| I suspect the reaction of some people when they learned that the Chargers
have traded the No. 1 pick in the draft to Atlanta for the No. 5 pick in this year’s
first round, a third round pick this year, a second-rounder in 2002 and WR Tim Dwight was,
"Are they out of their mind?" I am not one of those people. The naysayers will
throw the Michael Jordan scenario in the Chargers’ faces. You know, the argument that
goes you don’t want to be the team that passed on Michael Jordan when it had a chance
to pick him.
Well guess what? No one knew Jordan would become the mega superstar he became at the
time of that draft. And no one knows if Michael Vick will become the next great
quarterback or the next great bust. The suspicion here is that this is a matter of
either/or, not parameters. I don’t think Vick is a guy that will fall somewhere in
the middle and be mediocre. Either he revolutionizes the QB position or he falls flat on
his face.
His athletic ability will give him the chance to do things that will absolutely take
your breath away. The problem is that this athletic ability could also allow him to do
things that might eventually get him clobbered in the faster, more athletic pro game. The
bigger concern is how he will develop in the non-athletic aspects of the QB position.
After all, he left college with two years of eligibility remaining. At the QB position,
this is a lifetime of experience to pass up. I’m not saying that there is something
unique about Vick that makes me worry about how he’ll do in the non-athletic aspects
of QB play. I’d say this about any quarterback who left school this early. Vick is
too good to ignore with the No. 1 pick in the draft, yet there is the gnawing fear that he
might never live up to his potential as a pro because he is so raw. If Vick had waited
another year to turn pro, I don’t think there would be anywhere near as much concern
in taking him, but that one extra year makes a lot of scouts very nervous.
Quarterback is a position that is littered with Draft Day mistakes over the years.
Remember not too long ago when the Peyton Manning-Ryan Leaf Draft Day decision was
considered a flip of the coin? Manning became a superstar. Leaf destroyed the Chargers.
You just never know with quarterbacks.
Which brings us back to the Chargers’ decision. If Vick were a slam dunk, no way
do you trade the pick. But given the concerns raised by him turning pro so early, I think
there is a method to the Chargers’ so-called madness.
As I see it, the Falcons will take Vick with the first pick. At the No. 2 and 4 spots,
I see the Cardinals and Bengals taking linemen. At No. 3, the Browns will probably take
either RB LaDainian Tomlinson, WR David Terrell or trade down to take LB Dan Morgan.
Regardless of how this plays out, I see the Chargers being able to get either Tomlinson or
Terrell. And guess what? Both would give them excellent value at a position of need. If
they had taken Vick, they would have received no immediate return on the pick since
he’d figure to sit on the bench for a year or two while Doug Flutie took the snaps.
This way, the Chargers get a quality player on the field right now.
Off of last season you might say that the Chargers shouldn’t care if they have to
wait a while to get return on the pick since they were so bad they have a long way to go.
What you need to remember is that this is not the NFL of 20 years ago when it took forever
to rebuild. In today’s NFL you can rebuild quickly, and that’s exactly what the
Chargers are doing. They’ve greatly improved their defense with free-agent additions
Marcellus Wiley, Alex Molden and Ryan McNeil. Flutie is a big upgrade at quarterback over
what they had last year. Add a ready for prime time skill position player to the offense
and you have a team that can be much improved. I’m not saying they are Super Bowl
bound, but the Chargers will be much more competitive than a year ago.
If I were pulling the trigger for the Chargers, Tomlinson is the guy I’d be hoping
lasts to the No. 5 spot. For starters, a running back can have a much greater impact than
a wide receiver. Plus, there is the whole issue of Terrell’s foot injury that he
played through last season.
For a time, there were rumors that the Chargers might keep the No. 1 pick and just take
Tomlinson if they couldn’t get Vick signed before the draft. Now that they’ve
made this trade, if they still end up with Tomlinson at the No. 5 spot, they will look
like geniuses.
Also keep in mind that John Butler is running the show for the Chargers. This is a man
that knows what to do with his picks. His track record says as much, so getting the extra
picks from the Falcons could reap some very nice rewards.
As long as I’m saying what I’d do if I were pulling the trigger for the
Chargers on draft day, here’s what I’d do with their second-round pick (pick No.
32): I’d trade up to get QB Drew Brees. I figure that he could slide all the way down
to Miami (pick No. 26) or Oakland (pick No. 28). Moving from pick No. 32 to the mid-20s is
not a huge jump to have to make. Under this scenario, the Chargers get a player ready to
contribute right away early in Round One and still will have come up with an eventual
replacement for the aging Flutie.
Could the Chargers end up looking bad if Vick becomes a football version of Jordan?
Certainly. But there’s no guarantee that Vick will be the next MJ. By no means am I
questioning whether Vick should be the No. 1 pick in the draft. He should be. But there
are enough question marks about how his career will play out that I can understand why the
Chargers traded out of the No. 1 spot. |
