2012 NFL Draft: Will Kellen Moore Outshine His Low Draft Grade?

I’ve always enjoyed the fun practice of comparing quarterbacks to beers. But for that matter, I’ve always enjoyed the practice of comparing anything to beer.

There’s really no need for any other rating system. Forget 1-10 scales, forget grades: saying something’s a Guinness or a Bud Ice will get your point across just fine.

One of the most hotly debated quarterback prospects in the 2012 draft class is Boise State’s Kellen Moore.

Moore recently just passed Colt McCoy to become the winningest quarterback in college football, and he’s put himself up there on that pedestal with the greatest college quarterbacks of this era.

But because he’s a successful college quarterback who isn’t cut from the same mold as the big, pro-style drop back passers in the NFL, he’s gained his fair share of doubters along the way.

It remains to be seen, though, who will ultimately prove to be right, his supporters or critics. He's sure to have plenty of both.

So just how good of an NFL prospect is Kellen Moore? Well, let’s give him the beer test.

If Andrew Luck’s a Guinness and Stephen Garcia’s a Bud Ice, what’s Kellen Moore?

In my eyes, Kellen Moore is that beer you stare at for five minutes in the liquor store, thinking to yourself, “that packaging has a lot of colors, that could be fun.”

He’s one of those weird big bottles of Belgian beer like Delirium Tremens, just sitting there, looking tempting.

You can bet that general managers and scouts will stare at Moore for a while, be tempted and then ultimately have to make that crucial decision: is the Moore six-pack worth my nine dollars?

If you take one look at him as a player and as a leader. It’s an obvious yes.

He’s the ultimate winner, his preparation habits are unmatched, and oh yeah, he throws a pretty nice deep ball.

But then you realize that he’s six-feet tall, and go, oh shoot, he’ll never make it in the NFL.

That’s what many critics will be doing during the postseason draft process.

There's no doubt that Kellen Moore’s height is going to be a big topic of discussion in March and April.

There'll be a lot of those weird praise-and-criticism-mixed scouting reports saying things like, “Moore may be a deadly accurate and precise passer, but that won’t matter when he can’t see over the offensive line in the pros.”

Moore may be small, and sure, he may even be a little goofy looking, but when it comes time to ball, he always brings it. When that helmet goes on, he’s a machine, and that’s what you want to see in a quarterback.

So, no Kellen Moore may not be the big, 6’5’’, strong-armed prototype, but he’s definitely worth some strong consideration.

Just because a successful college quarterback doesn't fit the exact criteria of what a prototype NFL passer should be, it doesn't mean he deserves to be written off. 

Moore's got the skills it takes to succeed in the NFL, now we just have to wait and see if any team will be tempted enough to give him the keys to the franchise.