The NFL Draft is long gone but the discussions surrounding it are definitely not. In part one of this three part series analyzing the debates, I’ll fill you in on the three prominent rookie quarterbacks who have fantasy owners curious: JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, and Kevin Kolb.

JaMarcus Russell (Oakland Raiders) — The Raiders put aside debates surrounding the number one overall pick when they put their priorities in order and drafted Russell. Forget about Calvin Johnson at wide receiver — the impact Russell figures to make is far more impressive than the Georgia Tech standout would have made.

That said, Russell is lacking in a few luxuries some quarterbacks have. For example, his offensive line isn’t too impressive. Expect him to pull a good number of divots from his facemask.

That brings us to one of the great abilities Russell possesses: mobility. Not to say he’ll run for 1000 yards like Mike Vick, but Russell does have enough mobility that he’ll be able to avoid the many pass rushes he’ll receive. Think Daunte Culpepper pre-injuries and -surgeries.

And the Raiders did make some offseason moves that figure to help the young quarterback. Adding Dominic Rhodes at running back was a great move, though it’s unclear whether or not Mike Williams will pan out at wide receiver.

Also, the team grabbed veteran Josh McCown at quarterback. The former Arizona ho-hum quarterback has new head coach Lane Kiffin impressed. Will Russell start? Absolutely. But look for McCown to take a little of the pressure off.

Where does that leave Russell and his expected performance? He’ll struggle, though not like Andrew Walter did last year (55.8 quarterback rating). Instead, expect a decent rookie season out of the former LSU standout. I’m projecting at least 2400 yards passing and 12 touchdowns/15 interceptions.

Brady Quinn (Cleveland Browns) — When the Miami Dolphins passed on Brady Quinn it seemed the football universe stopped for a moment while Brady Quinn stared in amazement, puzzled. He wasn’t alone. Most fans looked at Quinn as one of the two best quarterbacks in the draft and a top five overall prospect.

But the Dolphins said “no thank you” and the slide began. In the words of Tom Petty, Quinn was “free falling.” It was almost painful to watch the draft continue, to see Quinn suffer — though his composure was admirable, something that showed maturity beyond his years — as teams continued to fill other needs. Finally, at 22nd overall the Cleveland Browns traded down to select Quinn. It was their second choice of the round, and it didn’t come cheap. The Browns won’t have a first round draft pick next year, barring a trade.

But the move did raise more than a few eyebrows. The Browns greatest disappointment over the past few seasons has been both the offensive line and quarterback. And in the first round of the draft they managed to fill both, first drafting offensive tackle Joe Thomas third overall and later Quinn.

Drafting Thomas certainly helps Quinn’s stock; he’ll be protecting the Notre Dame alum’s blindside. It will also help newly acquired running back Jamal Lewis’s transition into the offense.

That doesn’t mean all of Cleveland’s questions have been answered. There are still holes at wide receiver and defensive positions, not to mention that the offensive line is completely secure. But the fact that the Browns made as much effort as they did to draft both Quinn and Thomas — each top five prospects in my mind — is a great sign.

What can we all expect from Quinn? It’s difficult to say. Last season, the Browns totaled 3247 yards passing last season, just good enough to rank 30th in the league, and 3323 yards the season before, ranking 26th. And they threw for that many yards between the efforts of four different quarterbacks.

Quinn, as stated earlier, has the added advantage of having a veteran running back and a stud tackle protecting him. But how much will that help?

But before I get carried away I better mention that there’s the distinct and likely possibility that Quinn won’t enter the season as the team’s starter. There’s a pretty good chance he’ll finish the season in that position, but head coach Romeo Crennel stated that Charlie Frye has the “leg up” at this point.

Whether or not Quinn starts at any point this season will be out of his hands. It’s Frye’s starting spot to lose. The first five games of the season figure to be brutal, too, as the team plays Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, at Oakland (the Raiders had a good defense last season), Baltimore, and at New England. If the Browns can walk, er limp, away from those games with at least 2-3 wins, expect Frye to keep his job.

When Quinn does eventually enter the lineup, however, expect mediocre results. He won’t wow anybody and he’ll probably make his fair share of mistakes. Expect 175-200 yards passing per game and an average of 1 TD and 1-2 INT per game. (Note: me rambling off these averages is somewhat useful, though it should be considered that Quinn will show little consistency in his numbers.)

Kevin Kolb (Philadelphia Eagles) — Philadelphia stunned some people — including Donovan McNabb — when they drafted Kolb with their first pick of the day, 36th overall. It seemed more like a pick for the team’s future, though McNabb’s dad didn’t shy away from expressing that his son would be more wanted elsewhere.

Will Kolb enter the season as the team’s starter? No. Not a chance. Unless McNabb is hurt, Kolb won’t see any gametime, or at least a very limited dosage.

Luckily for the new guy, McNabb hasn’t been especially healthy over the past couple seasons. He hasn’t played more than 10 games in a season since 2004, boding well for those who hope Kolb will make an impact.

That said, don’t draft Kolb. He might be a decent mid-late season pickup if McNabb is injured, but he isn’t worth a roster spot until then. I expect him to pass for at least 200 yards per game when he does start and 1-2 touchdowns/interceptions.

What do you think? Which of the following will you draft, if any? What are your projections? Speak up! I love to hear from you!

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