Sleeper picks

Several QBs flying under radar may be just the right fit

During the past two years, we've discovered a reliable means by which teams have managed to break out of salary-cap jail: Have a bargain-basement quarterback drop out of the sky and into your starting lineup.

Tom Brady won a Super Bowl while erasing all the Patriots' cap woes as a minimum-wage sixth-round pick. Jeff Garcia got the 49ers afloat practically all by himself. And the selection of Mike McMahon in the fifth round last spring gives the Lions the flexibility to escape from under the bloated Charlie Batch contract.

If only it were so easy to find a between-the-lines savior at bottom-line savings.

Quarterback debates every year center on which prospect is the best bet, and this year is no different. The David Carr-Joey Harrington duel will rage on right up to draft day; the players likely will be compared to one another throughout their entire careers. But these are expensive options -- teams know that taking one of them means making him one of the top-paid players on its roster. There will be no cap relief by drafting either player, only a microscope and a ticking clock for management.

So who are the quarterbacks no one has been talking about, the ones who will be drafted late Saturday or on Sunday, pick up a very modest signing bonus and a minimum-wage deal and still have the potential to win? With the Senior Bowl, the Scouting Combine and some serious film study behind them, a few quarterback coaches around the league seem to be aligned as to who they think this year's dark horses may be.

Tulane's Patrick Ramsey is sitting just behind Carr and Harrington, and if he goes in the second round as expected, he'll cost way too much to qualify as a diamond in the rough. Besides, most coaches don't feel Ramsey is as good as Drew Brees, who went in the second round last year.

Illinois' Kurt Kittner and LSU's Rohan Davey have gone backwards. Kittner's athletic ability doesn't excite many teams, and Davey's inconsistent arm has scared some off. They could fall back into that late-round sleeper group I'm talking about, but few teams are very high on their potential.

The two most intriguing long-shots seem to be Greg Zolman from Vanderbilt and Josh McCown from Sam Houston State (via SMU).

McCown's production at Sam Houston -- 3,462 yards, 32 touchdown passes, six rushing TDs -- got him into the Senior Bowl, but he broke out at the combine. At 6-foot-3 1/2 and 221 pounds, he ran a 4.59 40, a 3.97 short shuttle, recorded a 10-foot broad jump and a 38 1/2 inch vertical leap -- surpassing the numbers Donovan McNabb posted when he came out.

Some coaches feel McCown throws too hard and that he needs to develop touch and pull the trigger more quickly. Others like his football family roots. They all seemed to recognize tools in McCown they could work with -- he has more potential upside than does Kittner or Davey. Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Chicago in particular seem to be paying close attention to McCown's progress.

Zolman wasn't on most teams' radar but he's been popping up consistently since the Combine. One coach told me that Zolman is ranked third on his quarterback list. Another said to me, "That guy from Vanderbilt was really interesting" (note that he couldn't actually remember Zolman's name). Ironically, the same coach last year was impressed by -- but couldn't recall the name of -- the quarterback prospect from Rutgers. It was McMahon.

Are McCown or Zolman likely to jump into higher rounds? Probably not. But they are being perceived in the McMahon mold -- someone who may be good enough to play early, with proper coaching and guidance. Only a few teams thought that about McMahon, and no one said anything even remotely as kind about Garcia or Brady when they were coming out.

One other considerable longshot helped himself at his first workout for NFL clubs last week. Penn's Gavin Hoffman measured in at 6-5, 225, ran a 4.85 in the 40 and a 4.3 in the short shuttle, and threw the ball well in front of the 24 teams who were represented at his Philadelphia workout. He's as far back as Garcia was coming out of college, but Hoffman could be the kind of guy who really surprises people in training camp. Remember how Kurt Warner found his way to the NFL?

Finding a quarterback in the fourth through seventh rounds who can play and put cap dollars back in the bank is definitely the goal for a number of clubs. But keep in mind -- when you're looking for a diamond in the rough, you're going to be spending a lot of fruitless time in the rough. That's not a comfortable place for most NFL people to visit.

Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNNSI.com.

 

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