Seven QBs to battle for top of '08 draft board

The 2008 draft class is shaping up to be an interesting one. There are seven senior QBs in this class with distinguished college careers who are battling for the top of many teams' draft boards. Outside of the top seven, there are plenty of talented "projects," including Oregon's Dennis Dixon and Delaware's Joe Flacco.

Six of my top seven QB prospects all started at least 32 games in their college careers. USC's John David Booty only started 23. Games started, along with completion percentage, are believed to be the two best football stats to measure a QB. Michigan's Chad Henne, a starter since his freshman year, played in 46 games for the Wolverines.

Games Started
1. Chad Henne 46
2. Andre Woodson 37
Colt Brennan 37
Eric Ainge 37
5. Brian Brohm 33*
6. Matt Ryan 32
7. John David Booty 23
* Brohm received significant playing time in Louisville as a freshman, but never started a game.

All seven of these QBs also have a high career completion rate. Henne and Ryan's completion percentage was very close to 60%, while Brennan topped 70% in Hawaii's passing offense.


Completion Percentage
1. Colt Brennan 70.4%
2. Brian Brohm 65.8%
3. John David Booty 62.5%
4. Andre Woodson 61.9%
5. Eric Ainge 60.6%
6. Matt Ryan 59.9%
7. Chad Henne 59.7%

Its hard to see who the best of the seven are by looking at just these two criteria. All seven QBs performed well in these two categories. So, lets dig deeper with a little help from Scott Wright's Draft Countdown QB Rankings and my own player observations.

All seven of the QBs possess good height and size. Michigan's Henne is the shortest, at 6-2. Hawaii's Brennan could add some bulk to his 6-3, 190 lb frame. None of the seven QBs possess outstanding athletic ability. They all are decent athletes, but none will be mistaken for Vince Young.

Andre Woodson, Chad Henne, and Brian Brohm are believed to have the strongest arms of the group. Booty of USC may have the weakest arm of the group, as their are concerns about his ability to throw the deep ball.

Passing accuracy is not really much of a concern for these guys. They all have displayed good accuracy and touch with their passes. Brohm, Booty, and Brennan are considered to be the most accurate of the bunch.

Brohm is also considered the most NFL-ready. Many believe Boston College's Matt Ryan has the intelligence to make it as an NFL QB.

A key element to being a successful NFL QB is the ability to stay healthy. Three QBs in this group, Brohm, Booty, and Tennessee's Eric Ainge, have missed significant playing time in their college careers due to injury. That will definitely be something NFL scouts take a long look at.

Even after taking a cursory glance at these QBs, it is still very hard to separate them. Brohm, Woodson, and Ryan rank in the top of most categories, and seem to be high on many early draft boards.

Personally, I think it is silly to draft a QB high in the first round, unless you are a good, talented team. I like Matt Ryan in the mid-to-late 1st round, Brian Brohm and Andre Woodson in the top of the 2nd round, and Chad Henne as a sleeper prospect (think Chris Simms and Matt Schaub) in the 3rd round.