One thing the NFL has taught us in recent years is it’s a quarterback league.
It’s easy to separate the contenders from the pretenders by who’s under center. With the NFL draft just over two months away teams in need, or simply looking to make an upgrade, are pouring over tape and flying around the country to select Pro Days in hopes of finding their future QB.
One guy who knows a thing or two about excellent quarterback play and competing at the highest level is Kurt Warner. The former 4-time Pro-Bowler and Super Bowl MVP who now does analyst work for NFL Network was asked if he could pick one from this year’s class, who would it be?
“That’s a great question,” Warner said to Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s a hard question for me to answer because they all have some strengths, but they all have some weaknesses too so I’m not sure which one is going to be the superstar.”
The most polarizing figure of the group is Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel who didn’t throw and last month’s NFL Combine and skipped working out at the Aggies’ Pro Day in College Station on Wednesday. His stock varies depending on which mock draft you read.
“I love Johnny Manziel’s competitiveness,” Warner explained. “To me that’s something that’s very, very hard to teach. You have to remember that he’s only been in college for two years so there’s some things I’d like to see inside the pocket and I don’t know if he’s going to get there or not. So that’s my biggest question with Johnny but I love his competitiveness.”
There was one quarterback who he believes stood out above the rest in this uncertain class.
“The guy who looked the best on film, pocket presence and understanding defenses was Teddy Bridgewater,” Warner said. “I would probably lean in that direction, although I could make a great argument for Johnny Manziel…like a Russell Wilson, he’s got a competitiveness and an attitude of winning that you want at that position.”
He said he was able to get to know a handful of the quarterback prospects during some one-on-time in Indianapolis and offered his cell phone to be reached if any of the future pros had any questions or needed some advice before or after the draft.
“A lot of these kids I really liked and was really impressed with…now how…does it all translate at the NFL level and that’s why it’s so hard to pick quarterbacks because we don’t know. ”
Eric Sorenson
