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* Aaron Rodgers #8 - 6'2" 220 lbs. - California - Sp. 4.7 Rating 92
Slick throwing talented strong-armed junior passer finished his career with back-to-back excellent efforts as a junior and sophomore. Aaron is an excellent passer who combines arm strength, mechanics and delivery to make all the throws. He is a well-built athlete with both a live arm and quick feet to give an offense a versatile threat under center. He has developed quickly as an athlete, improving in every aspect of QB play over his two-year starting career under the tutelage of HC Jeff Tedford. He has filled out as an athlete and possesses a strong live arm with the mobility to be a threat on the perimeter and the agility to throw on the move. He has quick footwork that creates passing lanes and allows him to avoid the pass rush, though he has only adequate footspeed to scramble outside the pocket. He has a compact quick delivery with sound mechanics that allows him to throw the ball very accurately on a game to game basis. He is a good ball handler and carries carry out play action well with good fakes In his basic setup, he is quick to get back in the pocket with the footwork to plant and drill the ball down the field. He has excellent pocket presence with keen awareness of his unit and the quick decision making to identify defensive coverage and get the ball to the hot receiver. He has improved significantly as a passer each season, showing good arm strength to throw the out and deep ball and the uncanny accuracy in the intermediate and short game to cut defenses apart. He shows rare field vision that has allowed him to make the proper read throughout the game and seldom forcing the ball into heavy coverage. In the pocket, he looks off the safety better than any recent college passer in addition to identifying defensive coverage quicker to make the quick decision and throw. His accuracy is in a class by itself whether throwing the slant, out, or deep pass. He has learned to put air under his throws to allow his receivers to make plays. He has exceptional timing and accuracy to the point that he hits receivers in stride consistently and allows them to break a play after the reception. He shows courage in the pocket and waits until the last minute to fire the ball to the open receiver. He can make all the throws with the toughness to hang in the pocket and take the hit and get the ball off and not be intimidated by a strong hit. In big game situations, he impressed scouts with his arm both from an accuracy and velocity standpoint in addition to his smarts and mobility to manage a game with minimal mistakes and unnecessary risks. He needs work on the finer points of the position to maximize his fine throwing arm and athleticism. Though he is not a finished performer at this point, he developed quickly over his short career and responded well to pressure situations. He became the key component on a Cal club that was an annual doormat in the Pac 10 prior to his starting time. Over his two seasons, he was the only QB to beat USC that he accomplished during his sophomore season and almost achieved again last fall when he fell just short despite a great performance. He shows the ability to adjust quickly to new situations and make the correct decision. For a young passer, he shows fine poise and composure that allowed him to elevate the play of his unit and bring the Cal program back to bowl status after a long dry spell. During the course of a game, he gets into an excellent passing rhythm that increases his confidence immensely and that positive attitude gets conveyed to his teammates to play at a higher level. He has a good feel for backside pressure in the pocket with fine foot quickness to avoid a rush and the ability to pull the ball down and make positive yardage. He has the frame to fill out further and checked in at an even 6’2� at the NFL Combine, fine height for a starting passer.
The Numbers: As a junior, he earned first team All-Pac-10 at quarterback after propelling the Golden Bears to a 10-2 record. He led the Bears to a 17-5 record in 22 career starts during his two seasons. In the ’04 season, he completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,566 yards, 24 TD and only 8 interceptions. He ranked first in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency—even ahead of 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart of USC—despite playing much of the season with a wide receiving corps decimated by injuries. He was named Offensive MVP at the ‘03 Insight Bowl after engineering a 52-49 win over Virginia Tech with a school bowl record 394 yards passing. He threw for 246 yards and one TD in the Cal 45-31 loss to Texas Tech in the ‘04 Holiday Bowl. In only two seasons, he climbed into seventh place on Cal’s career passing yardage list with 5,469 yards, completing 63.7 percent (424-of-665) of his attempts for 43 TD and only 13 interceptions. His 1.95 career interception percentage is a new Pac-10 record, eclipsing the mark of 2.59 set by USC’s Paul McDonald. In the ’04 USC game, he completed his first 23 passes against the nation No. 1 ranked club to tie a NCAA single-game record. He connected on 29 of 34 attempts for 267 yards, one TD and no picks for the afternoon, but they lost to the Trojans, 23-17, despite having four downs at the USC 9-yard line to score a possible game-winning TD in the closing minutes.
The Skinny: Talented junior passer made fast progress over his short starting career and has as much upside as any QB in recent memory. Though he played in a QB friendly system, his production and big game performance is undeniable. He is remarkably similar to Joe Montana in many ways, especially his footwork, accuracy and his ability to take an entire unit’s performance up a level. At the combine, he ran a 4.71 time, had a 34.5� vertical leap and 9’2" broad jump, but did not throw. He has definite NFL starting ability and could become an elite QB within a short time in the right setting. He needs to learn to pick up more sophisticated defensive coverage and how to respond to it. As a collegian, he learned to take what defenses gave him, something few young passers grasped until much later in their career. He is a good athlete with the live arm and intangibles including poise and leadership to become a top flight NFL starter. As a rookie, he may not be ready to start and probably needs some time to learn a system in addition to working with a good supporting cast. He should be the 1st overall pick with the 49ers foolish not to take him there and begin a new era.
