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Delaware QB Flacco's stock rising in NFL draft

Bob Glauber

April 22, 2008

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OK, so we're not talking Class of '83 with this year's quarterbacks, although it does happen to be the 25th anniversary of the draft that brought John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly to the NFL. And we're not even talking Class of 2004, when Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers came into the league and soon began going to championship games and/or winning Super Bowls.

Fact is, there might be only one first-rounder in this year's group, and no one is talking about Matt Ryan of Boston College in Hall of Fame terms. But there is a fair amount of intrigue with this year's quarterbacks, and you can start with Delaware's Joe Flacco, who has emerged as the guy who might just be the best pure passer of the bunch.

And who knows, maybe he'll be wearing a green-and-white uniform by Saturday afternoon.

There is little dispute among scouts about Flacco's raw arm strength; it's as good as or better than anyone else in the draft, including Ryan, Michigan's Chad Henne, Brian Brohm of Louisville and John David Booty of USC.

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Add to the mix Flacco's exceptional performances at the scouting combine, his pro day at Delaware and personal workouts for several teams. One of them was the Jets, who are considering the addition of a third quarterback to the Chad Pennington-Kellen Clemens equation.

The Ravens, Packers, Seahawks, Vikings, Falcons, Panthers and Rams also are studying Flacco. And who knows? Maybe even the 49ers and Dolphins have interest.

"It's been a pretty big process, but you just have fun with it and be yourself, show the teams who you are," the 6-6, 232-pound Flacco said. "It's been a good experience meeting everybody, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all works out. The bottom line is I definitely believe I can play and win in the NFL."

Flacco, a native of Audubon, N.J., not far from Philadelphia, flew under the radar coming into the 2007 season, but he enjoyed a terrific year with 4,263 yards, 23 touchdown passes and only five interceptions.

He originally was at Pittsburgh but transferred to Division I-AA Delaware to get a better opportunity to play. The decision probably has paid off in a big way, because Flacco has parlayed it into what's expected to be a high second-round (or possibly even a low first-round) choice Saturday.

"I wasn't sure how [transferring] would work out, but I believed it would," Flacco said. "I think people see some good things. I think the first thing is the arm strength, but there are a lot of other things that go into it. Accuracy, pocket presence; it's important to have all those."

Flacco also has taken plenty of advice from another former Delaware quarterback. Scott Brunner, who played with the Giants from 1980-83, took Flacco under his wing at Test Sports in Martinsville, N.J. Brunner was part of Flacco's training program leading up to the combine, and the two continue to consult regularly.

"Everyone recognized that Joe has a great arm and great physical dimensions, but the question was: Can he win?" Brunner said. "That's what you have to do as a quarterback. It doesn't have to be pretty. But he proved that he could put a team on his back if he had to."

Last year, Flacco led Delaware to an 11-4 record. The Blue Hens relied heavily on the shotgun formation, taking advantage of Flacco's superb arm strength. So Brunner worked on Flacco's dropbacks. The two also worked on the relatively simple mechanics of handing off to the running backs.

"We constantly worked on his footwork, because obviously you rarely get the chance to just sit back and throw," Brunner said. "It's how you move around efficiently that makes all the difference."

Brian Martin, founder and CEO of Test Sports and one of Flacco's primary trainers, believes the quarterback's stock has improved greatly in recent months. And not just because of his physical presence.

"This guy is competitive," Martin said. "He fought every day to be No. 1 in our drills. People say he's pretty laid-back personality-wise, but he's a fierce competitor. And the other thing is his athleticism. I don't think people give him enough credit for it."

Flacco will find out Saturday just how much credit he'll get. It could be plenty.

"Whoever gives me a chance," Flacco said, "I'm going to do everything I can to make it worthwhile."