As Sam Bradford showed in 2010, a quarterback is the focal point of a rebuilding franchise and therefore a team is fully justified in selecting one in the first round.
Get the pick right and, like Bradford did, you can turn a franchise from a 1-15 disaster into a respectable 7-9 team. Get it wrong and the consequences can be catastrophic, not only on the football field, but also financially.
When Titans owner Bud Adams made it clear that Vince Young, selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft, would not be returning to LP Field, it was obvious the team needed a new face to lead the franchise.
But there were serious question marks hanging over Locker after he endured a lacklustre senior season at the University of Washington, finishing with a career completion percentage of 53.9.
Plagued by inaccuracy, his decision-making prowess was suddenly a red flag and, despite being projected as the number one overall pick ahead of Sam Bradford in 2010 by some – prior to his decision to stay in school for his final year – most experts predicted him to go in the middle of the second round at best.
What was not taken into account was the number of other teams in desperate need of a new franchise quarterback. Carolina, Seattle, the Vikings, Redskins, Arizona, Bengals, 49ers and arguably the Dolphins – despite looking like they are happy to give second round pick Chad Henne another season to show what he can do – are all in the hunt for a star signal caller.
Carolina nabbed Newton with the first overall pick and the Titans jumped at the chance to select Locker – obviously believing there were too many other teams sniffing around for there to have been any hope of him dropping to them in the second. This was somewhat justified as the Jaguars traded up for Blaine Gabbert, the Vikings chose Christian Ponder at 12 and early in the second Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick went to the Bengals and 49ers respectively.
Chances are, Locker won’t start right away. Although Sam Bradford did last year, that was only after a full pre-season and training camp. And it was clear from the start that the Rams QB was an exceptional talent.
There’s no question Locker has potential, but asking him to lead a team with a struggling offense, with little or no time to get to know the playbook – thanks to the ongoing lockout which has been in place since March – could do more harm than good for the young signal caller.
With veteran QB Kerry Collins, who led the Titans to a 13-3 season three years ago, announcing his retirement this month, the only other quarterback on the roster is Rusty Smith. And Titans fans will know from last year that he is not the answer.
What the team needs is a veteran QB who can take the reins and mentor Locker until he’s ready to take over. There are no shortage of options when Free Agency opens on Friday, but there are still a number of rival teams in the market for them.
Rumour has it that Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck is done in Seattle and that his most likely landing spot is with the Titans – General Manager Mike Reinfeldt knows the Pro Bowler well from the seven years he spent in the Seahawks front office.
Besides Hasselbeck, other options include former Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb, Ravens back-up Marc Bulger, the Eagles’ Kevin Kolb, Matt Moore from Carolina and former Heisman winner Matt Leinart.
McNabb looked very poor last season. He struggled mightily at the Redskins, but then how much of that was down to McNabb himself, and how much to a woeful franchise, is up for debate. In any case, it seems most likely that the long-time Eagles Pro Bowler will be snapped up by the Vikings as a tutor for their first-round pick Christian Ponder.
With Tarvaris Jackson being released in Minnesota, he may even be a potential target for the Titans. But it is more realistic for a team such as the Eagles, Ravens or even Dolphins to pick him up as a back-up QB, rather than throw him in as a starter right away. At the Dolphins he would be able to compete with Henne, although former Titan Vince Young has long been linked as the answer to that dilemma this past off-season.
The Eagles’ Kevin Kolb appears certain to join the Cardinals or the Seahawks, and both Moore and Leinart are probably too great a risk considering their poor performances in 2010.
That means the best option is likely to be Marc Bulger or Hasselbeck – who despite having a poor regular season disrupted by injuries, produced a superlative performance in the wild card game to dump the reigning champion Saints out of Super Bowl contention.
Bulger is well thought of in league circles, despite enduring a painful time at the Rams in his nine seasons – though not many QB’s could have done anything with that team, and in particular, that lack of protection from the offensive line.
The only other way to go would be to take a punt at Chicago’s Todd Collins, Tyler Thigpen of the Dolphins, the Raiders’ Gradkowski or another Heisman trophy winner in Troy Smith at the 49ers – who did show glimpses of potential last season, albeit fleetingly.
But it is unlikely any of those will offer as much benefit as Hasselbeck. The long-time Seattle QB has taken his franchise to the play-offs on six separate occasions, including four-straight division titles and a Super Bowl appearance in 2005.
That would seem the perfect CV for a man tasked with tutoring what the Titans hope will be their own future Pro Bowler.
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