Consider this: last year, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was the “most NFL ready quarterback” coming out. After Sam Bradford came off the board with the number one overall selection, Clausen was number four on Mel Kiper’s best available board. I had Clausen as a better prospect than Bradford on my big board…and boy, am I embarrassed. In my first year of evaluating NFL prospects, I fell into the trap of hearing how Clausen was the “most NFL ready” quarterback in the class.

We all saw how it turned out in Carolina last year, right? Clausen, even though he was a rookie, had a turrible rookie campaign according to just about all observers. 1,558 passing yards, 52.5% completion, 5.2 yards per attempt, three touchdowns, nine interceptions, and an abysmal 58.4 rating.

Clausen is a prime example of just because a player is slapped with the tag “most NFL ready,” it doesn’t mean that he should necessarily be rated higher or will be better than a player who isn’t as NFL ready.

This year, Greg McElroy said he is more NFL ready than Cam Newton is. The type of offense Alabama runs is so much closer to an NFL offense than what they run at Auburn, which helps McElroy’s argument. I think his comments were given too much attention a while back, though. The fact that McElroy is more NFL ready than Newton is only one factor to take into consideration when comparing the two. Newton is light years ahead of McElroy in terms of athleticism, of course. Newton also has a stronger arm, more upside, and size.

Newton has a lot to work on before he can step onto the field in the NFL, though. His footwork, reading defenses, going through progressions, and learning a much more complicated offense than the one he ran at Auburn are all things that he’ll need to prove that he can do. I’ve read multiple times that Newton will have to “make twice as many reads in half the time” than he did in Auburn’s offense. He needs work on lots of things, but his ceiling is high…sky high. If he’s willing to put in the work and effort, there’s no limit to what he can do. However, if he goes down the same road that JaMarcus Russell has gone down, he’s got no chance. It’ll be a huge waste of talent.

McElroy may be the most NFL ready quarterback in this year’s class, but the offense he ran at Alabama was beneficial to applying that tag to him. The Alabama offense was run-oriented with Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson along with a very strong offensive line. McElroy was talked down sometimes about the amount of importance he had in the offense. He had been labeled as a “game-manager” at times, as well. His senior season changed some analysts’ opinions about his role in the ‘Bama offense, though. He was given more responsibility and he did well with it. He improved his completion percentage from 60.9% to 70.9%. There’s no doubt that McElroy is a safer pick when you look at which prospect has the higher floor. McElroy does have arm strength and good pocket feel, but he isn’t without his flaws, either. McElroy needs to fix up his throwing motion, his accuracy when the rush starts closing in, and he needs to prove that it wasn’t his superb supporting cast that helped him achieve the good numbers and wins during this time with the Tide.

Newton was so electrifying and game-breaking last year at Auburn, his shine is just too much to ignore. When we saw what he did against Alabama and Oregon last year, it’s hard to deny that Newton has great talent and the potential to become special. But like I stated earlier, that can only happen if he’s dedicated enough and willing to be all in when he joins the Panthers. The Panthers have undoubtedly done their due diligence on Newton and according to multiple league insiders are leaning towards taking him with the number one overall pick. They’ll make their pick based mostly on upside and right now, I think that it’s the right pick to make. Is Newton a guarantee? Absolutely not, but if the Panthers don’t take a chance on Newton, they could end up regretting it for years.

Being NFL ready isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Don’t be fooled when Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, or Mike Mayock tell you about the most NFL ready players, especially quarterbacks. Their college offense or scheme may have made them more NFL ready than other players, but that doesn’t guarantee NFL success.