... Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden, who just finished playing in his last college football game, the Senior Bowl, is 48 days older than Aaron Rodgers -- both 28.
I watched Weeden play for the South team in the Senior Bowl Saturday. Impressive kid, particularly in the move from the Cowboys' spread offense to the more traditional pro-style look, mostly under center. His delivery was long, and he doesn't have the tightest spiral. But his accuracy was good, his confidence better, and he stepped into throws with good mechanics and a strong arm.
I'd heard he was the most impressive passer in the week of practice before the game. "He is absolutely lighting it up,'' one AFC scout, whose team is not in need of a quarterback, said after watching two days of practice. "I bet he's raised his stock significantly here. I wouldn't be surprised, even with the age question, if he's made himself into a second-rounder.''
Weeden, a 6-foot-4 pitcher, chose to play baseball out of high school. The Yankees paid him a $565,000 signing bonus as the 71st overall pick in the 2002 draft. (Number 44: Joey Votto. Number 64: Brian McCann. Number 80: Curtis Granderson.) He gave it five years, with the Yankees, Dodgers (New York sent him to L.A. as one of three players surrendered in the Kevin Brown trade) and Royals, and his 19-26 record with a 5.02 ERA just didn't cut it.
He had a partially torn labrum that didn't require surgery if he wanted to play football, so he enrolled at Oklahoma State in 2007. After a rehabbing redshirt year and two more on the bench, he took over as the quarterback in 2010, and in two starting seasons completed 69.7 percent of his throws with a +45 touchdown-to-interception differential.
And last week in Mobile, every team that talked to him was fixated -- rightfully -- on his age. "I'd say it's in the upper 20s, the teams that have talked to me,'' he said when we spoke on Friday. "And I'll tell you pretty much word for word what I told them about the age thing. There are pros and cons to being 28 and being an NFL prospect. The only con is I can't have a 20-year career, or as long a career as some of the younger guys at my position. The pros are maturity and experience ... I've already been a professional in one sport, and I grew tremendously from that. Nothing really fazes me. What you see is what you get.
"This week, I've transitioned to more of a West Coast system with [Washington] coach [Mike] Shanahan, and I think I've handled it well and proven I can do the things you need to do in the NFL to play the position. And then, I think my biggest plus is being even keeled, which all comes back to baseball.''
Failing in baseball being a big part of that. "Right out of high school,'' he said, "I was under a microscope, and I had adversity for the first time in my life. Throwing an interception is like giving up a home run. I've done it. It doesn't kill me. It bothers me, and I want to figure out why, but it's part of the game, and you'd better be able to overcome it.
"I remember once pitching against Ian Stewart [infielder with the Cubs now] in Asheville, N.C., and he hit a ball out over the trees, way over the fence. I think it's still going. I mean, a monster shot. I thought I threw a pretty good pitch, curveball low and in. And he just crushed it. It's a blow to your ego when you fail, obviously. But as I look back on it now, I see a period of my life that really helped me get where I want to be.''
I don't know enough about Weeden to hazard a guess, yet, where he'll go in the draft. But let's say you're a team with a quarterback need in the second round. Washington, Miami and Seattle all pick between 39 and 45, and all could be sniffing for a passer. Let's say you do all your physical and mental work on the quarterbacks in the draft, and you're convinced that, mentally and physically, Weeden is healthy and bright and as ready to play in the NFL as Mark Sanchez, Andy Dalton and Cam Newton have been in recent years, or nearly as ready. Will you take a shot at a guy who might be able to give you eight starting seasons? Or will you say you can't take that risk for a player who's older than Aaron Rodgers right now? That'll be the dilemma of this draft for teams that don't get a quarterback in free agency or at the top of the first round.
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