Only one team in the NFL Draft will have the option of selecting between Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, and that’s the Indianapolis Colts.
With the Colts expected to draft Luck with the first pick overall, where Griffin lands will be determined by which team can trade into the second slot with the St. Louis Rams, or possibly the third spot with the Minnesota Vikings.
As for the rest of the QB-needy teams in the league, the question then becomes whether any of the other passers in this year’s draft class can scratch their particular itch.
The evaluation process already is well underway, and it will move to the next level at next week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. That’s where teams like the Seahawks will sit down with the likes of Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill, Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden, Arizona’s Nick Foles and others to determine if one can become their quarterback of the future – or perhaps even present.
Pete Carroll already is on the record that he’d like to increase the competition at the position – where 
And the Seahawks’ third-year coach even admits that he’s altered his outlook on the ability of college QBs being able to step in and play at the next level, especially after Cam Newton and Andy Dalton did just that for the Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals during the 2011 season.
“My opinion in the last few years has changed on what the quarterbacks can do coming out of college,” Carroll said. “I would have told you in years past as an NFL coach that young guys can’t do it and there were only a couple that ever did and it wasn’t enough to make that an exception that you could count on.”
Then, a long came Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco in the 2008 draft; Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman in the 2009 draft; Sam Bradford, to a lesser extent, a year later; and last year’s group that included Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder in addition to Newton and Dalton.
After watching Ryan (Falcons), Flacco (Ravens), Stafford (Lions), Sanchez (Jets) and Dalton (Bengals) lead their teams to the postseason; Carroll can’t help but tweak his tune.
“I’ve changed my attitude about it just based on the results of the guys,” Carroll said. “There’s a lot of guys that have come through now – this year was really clear with the play that the guys put forth. There’s a carryover in the upbringing of quarterbacks that now is allowing them to transition much more quickly and I think you can go with a young quarterback.”
Carroll isn’t saying he will, especially with the Seahawks to select either 11th or 12th in the first round on April 26 and Luck and Griffin expected to be long gone. So, if not Luck or Griffin, then who? If not in the first round, then how about the second, or third, or even later?
Mike Mayock, draft analyst for the NFL Network, did a two-hour conference call on Wednesday and many of the questions he fielded dealt with the QBs in this year’s class.
“It’s the most important position in all of sports,” Mayock said.
With that said, here’s Mayock view of several quarterbacks the Seahawks will have a chance to select, and the obvious two that they won’t:
Luck – He has been considered the top pick in this year’s draft since before last season began, and even Griffin winning the Heisman hasn’t altered his status.
“I think he falls, from an intellect and passion for the game of football, somewhere in that kind of Peyton Manning/Matt Ryan mold,” Mayock said. “That’s how much the kid loves it. As far as ability, I don’t think he’s quite in the Peyton Manning mold, but I think he’s close.
“I don’t put him up there as a once-in-a-lifetime guy. I’ve never said that about him. I think he’s in that same category with a Bradford, and that kind of guy who came out as a top pick. But I’m not trying to tell you I think he’s going to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.”
Griffin – Remember, he predicted his Heisman victory on national TV moments after leading Baylor to its victory over Oklahoma. So he’s not lacking confidence, or physical skills.
“Is there some downside to Robert Griffin? Yes, there is,” Mayock said when asked about the Cleveland Browns possibly trading up from the No. 4 spot to draft him. “However, that’s a pretty exciting proposition to build your young franchise around maybe the most exciting young player in this year’s draft.”
Tannehill – The Texas A&M QB will not work out at the combine because he’s still recovering from foot surgery. But he could be available to the Seahawks at No. 11 or No. 12 (which pick they get will be determined by a coin flip with the Kansas City Chiefs at the combine). But even Tannehill could be gone, because the Washington Redskins at No. 6 and the Miami Dolphins at either No. 8 or 9 also are involved in the QB scavenger hunt this offseason.
Last year, no one expected Ponder or the University of Washington’s Locker to go in the first 12 picks, but go they did – Locker at No. 8 to the Tennessee Titans and Ponder at No. 12 to the Minnesota Vikings.
