Be sure not to miss the 2008 Miami Dolphins Draft Party, Presented by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. The draft party will be held on Saturday, April 26, from 2:00 - 6:00 pm at Dolphin Stadium. The party features full coverage of the NFL Draft, 2008 Season Ticket Select-A-Seat, player, alumni and cheerleader autographs as well as free parking and admission.
By Andy Kent
Special for MiamiDolphins.com
April 2, 2008
Prior to the start of the 2007 college football season, Louisville's Brian Brohm was thought to be the best quarterback prospect in the 2008 NFL Draft, with Boston College's Matt Ryan, USC's John David Booty and Michigan's Chad Henne following closely behind. By season's end, Ryan had supplanted Brohm at the top of the list with Kentucky's Andre' Woodson and Hawaii's Colt Brennan making big jumps up the charts.
With more and more NFL teams taking the wait and see approach at quarterback and opting to avoid having a rookie start, the need to draft a quarterback high in the first round isn't as big as it used to be. Of course, the Oakland Raiders took JaMarcus Russell out of LSU last year with the first overall pick and sunk a lot of money into him hoping that he will be their franchise QB for many years to come. Ryan and Brohm appear to be the best candidates to fit that mold, and two NFC South teams, the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, have big voids at quarterback.
BREAKING DOWN TOP QB PROSPECTS
Matt Ryan - Skipping both the Senior Bowl and the Combine didn't appear to hurt the Boston College product at all, not after he completed 48-of-52 passes on his Pro Day and nearly aced the Wonderlic test. He showed a knack for being able to pull out games late and make the clutch throw, but the only knock on him appears to be ball security as he threw 19 interceptions on the year. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Brian Brohm - Brohm has all the intangibles and a major league arm - literally, as he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. Injuries interrupted his college career starting with a torn ACL in 2005 that he recovered from in time to start that season, and then he broke his hand early in the 2006 season and missed a month. So durability would be the biggest question mark, while on the positive side he doesn't make many mistakes and has a Tom Brady-like confidence and demeanor. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Chad Henne - The Wolverines losing their opener to Appalachian State and then falling to 0-2 the next week didn't help Henne in the fall, and neither did an ankle sprain in the first half of that Week 2 loss to Oregon. He was also bothered by knee and shoulder injuries that caused him to miss three games. But he finished strong, especially in the Capital One Bowl upset of the Florida Gators, when he completed 25-of-39 passes for 373 yards and three TDs, and his arm strength is a plus. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Joe Flacco - His footwork for such a big guy impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl, who also got to see one of the biggest arms in the draft. Flacco transferred from Pitt down to Division I-AA and excelled in a high-powered offense. He has slowly risen up the list on many mock draft boards and could surprise some on Draft Weekend at the end of the month. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Andre' Woodson - Thought to be in the mold of JaMarcus Russell, Woodson was the focus of Bucs head coach Jon Gruden during the early part of Senior Bowl week and came up big in the Wildcats' upset win over LSU, but his stock began to drop at the Senior Bowl and following the combine. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
By Andy Kent
Brian Brohm - Brohm has all the intangibles and a major league arm - literally, as he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. Injuries interrupted his college career starting with a torn ACL in 2005 that he recovered from in time to start that season, and then he broke his hand early in the 2006 season and missed a month. So durability would be the biggest question mark, while on the positive side he doesn't make many mistakes and has a Tom Brady-like confidence and demeanor. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Joe Flacco - His footwork for such a big guy impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl, who also got to see one of the biggest arms in the draft. Flacco transferred from Pitt down to Division I-AA and excelled in a high-powered offense. He has slowly risen up the list on many mock draft boards and could surprise some on Draft Weekend at the end of the month. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
