NFL draft preview: Quarterbacks

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 24, 2008 at 9:22 a.m.

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Photo by James Crisp / Associated Press/2007

Louisville's Brian Brohm passed for more than 4,000 yards during the 2007 season.

Photo by Darron Cummings / Associated Press/2007

Boston College's Matt Ryan led the Eagles to 10 wins during the 2006 season and 11 in 2007.

Photo by David Zalubowski / Associated Press/2006

Colorado State's Caleb Hanie threw well at a lightly attended Pro Day. Officials from the Broncos, Colts, Jaguars and Jets attended.

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Overview

Last season, two quarterbacks - JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn - were taken in the first round. Three more - Kevin Kolb, Drew Stanton and John Beck - were taken in the second round in what was considered a so-so year at the position.

This year, it will take a reach or two from the teams making the picks to match that total. Boston College's Matt Ryan leads the way on most draft boards, with Brian Brohm, Joe Flacco and Chad Henne rounding out the top four.

Awards

* Manning: Matt Ryan, Boston College

* Unitas: Matt Ryan, Boston College

* Walter Payton (2006): Ricky Santos, New Hampshire

4,000 Club

These are the quarterbacks in this draft class who threw for at least 4,000 yards last season.

Player School Yards

Paul Smith Tulsa 5,065

Matt Ryan Boston College 4,507

Colt Brennan Hawaii 4,343

Joe Flacco Delaware 4,263

Brian Brohm Louisville 4,024

Numbers game

114 years had passed between back-to-back 10-win seasons for Boston College until Matt Ryan led them to 10 wins in 2006 and 11 wins in 2007.

It's always something

For many in this quarterbacks class, it simply wasn't enough to put up big numbers to please the league's talent evaluators.

* Colt Brennan of Hawaii had three 4,000-yard seasons - he threw for 5,549 yards in 2006 - and set 31 NCAA records. But he faltered at the Senior Bowl practices and underwent hip surgery this month, and scouts are skeptical of run-and-shoot quarterbacks such as Brennan making the transition to the NFL.

* San Diego's Josh Johnson threw 113 touchdown passes to go with only 15 interceptions in his career - he had 43 touchdowns and one interception in 2007 - but he played nonscholarship football and is a little undersized to suit most teams.

* New Hampshire's Ricky Santos finished his career with 123 touchdown passes and 13,212 passing yards, while completing at least 64 percent of his passes in all four seasons. But he's too small for most teams and doesn't have enough arm strength.

* And in Tulsa's no-huddle, spread attack, Paul Smith had 14 consecutive 300-yard games in 2007, including 312 yards and five touchdown passes to close the year in the GMAC Bowl. However, at 6-11/4, 208 pounds, scouts have big concerns about his size and footwork.

Hitch it

Kentucky's Andre Woodson threw for 415 yards with five touchdowns against Florida last season, threw for 430 and six touchdowns against Tennessee and 358 and four touchdowns against Florida State.

He had back-to-back 3,500-yard seasons playing in the Southeastern Conference, but his draft stock has fallen with concerns about what many scouts believe is too big a windup in his delivery and the effect it has on his accuracy because his release point is inconsistent.

"You just try to do the best job you can to prove the critics wrong," Woodson said. "You have to really just focus on what you can improve, what you can polish up on. For me, it's my mechanics - just continue to do a better job of cleaning it up, do a better job with my release."

Woodson has worked with former NFL offensive coordinator and current Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman in recent weeks to try to clean up his delivery, but the concerns might push him well out of the first three rounds.

"I just have to continue to do the best I can to improve as much as possible, but for the most part, they don't feel like it will take a lot for me to be fixed," Woodson said.

Family ties

The Brohm family tree has deep roots at Louisville.

Oscar Brohm played for the Cardinals, as did his sons, Greg and Jeff. His youngest son, Brian, just finished his career there as a record-setting quarterback.

Jeff Brohm was Brian's position coach, and Greg Brohm also is a former member of the school's football staff.

"My older brother, Jeff, he's been great to me," Brian Brohm said. "He's a guy who played in the league for seven years, was teaching me the NFL thing since I was 8, 9 years old. . . . Since I've been young, he's been trying to groom me to be an NFL quarterback, go through those types of drills and NFL-type reads. We've been discussing this stuff since I was in high school."

He said it

"Obviously, I'm from a big basketball family. I figure there's less 6-6 quarterbacks than there are shooting guards with average 'hops' and OK defense."

Erik Ainge, Tennessee quarterback and the nephew of Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge, on his basketball ability.

legwoldj@RockyMountain News.com or 303-892-2359

Rating the quarterbacks

After discussions with scouts, general managers and other personnel executives around the league, as well as video review, the Rocky's Jeff Legwold ranks the top prospects at quarterback in this year's draft. (*Indicates best verified 40-yard time in predraft workouts).

* OVERALL CLASS: Average Player School Ht. Wt. 40*

1. Brian Brohm Louisville 6-27/8 230 4.70 Lowdown: Had seven 300-yard games in '07, three 400-yard games and one 555-yard effort. Missed Senior Bowl with ankle injury.

2. Matt Ryan Boston College 6-43/4 228 4.92 Lowdown: Teammates called him "Matty Ice" for his late-game performances. Led team to only second 11-win season in program's history.

3. Joe Flacco Delaware 6-6 3/8 236 4.84 Lowdown: Biggest arm in the draft. Completed a little more than 63 percent of his passes in his two seasons as a starter. Threw for 4,263 yards in '07.

4. Chad Henne Michigan 6-27/8 230 4.92 Lowdown: Four-year starter - 47 games in all. Threw two TD passes in Senior Bowl. Scouts like his toughness; played with dislocated shoulder in '07.

5. John David Booty Southern California 6-23/8 218 4.92 Lowdown: Has dealt with finger, back, elbow and wrist injuries in his career. Threw 52 TD passes in his two years as a starter.

* Other names to keep handy: Erik Ainge, Tennessee; Andre Woodson, Kentucky; Kevin O'Connell, San Diego State; Josh Johnson, San Diego; T.C. Ostrander, Stanford; Matt Flynn, Louisiana State.

* Small-school hero: Brad Roach, Catawba.

* First local call: Teams have taken a look at Colorado State's Caleb Hanie, and he threw fairly well at a lightly attended Pro Day at CSU. The Broncos, Colts, Jaguars and Jets had representatives in Fort Collins. Bernard Jackson worked out at the University of Colorado's Pro Day, but most teams consider him a developmental prospect at wide receiver, which is where he finished his college career for the Buffaloes. Jackson ran his 40s in the 4.8s.

* Broncos breakdown: Mike Shanahan has said the team isn't in the market for a quarterback, with Jay Cutler and Patrick Ramsey in place as the team's top two passers. Darrell Hackney, the team's No. 3 last season, still is on the roster, and the Broncos recently signed Grand Valley State's Cullen Finnerty as their fourth arm heading to camp. They might look at a developmental prospect on the draft's second day but are feeling no urgency at the position.

Scouting the NFL draft

Fourth in a five-part series previewing the NFL draft, which will take place Saturday and Sunday in New York.

* Monday: Defensive linemen, linebackers

* Tuesday: Defensive backs, special teams

* Wednesday: Wide receivers, tight ends

* Today: Quarterbacks

* Friday: Running backs, offensive linemen

Legwold on the draft

For video related to this series and the Rocky's Top 100 players in the draft, go to RockyMountainNews.com/Broncos.

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