JaMarcus Russell - Is he a must draft at number 1?
NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Will he bomb out or throw the bomb?
Nobody said the draft is an exact science.
Go back and review your favorite team’s drafts in the recent past and you will see a lot of “who is that guy” picks that never made it.
It gets even harder at quarterback.
Oddly enough it is even hard if the quarterback being drafted is taken on the 1st pick of the draft.
Some say it is 50 - 50, that the first quarterback in the draft will fail.
The big problem with that logic… is that you need a great quarterback in today’s NFL if you are planning on winning a Super Bowl.
Oakland’s President and managing General Partner, Al Davis, would like to win another Super Bowl. Al’s Raiders have won 3 of them, yeah, 3 Super Bowls. You could say he knows what he is doing, but then it has been since 1983.
Al has the first pick and he is thinking JaMarcus Russell might be the Raider’s quarterback of the future.
The Chargers GM A.J. Smith really likes Russell.
“I had to see him for myself, knowing he could be going against us the next 10 to 12 years,” Smith says. “He has arm strength like Brett Favre, Jeff George and John Elway. But what I noticed at his workout is that he has one of the tightest spirals I’ve ever seen delivered. The guy is just awesome. If he’s got the intangibles and he wants to work hard … everything I’m hearing is that this is a legitimate guy who will take this opportunity and become an incredible pro. And it’s making me nervous.” source
Still, you must be careful. Remember the Ryan Leaf vs. Peyton Manning debacle?
“I was getting tired of the indecision, there was so much Manning-Leaf debate and people going, ‘I don’t have enough upside,’” Manning says. “I had to go to Indy for another meeting. I got on my high horse and said, ‘Listen, here’s the deal: If you take me, I’ll be the best player I can be my entire career. But if you don’t, I promise, I’ll kick your ass for the next 15 years.’”
Polian was sold, and the Chargers selected Leaf with the No. 2 pick. Manning is a Super Bowl and two-time league MVP, and Leaf coaches the West Texas A&M quarterbacks and the men’s golf team.
If you ask Brady Quinn, he will tell you if JaMarcus Russell should be the number 1 pick.
Quinn was a four-year starter who passed for 11,762 yards and led his team to a 29-18 record, including 19-6 over his final two seasons. Russell was a two-year starter who threw for 6,525 yards and led his team to a 25-4 record.
Many drafts observers believe Quinn is more polished, but Russell might have more potential. Quinn states flatly that he is the better choice. source
So do you take JaMarcus or even Brady with the first pick of the draft?
Recent history suggests that neither will do a whole lot for a long time, as the chart below suggests.
Of course, if Oakland does not take him, then their starting quarterback is Andrew Walter, a mere third round pick from the 2005 draft.
RISKY PICK AT NO. 1
The 15 quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall since 1970 (Super Bowl winners in bold):
Player Year Team
Terry Bradshaw 1970 Steelers
Jim Plunkett 1971 Patriots*
Steve Bartkowski 1975 Falcons
John Elway 1983 Colts**
Vinny Testaverde 1987 Bucs
Troy Aikman 1989 Cowboys
Jeff George 1990 Colts
Drew Bledsoe 1993 Patriots***
Peyton Manning 1998 Colts
x-Tim Couch 1999 Browns
Michael Vick 2001 Falcons
David Carr 2002 Texans
Carson Palmer 2003 Bengals
Eli Manning 2004 Chargers****
Alex Smith 2005 49ers
*Won Super Bowl with Raiders
**Traded to Broncos after draft
***Did not play in Patriots’ Super Bowl victory
****Traded to Giants on draft day
x-out of NFL
It is a special kind of torture applied to all bottom feeders in the NFL. If you want to move up, in most cases, you will roll the dice and use a high draft pick for a quarterback.
Oakland is hoping they roll a winner with JaMarcus Russell.
NFL Football Fan Question Will Al Davis take JaMarcus Russell? Would you take him?
As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.
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POSTED IN: Al Davis, Brady Quinn, JaMarcus Russell, NFL Football, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers
4 opinions for JaMarcus Russell - Is he a must draft at number 1?
Geoff Young
Apr 18, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Shhh, we don’t say the “L” word here in San Diego.
James
Apr 18, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Geoff, thought you turned over a new leaf on that one?
Geoff Young
Apr 18, 2007 at 6:23 pm
You, sir, are pure evil. ;-)
James
Apr 18, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Just Ryan to be nice, but had better Leaf it at that.
There is a(Matt)Millen more jokes where that one came from
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