To Draft or Not to Draft
The question facing thirty-two NFL teams is not whether or not they should draft Tim Tebow. If he were to find himself still on the board in the 5th round, any one of the teams would take him. But what about the fourth round? The third? The second? Is anyone still thinking first?
On the plus side, Tebow had a great college career. He’s a winner – a high motor, strong, smart kid. He’s also a leader. Who can forget his “No one will work harder” speech in 2008? There is so much to like about Tebow that it’s hard to imagine him not being an NFL starter next year.
But… there are things not to like. He lost the SEC Championship game this year. He didn’t even get a shot to play for the national championship. Of course, there are 21 other starters on the Florida Gators who could share the blame for that.
He’s an accurate passer and a strong runner. Both are great assets for an NFL quarterback, but he’s measured in both by the standard of a college QB. Questions abound when you start considering the leap from college to the NFL.
Is he accurate enough for the NFL? Maybe. Does his running ability matter when evaluating him as an NFL QB? A little, but not that much. Is he good enough to be an NFL running back? No. A tight end? Maybe – but who knows if he can catch or block well enough to play the position in the NFL.
My take is this: He’s a leader and a high character kid. He carried a team on his back for two seasons. I think he’s going to be successful wherever he goes. There are not 32 NFL teams that could use him at quarterback next year. He’s not going to bump Tom Brady or Peyton Manning out of the starters role, but there are some teams who frankly don’t have a better option.
Jacksonville can’t win games or fill up their stadium. Drafting Tebow certainly could help with the latter and maybe the former, too. Somebody should and will take him in the draft. It’s just a question of when.




