I like Croyle, Drew Olsen and to a lesser extent Jay Cutler.Danny said:
Croyle is at the top of my list because of his ability. he was a highly touted player coming out of high school. His stats wont blow you away or impress many people but take into account the lack of weapons and conservative offense his team used and you would understand why those things dont jumpout at you. When you watch him throw the ball you realize its only injury history and the tendency to overshoot an open wr downfield that prevent Croyle from being talked about as a late 1st. His injury past isnt something that can be overlooked (knee, shoulder) but at the same time neither can his potential be overlooked. Another thing I like is that because he will not be a first round pick he'd cost us less money vs the cap and since qb is typically the highest paid position, especially for those drafted in rd 1, thats significant. I dont doubt Nick realizes this since when you look at the way he uses his cap space its based on being efficient with the money available to you and getting the most for what your owner spends. Projection: Mid rd 2-Early rd3
Olsen has a little more work to do than Croyle. His arm isnt as strong and so his touch has to become better. His footwork and delivery are ok but he does not throw well in the face of pressure. His 34/6 td/int ratio are deceptive in that much of it came against bad teams and even more of it came when he was mounting combacks. Two sides to that are he's shown he never feels he's out of a game but then again how did his team get down by so much in the 1st place. All in all hes the type of solid mid rd prospect that Mueller has done well plucking out of the late rds of the draft as his history with Delhomme (7th), Bulger (6th, cut by Haslett), and Brooks (traded a 4th for GB 3rd stringer at the time) shows he has had success finding. Projection: 4th round.
Lastly is Jay Cutler. My reasoning behind this has to do with two things. Ill start by saying I like most of what he offers. My biggest qualm with picking him in rd 1, is like I said its not efficient use of the cap. Qb's need 3-4 years of solid learning before they do anything and the cost of a 1st rd qb in the 15-20 range is typically still pretty high up the totem pole in terms of bonus money, contract size, and contract legnth. Its the kind of problem that can hurt a teams cap situation for years if its not done right. For that reason alone, I'd rather wait for a mid rd qb unless its a sure thing like a P.manning or someone. Which leads to my second point and that is that Cutler isnt a sure thing. He throws off his back foot too much. He played bad vs good teams and good vs bad ones. Inconsistancy is a deal breaker for me if I'm picking a Qb this high. Lastly, youre talking about a 2nd rd talent in the mid 1st. If we can get him in rd 2 Im groovy with the pick. Still, I project him to go in rd 1.
