ESPN Say's Newton To Enter Draft

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Lotus

How am I a copy cat? I know SS mentioned Ponder before but I have since done my own "independent" research and come to a similar "independent" conclusion. Or did you say something that I missed?

Here's my mock draft right now, which I could not have copy catted:
1 Von Miller OLB Texas A&M
2 Christian Ponder QB Florida State
5 Ryan van Bergen DE Michigan
5 Phil Taylor NT Baylor
6 Clint Boling OG Georgia
7 Graig Cooper RB Miami
7 Johnny Brown S Mississippi

Ponder will be available as late as the 4th round. If he's lucky he'll go in the third. I mean look at it this way. Someone like Locker or Mallet (possibly both) is going to fall to the second round. From there Ponder will have to compete with that Devlin, Dalton, Stanzi group and hope to emerge as the top guy in that second or third tier despite his elbow problems.

Colt McCoy last year had much more going for him then Ponder yet he fell to the beginning of the third round. As you all remember McCoy was deadly accurate, experienced, and mobile with decent arm strength. And on top of that he was not only a leader, but a leader that was at the forefront of a national championship run.

Ponder has some of those attributes. He's accurate when healthy, he's mobile, he's a great leader, and he has a good arm on top of 3 years worth of starting experience. However he also comes from a program that couldn't even get to the BCS despite being in the ACC (McCoy did it twice). And ironically I'm not even saying that I don't want Ponder, in fact I actually wouldn't be to disappointed if we got the kid. However I wouldn't draft him before the third round at this point. Plus the funny thing is that as weak as the ACC has been in recent years, they're still the best conference these days when it comes to producing QB's (Vick, Ryan, Rivers, Schuab).