Michael Vick may feel like it’s been a long wait since he announced for the draft until today when he finally became the No. 1 pick in the draft. After all, there were interviews with teams, the whole negotiating process with the Chargers to endure and then the trade that allowed the Falcons to take him.

That wait may have been nothing, however, compared to the wait ahead for Vick.

The new waiting game is how long will Vick have to endure before he becomes a starter. If you ask me, that wait should not be overly brief. Vick left college with two years of eligibility left. That has scouts very concerned. Not so concerned that anyone thought Vick should have gone anywhere but the No. 1 pick in the draft. But concerned over whether Vick will develop into a superstar given that he enters the NFL as a very raw, albeit incredibly talented, gem.

What Vick gave up by taking the NFL money and running was the ability to refine his game on college Saturdays. College is, after all, where you go to learn.

This isn’t meant to criticize Vick for turning pro. He would have been passing up huge dollars if he had returned to Virginia Tech. The worry though is that he might not have the foundation he needs.

The way to help him build this foundation is to be patient. I don’t think the Falcons should be in too big a hurry to get him on the field. I know it’s tempting to want to get such a supremely talented player on the field as soon as possible.

Don’t do it. Let him learn first. Learn the playbook. Learn his teammates. Learn the speed of the NFL.

If he gets thrown to the wolves too quickly, two bad things could happen. The first is that he gets overwhelmed by the speed of the pro game and his confidence takes a big hit. The other is that he has a measure of success because of his amazing scrambling ability. That would encourage him to overemphasize his feet instead of his arm.

I don’t care how great a runner a quarterback is, you can’t be great without doing it with your arm. Steve Young was a spectacular runner, but he didn’t become a star until he became a top-notch passer. The feet complement the arm. Not the other way around. Even with a superb runner like Vick.

The game plan I think the Falcons should follow with Vick is how Steve McNair was brought along as a pro. McNair is now a quality starter for the Titans, but he was brought along slowly when he first came into the league. McNair is a different style quarterback than Vick. McNair was brought along slowly for a different reason. In McNair’s case, it was because he had not faced a high level of competition in college. Thus, like Vick, he also came into the NFL more raw than you’d like.

Because Vick lacks polish, I think a similar take-it-slow approach makes sense. McNair started two games as a rookie and four games in his second year. It wasn’t until his third year that McNair became the full-time starter.

I would keep Vick on the bench for now. Perhaps I’d give him a series a game as a rookie so he has game film to learn from each week. Maybe I’d put him into the starting lineup late in his second year.

Will this wait be easy? No. There will be tremendous pressure to put Vick into the starting lineup. If the team is losing, everyone is going to be screaming for Vick to be put in the lineup. The key is to avoid being short-sighted. I see no point in taking a short step forward to the detriment of the long-term view. What matters is turning Vick into a superstar down the road, not selling a few tickets and adding some excitement.