“The same thing could happen with Tannehill this year,” Mayock said. “He’s got everything you want. He’s got size. He’s got arm strength. He’s a really good athlete.”
And he also played wide receiver earlier in his career.
“What I don’t like about him is he waits for routes to develop before he throws the football – in other words, he lacks anticipation,” Mayock said. “Because of that, he throws late in coverage and makes mistakes. That’s not atypical for a lot of young quarterbacks in college football, especially ones that only have really a year and a half of starting under their belt.”
Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State – There’s maturity, and then there’s maturity. Weeden, who played five seasons of minor league baseball before returning to football, is 28. So he doesn’t have a lot of developmental time to spare.
“When you look at Weeded, there are two negatives,” Mayock said. “One is his age. Everybody knows he’s 28-years old and you’ve got to decide as a franchise how much of a negative that is. The other thing is he struggles when he has to reset in the pocket.”
That’s why Mayock views him as a second-round pick.
Kirk Cousins, Michigan State – He doesn’t crack Mayock’s Top 5 at the position, but that could be good for the team that’s still looking for a QB in the middle rounds.
“What I like about him is you can put the tape on and see his skills translate at the next level,” Mayock said. “He’s under center; he’s in the (shot) gun. He’s got good feet. He’s a good athlete. I like his delivery and posture. He’s got a good arm; not a great arm.
“He’s one of those guys, I think, that does everything pretty well, but he doesn’t have any one elite skill. I think he’s a natural backup quarterback whose upside could be that down the road three or four years he could be a T.J. Yates (of the Texans) or better.”
Russell Wilson, Wisconsin – He comes up short in the most obvious category: Height. At 5 feet 11, Wilson will have to display that he is capable of playing taller – like Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints’ prolific passer who’s listed at 6-foot but also able to create passing lanes by sliding and moving in the pocket. Mayock lists Wilson under his “figure them out” category among the QBs in this draft class.
“I was intrigued by both Russell Wilson and Kellen Moore, and I called them both ‘figure them out,’ ” Mayock said. “They don’t look, smell or taste like what those first-round quarterbacks are supposed to look like.”
Mayock first saw Wilson play against North Carolina when he was a freshman at North Carolina State, before he transferred to Wisconsin.
“I saw him personally beat a pretty good football team, without a whole lot of help,” Mayock said. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this kid really gets it. He gets the game of football.’ No matter how small he was, he scrambled but he wasn’t just a scrambler. Because his eyes stayed down the field and drew people up and threw over them.
“And he had a better arm than people think he has. So I’m intrigued by the kid. I’m anxious to watch the process develop as we get closer to April … because with the limitations just physically, you’re probably going to look at him are say, ‘Is there upside?’ Yeah, there’s upside. But we have to see what we have first. So I think that’s going to limit where he gets drafted.”
Kellen Moore, Boise State – He also comes up short (listed at 6 feet), but Moore also won 50 games during his stay in Boise. But there are other issues with Moore, as well.
“He looks like he’s 11-years old,” Mayock said. “He’s this baby-faced assassin. What I think he does better than any other quarterback in the entire draft is he anticipates throws to receivers who are open. And that’s something a lot of quarterbacks don’t get until their fourth or fifth year in the NFL.
“Part of it is because he doesn’t have a big arm. He’s had to adapt probably since grade school in learning how to throw people open. He won’t get drafted high. But he’s a winner and his anticipation skills at that position are tremendous.”
So as important as what these QBs display on the field at the combine and then their Pro Day workouts will be, of even greater significance could be the savvy and knowledge they display when meeting with representatives of NFL teams.
“Once you get done with all the measurables – arm strength, footwork, athletic ability – what’s most important to me is that the kid has to have a passion for the game of football, he’s got to have a football IQ and he’s got to have an unbelievable work ethic,” Mayock said. “Those are the three most important things after you’ve evaluated all the measurables.
“So I think a lot of this, it’s critical to get in the rooms and resonate confidence, look people in the eye and show them you can be a leader and, basically, the face of your franchise.”
