Jimmy Clausen was once listed as the quarterback the Rams could take with the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The draft will take place April 22-24. With a little less than a month to go before the 2010 draft, the teams that could pass up Jimmy Clausen appear to be outpacing the teams that could take him in the first round.
Originally, Jimmy Clausen was slated to be selected among the top four picks, according to most draft experts. If the Rams didn’t take him, he would have lost to the Redskins. Washington has the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Some people still believe the Redskins could draft him, though the team seems to support current quarterback and former first-round pick Jason Campbell. With a quarterback already in place, it makes very little sense to pay big bucks for a quarterback. He makes perfect sense to spend money on the offensive line to give the quarterback a chance to throw the ball. The Redskins will have to choose between offensive tackle prospects: Russell Okung, Bryan Bulaga and Trent Williams, depending on which ones are available when they pick fourth overall. The Redskins could still look to draft a quarterback later in the draft, but not with their fourth overall pick.
The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs, who have invested more than $14 million a year in Matt Cassel to be their quarterback. The Chiefs could be interested in Clausen due to his ties to current offensive coordinator and former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, however, the likelihood of the Chiefs investing a high draft pick at quarterback field is highly unlikely.
The Seattle Seahawks, sixth overall, was the lowest position Jimmy Clausen was seen in in many mock drafts a few weeks ago. This was before the Seahawks made a trade with the San Diego Chargers for quarterback Charlie Whitehurst. The Seahawks then signed him to a two-year, twenty million dollar contract. Unsurprisingly, there is little interest in the Seahawks’ Jimmy Clausen following this trade. Now, the seventh overall pick is intriguing. The Cleveland Browns appear to be a team looking for a new quarterback. After trading Brady Quinn, releasing Derek Anderson, signing Jake Delhomme and acquiring Seneca Wallace in a trade, the Browns are really looking at their quarterback position. Jimmy could land in Cleveland, though the Browns have shown strong interest in Colt McCoy. McCoy presents a much better value to the team in the second round than Jimmy did in the first. Jimmy wouldn’t start right away, Jake Delhomme will start for a year or two for the Browns, and then their quarterback of the future will take over.
After the seventh overall pick, the Raiders at eight will not go looking for a first-round quarterback again. The Bills seem uninterested in Jimmy Clausen, however he could be a possibility at number nine. They will probably look to improve their defense with their national team after switching to 3-4. Dan Williams is a possibility. The Jaguars, Broncos and Dolphins don’t need a quarterback. The 49ers are another possibility, but the team has said publicly that they are very comfortable with Alex Smith as their starting quarterback after he showed flashes of brilliance in 2009. Seahawks (14), Giants (15), Titans (16 ), 49ers (17) all seem to have no interest in spending a first-round pick on a quarterback.
The best chance for Jimmy Clausen to be chosen in the top 20 is the Pittsburgh Steelers. If word gets out that Ben Roethlisberger won’t be available for the 2010 season and could face jail time following another sexual assault allegation, then the Pittsburgh Steelers should look to draft a quarterback. Jimmy Clausen could easily go down in the second half of the first round on April 22. If you do, look for the slide to stop at 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, or look for a team to switch back to the first round like the Cleveland Browns did to acquire Brady Quinn in the 2007 NFL Mock Draft.