Draft Projection: 1st Round

* Alex Smith #11 - 6’4� 215 lbs. - Utah - Sp. 4.7 Rating 90
Athletic junior passer completed an excellent college career directing the Utes to an undefeated season this past fall. Alex ranks among the top QBs as an athlete over the past decade and is a prospect that is still improving after a strong late career. He is a big mobile passer who is thin hipped and has the growth potential to fill out further without losing his fine footspeed. He has developed nicely in the Utes’ potent passing attack under the tutelage of HC Urban Meyer. As a fourth year junior, he felt he was ready for the NFL, especially after the departure of his young head coach Meyer after the unbeaten ’04 season. He is a tall athlete with quick feet and the speed to be very dangerous on the move both as a passer and runner. He moves well laterally and shows the ability to avoid the initial pass rush and create passing lanes despite heavy pressure. He stands tall in the pocket and quickly sets up that allows him to scan the field and find the open receiver. He throws overhand which gives him a high release point and few deflections at the line of scrimmage. He has developed excellent timing and accuracy to hit receivers in stride and make plays after the reception. He lacks a powerful arm at this point, but continues to improve his velocity that will allow him to drive the ball downfield better in the tight intermediate zones. He is an intelligent athlete who picks up a system quickly which should enhance his ability to play early in the NFL. He is a confident leader who has worked hard to improve in all areas and his confidence has worn off on his teammates. He recognizes defenses quickly and makes the proper adjustment fast to minimize lost yardage. His fine athleticism allows him to make plays outside the pocket with the speed to really pressure a defense in the open field. He consistently made the proper audible during the ’04 season that got the ball to the receiver in single coverage. He displayed toughness in the pocket to wait to the last moment to throw the ball. Currently, he makes most of the intermediate and short throws but needs work on the deep pass and the ability to drive the ball into the deeper seam area. While working in a pro style attack, he refined many areas of play over his career and carries an NFL starting grade as a result. He has a smooth delivery with a sound compact delivery despite a big wingspan. He has learned to look off the safety and not focus on his primary receiver and give him the necessary time to make his break. He is a fast developing passer who usually sees coverage quickly and makes good sound decisions. He has all the athletic talent to rank with the best athletes at the position in the NFL that gives his club the added dimension of movement in the pocket and an option to be a runner out of the backfield. He operates best from the shogun formation that allows him to scan the field and find the single matchups in pass coverage. He has improved in most areas of play and showed the ability to read defenses quicker and deliver the ball to the open receiver in stride. His accuracy in the short and intermediate zones is outstanding and he continues to improve in the deep game from both an accuracy and timing perspective. He displays fine poise, instincts, and leadership to direct an offense successfully with the patience in the pocket to allow plays to develop and his receivers to break open in their routes.
The Numbers: He had a fine 40 score in the Wonderlic test at the NFL Combine that rates intelligence and quick mental decision making. He graduated college in 2.5 years, a big factor in his decision to turn pro. As a junior, he threw for 2,952 yards, 31 TDs and 4 picks on 67.5% with 214 completions of 317 attempts. As a sophomore, he completed 65% of his passes with 173 completions of 266 passing attempts. He threw for 15 TD passes and 3 interceptions in 10 starts. Two-time MWC Player of the Year as a junior and sophomore.
The Skinny: In some respects, maybe the player with the biggest upside of any prospect in this draft class. He has the combination of athleticism and high intelligence that spells greatness He is very similar to the Jets Chad Pennington in intelligence, size, arm strength, accuracy and athleticism. He is a quality passer in every respect and a tough player who has performed at a high level in an underrated conference. He needs further work in his overall game and in particular his drops in the pocket and his ability to make decisions and throws while setting up vs. more sophisticated defenses. He can spread the ball around well with the ability to make consistently accurate throws and sound decisions. His fine mobility is an added dimension that has become more important in pro offenses. He can pull the ball down and run for the key yardage with the ability to be a dangerous scrambler. At the combine, he ran a 4.71 time, had a 32� VL and 9’5� BJ. With further development and overall improvement in his game, he should be a starting NFL passer fairly early in his career, but must make the necessary progress working under center. Good passer and leader with the toughness, arm and smarts to be a cornerstone addition. Top 5-10 prospect with very good tools to become a fine NFL starter with continual development. Dolphins, Browns and Cards interested in the top 10 selections.
Draft Projection: 1st Round - Top 5 Pick