Down on QBs, ESPN analysts talk about draft
Apr 28, 2011, 6:53 PM | Updated: 8:25 pm
The Cardinals may need a quarterback, but neither Merril Hoge nor John Clayton feel the Arizona Cardinals will find one in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Guests on Sports 620 KTAR’s Doug and Wolf Thursday, the ESPN analysts agreed on the idea that the Cardinals should look in a different direction with their first round pick.
Cam Newton, likely the first QB off the board, is not expected to be around when the Cardinals are on the clock. That’s a good thing, according to Hoge.
“A guy like Cam Newton is going to set your organization back minimum three years, and if he ends up being what I think he is it could be five,” he said. “You do not have a team that can carry Cam Newton and that is what will require of him.
“He has a limited skill-set from a quarterback position; he has an outstanding skill-set as an athlete.”
Hoge is also not a fan of Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert, who is likely to be around when the Cardinals pick.
“[Blaine] Gabbert is a second, third round guy at best,” Hoge said, adding that the QB has bad pocket awareness and is too busy looking at the rush instead of downfield at receivers.
