The news out of South Bend today is that Notre Dame's junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen is entering April's NFL draft. Clausen was the number one overall player out of high school a couple of years ago, but it seemed like his career for the Golden Domers was star-crossed. Never had a great offensive line, his defense stunk, and lacked playmakers on offense (until the emergence of Golden Tate this year). Will he be moving to a similar rebuilding situation in St. Louis? In an article on ESPN.com, Tom Friend speculates about his possible destination:
Rated as perhaps the top quarterback in this year's class, he is believed to be coveted by St. Louis, Cleveland and Washington -- three teams that will conceivably pick in the top 5.
Draft talk around here has started to heat up lately, and for good reason. The Rams simply need talent. Everywhere. Including quarterback. We all know that Marc Bulger is likely done as a Ram, and Kyle Boller has performed up to the standards he was hired to - backup. Jimmy Clausen won't solve the Rams problems on offense. Personally, I've lobbied for a playmaker at WR like Dez Bryant in the first round, mostly because I'm afraid of taking a quarterback as high as we're likely to be picking. There's certainly also an argument for guys like Ndamukong Suh on defense. That being said, I can't help but feel like Devaney and crew are looking hard at a QB, especially after I read this:
But six days later, he threw for 340 yards and five touchdowns at Stanford, and his ability to persevere is why several general managers, who have requested anonymity, believe he is the most NFL-ready quarterback in this year's draft. They say he's already mastered an NFL offense, has already been subjected to a leaky offensive line and has already been part of a rebuilding process. They like that he played his entire college career on national TV and that he thrived in one of the biggest fishbowls in sports: Notre Dame.
*Emphasis Added
We don't know what he have in Keith Null. But he's not ready to be a starter in the NFL. And yet there are serious holes all over this team, of which QB is not the most glaring. Is Jimmy Clausen going to be a good pro QB? Probably. Will he help the Rams next year? Probably not.