Robert Griffin III

With the Heisman trophy Presentation upcoming on Saturday, Robert Griffin III is on every sports fan's mind.  But rather than talk about his college football prowess, I would like to address his transition to the NFL, whether it be 2012 or 2013.  We saw last year's Heisman trophy winner, Cam Newton, enjoy immediate success in the NFL, and while I don't think Robert Griffin will have that easy of a transition, I think he is the best NFL quarterback in this upcoming draft class.  Yes, better than Andrew Luck, the greatest thing since sliced bread (or Peyton Manning).  Yes, better than Matt Barkley, who reminds me much more of Mark Sanchez than Steve Young.  And while it's nothing against Andrew Luck's skill, as he will develop into a fine NFL quarterback, Robert Griffin has the skill-set to be a phenomenal dual-threat quarterback in the NFL.

Griffin's poise in the pocket, athleticism, and confidence in his throwing arm have all stood out to me during this Heisman season.  Couple that with his relative inexperience as a quarterback, and you have the potential for something special.  In a recent interview with Aaron Rodgers, he was asked what he thought was the single most important quarterback trait.  Without hesitation, Rodgers said "confidence."  It's something that Brady has, Rodgers has, Favre had (and has, pending another comeback).  It's this confidence not only in themselves, but in their teammates to make plays.  And with this confidence, they are able to make the game much simpler than anyone else.  They make the easy plays, rather than forcing throws, and confidence builds.  You see quarterbacks every year who have confidence and know they can make every throw, and then quarterbacks who don't (see Jones, Landry).

Robert Griffin's stats are impressive.  His passer efficiency rating of 192.3 is the highest of the past 10 years.  His 36:6 touchdown to interception ratio is impressive, but even more impressive is his 72.4% completion percentage, a great barometer for how well a quarterback could transition to the NFL.  Andrew Luck is also excels in completion percentage, a large reason why scouts have fallen in love with him.  Some might be saying, "Well, Griffin throws screens and dump passes in the spread offense, that's why his completion percentage is so high."  And these people couldn't be more wrong, as Robert Griffin also has the highest yards/attempt of any quarterback in NCAA history.  That says alot--Robert Griffin is throwing the longest passes on average in NCAA history and he is completing over 70% of those passes.  

Scouts have worried about quarterbacks coming from spread offenses in the past, but there is no need to worry about Griffin.  If you sit down and watch the kid play, you immediately realize how special he is and how great he could be in the NFL.  Not to mention, Griffin is a class act, just like Andrew Luck.  I think both of these guys are going to be great NFL players, but if I had the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Robert Griffin III would be called by Roger Goodell.  But I don't, and I see Andrew Luck as the odds-on favorite to be selected first overall by Indianapolis.

RGIII