Patriots 2011 Draft Report: QB Rankings

By Matthew Marcantonio in College, Featured, Patriots ⋅ April 19, 2011 at 5:44pm ⋅ Post a comment

Ryan Mallett has surpassed both Jake Locker and Cam Newton after the 2010 season. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

With the NFL Draft under two weeks away, let’s look at our positional rankings for the quarterbacks in the draft. One thing to note is our “Patriots Interest Scale.” Using our best judgment we have placed a ranking, 0-10, on whether or not the Patriots appear to have interest in the prospect.

0 = the lowest level of interest.
10 = the highest level of interest.

The player that has his name bolded is the prospect we have highlighted under the rankings. The player with an asterisk is seen in the image.

Quarterback Rankings

Ranking	Name	College	Height	Weight	Patriots Interest
1.	Blane Gabbert	Missouri	6-4	234	0
2.	Ryan Mallett *	Arkansas	6-6	253	4
3.	Cam Newton	Auburn	6-5	248	1
4.	Jake Locker	Washington	6-2	231	5
5.	Colin Naepernick	Nevada	6-4	233	1
6.	Christian Ponder	Florida State	6-2	229	1
7.	Pat Delvin	Delaware	6-2	225	1
8.	Ricky Stanzi	Iowa	6-4	223	1
9.	Andy Dalton	TCU	6-2	215	4
10.	Greg McElroy	Alabama	6-1	220	3

Most of the quarterback talk has centered around the consensus top four passers in the NCAA. Very little has been made of second-tier guys like Christian Ponder, Pat Delvin, Andy Dalton and Greg McElroy. However, the truth-be-told that some of these quarterbacks will be big-time leaders in the NFL.

Dalton is arguably the most efficient quarterback of them all. The Katy, Texas native was fantastic throughout his four year career at TCU, leading the Horned Frogs to a 44-8 overall record, including a 21-19 Rose Bowl win against Wisconsin this past season.

Dalton’s ability to read defenses and have a high touchdown-to-interception ratio makes him an appealing option around the mid-point of the draft. Rarely does he throw an errant pass; Dalton only threw six interceptions last season, along with 27 touchdown passes. Aside from his strong arm, one of Dalton’s biggest attributes is his feet.

Dalton moves real well outside of the pocket, rushing for 435 yards last season. Dalton will make a solid addition to any NFL team, and he does have the tools to be a starter at the next level. Like many college quarterbacks, Dalton’s success will depend on the system that he’s in.

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Matthew Marcantonio is the Patriots and college football editor at Sports of Boston. Marcantonio has contributed for two newspapers; the Sentinel & Enterprise (Leominster, Mass) and The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La) and held internships with The Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated.

Tags: 2011 NFL Draft, Andy Dalton, New England Patriots, Ryan Mallett