up six spots to select Blaine Gabbert with the 10th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, they likely weren't expecting him to start right away. But they certainly must have thought he'd be better than he has been early.

Gabbert has been just awful this season. Entering Week 10, he had completed just 79 of 173 passes (45.7 percent) for 907 yards, with five touchdowns and four interceptions. His quarterback rating of 62.0 ranks dead last in the NFL.

A look inside the numbers through the first nine weeks of the season makes things look even worse for Gabbert, as he has completed just 60 of 120 passes that have traveled fewer than 10 yards in the air. On throws categorized as "short" the Missouri product has just one touchdown, one interception and a 60.9 passer rating, which is also the worst in the NFL. 

We all know the kind of player Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been and clearly Gabbert is not in his class yet. But the other first-round signal-caller taken in 2011 who is starting right now, Christian Ponder, is also out-playing Gabbert by quite a bit.

Ponder was the 12th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings, and after sitting behind veteran Donovan McNabb for the first six games of the season, he has started the past two games and looked relatively good doing it.

This season Ponder has completed 40 of 77 passes for 554 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. While his quarterback rating of 77.5 isn't stellar, it is far better than what Gabbert has produced.

Meanwhile the Vikings have converted 10 of 16 third-down opportunities with the Florida State product at under center. Considering that the team was just four of 17 on third downs with McNabb at quarterback that's a stunning turnaround.

While Ponder certainly isn't blowing anyone away, he seems to have something going for him that Gabbert doesn't. 

At this point it's hard to even compare Gabbert to Newton and Ponder because he has just been so woefully inaccurate. In the long run he may figure things out but right now he has been the most disappointing of the quarterbacks taken in the 2011 NFL Draft.