Preseason QB's

As difficult as it is to project NFL talent; its even more difficult to see how the prospects will perform in the season leading up to their potential drafting. However, I would be remiss if I did not give my readers a taste of things to come this season. I will be posting one position a day over the next week of the top 5 players to look out for this season. Not every player finishes the season with the same heat he starts with (Jake Locker). So, I will be including at least one "dark horse" prospect this week for every postion. NO ONE TAKES ME BY SURPRISE.

Preseason Quarterbacks:

1. Andrew Luck, Stanford- Of course, the biggest prospect and probable #1 Overall pick stayed in school (your welcome Cam). Luck shows he has all of the physical abilities to be a stud in the NFL, but I have the same concerns about him I had a year ago. Is he really a great quarterback or does he look great against mediocre Pac 10 schools, a la Matt Leinart. One thing is for sure, if he didn't think he was ready for the NFL last year, he definately wasn't. You want to be an Engineer be an Engineer; to play quarterback in the NFL takes a dedication that CANNOT waiver.

2. Landry Jones, Oklahoma- OU has had an incredible run of quarterbacks for ten years now; so it must be the system right? Tell that to Sam Bradford and the St Louis Rams. It's hard to argue with a 65.6% completion rate, 4,718 yds, 38 tds, and only 12 ints, but he and most of the QB's for the last decade have had stellar talent at WR to work with. This is what I want to see..... The deep ball; can Landry throw it and will he be able to make all the throws at the next level.

3. Robert Griffin, Baylor (Dark Horse)- I know, I know; I have heard the excuses. He is a system QB,  you can't out athlete everyone at the pro level, this is not Vince Young! Griffin completed 67% of his passes for over 3500 yds. He put the ball in the air 454 times last year and only gave up 8ints while bringing in 22 TDs. And we all know what a great runner he is, adding an additional 8 TDs to his total. Bottom line is this; yes he is a system guy but system guys are coachable. With his physical abilities I think this is the best "great athlete" QB I have seen in a while. I think he will have to mature a lot this year to be a first rounder but he will make a splash somewhere if he decides to come out this year.

4. Matt Barkley, USC- I went back and forth on whether or not to include Matt in my top 5; but when you see this guy on Saturdays he will standout as the guy that most looks NFL ready. He was underwhelming as a sophomore throwing 62.6% , 2,791 yds and 26 tds. Add 12 ints in 377 attempts and the red flags are everywhere. He does not have the talent around him that his USC predecessors did. So maybe he gets a little bit of a pass? I think he has a real chance to breakout this year and if he does; he WILL be the #1 overall in 2012.

5. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas- I'll bet most of you had no idea he was the heir apparent to Mallet. Wilson is no slouch coming off the bench and completing 66% is not easy. He has some defense awareness issues that he needs to work out, but that will come with reps. Playing in Petrino's pro style offense will only help him in his transition. Full disclosure.... I am only 50/50 on whether or not he will have the kind of year to flirt with coming out as a JR.