In his latest mock, Russ Lande of the Sporting News says Andrew Luck is the best quarterback prospect he's evaluated in over 10 years. High praise.
TSN: Andrew Luck is the best quarterback prospect in over 10 years
Entering the season, I didn’t have Luck rated because he’s only a redshirt sophomore. However, after watching every minute of the UCLA, Wake Forest and Notre Dame games, Luck will likely be our No. 1 overall quarterback in a revised set of rankings next week.
Still, saying he's the best draft prospect in over 10 years is a ballsy statement. In the past 10-plus years, that would put Luck ahead of the likes of Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, JaMarcus Russell (you can't deny how hot he was coming out), Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Smith, Carson Palmer, David Carr (same as Russell) and Tim Couch.
Depending on how far back you go, that would also include Peyton Manning, who was taken first overall in the 1998 NFL Draft.
I really started following the draft hard in 1996 – I thought Tim Biakabutuka was going to be a star (ugh). Since then, I don’t think I’ve held a player in as high of regard as Manning. In fact, if I had to rank the above-mentioned quarterbacks when they came out, here’s what it would look like. Now remember, this is strictly as prospects, not how their career ended up. Revisionist history be damned.
1.Peyton Manning
2. Matthew Stafford
3. Carson Palmer
4. Tim Couch
5. Philip Rivers
6. Sam Bradford
7. Ben Roethlisberger
8. Matt Ryan
9. David Carr
10. Eli Manning
11. JaMarcus Russell
12. Alex Smith
Judging on the short time he’s had in college, I’d have Luck third in that list. It’s hard to knock how highly regarded Peyton Manning and Stafford were coming out of college. They have prototypical size with smarts and a good arm. Those are also strengths of Luck’s.
In fact, the only thing keeping Luck back for me is the inexperience and the fact that he hasn’t taken a game over. But there’s still time for both.
Lande didn’t really expound on why he considers Luck the best quarterback prospect in over 10 years. That just stuck out to me reading his mock.
Also interesting from the mock:
- Prince Amukamara over Patrick Peterson
- No Jake Locker, however he has Christian Ponder going fourth overall
- Indiana offensive tackle James Brewer going in the first round
- Troy wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan going in the first round. I like Jernigan a lot, but maybe not in the first 75 picks.
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