The Retort

Draft Preview: Sam Bradford vs. Goliath

March 26th, 2010 by Joe Olivo Of The Retort Staff

Height: 6 feet 4 inches

Weight: 236 pounds

Comparable at the next level: Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

Projected draft spot: 4 overall, Washington Redskins

Sam Bradford is the consensus top quarterback in this year’s NFL draft, for good reason. Bradford has played all of his football in Oklahoma, having been born in Oklahoma City. Coming out of Putnam City North High School he was greatly overshadowed by the likes of Tim Tebow, Matt Stafford and Josh Freemen. He chose to attend the University of Oklahoma, where he came into a quarterback competition. He won the starting job as a redshirt freshman. In his first game he completed 21 of 23 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns in just over two quarters. In his second game he completed a Sooners record 22 consecutive passes. He ended the season having completed 69.5% of his passes for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. Extremely good numbers to put up and even harder numbers to surpass, but he did.

In 2008 Bradford took college football over. Completing 67.9 percent of his passes for 4,721 yards and an amazing 50 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. The 2008 Sooners, with Bradford at the helm, scored a NCAA record 702 points and even scored 60 or more points in five consecutive games. That year Bradford received the Davey O' Brien Award, going to the best college quarterback, and the Heisman Trophy. Bradford became only the second sophomore to ever win the award. However, he came short of his goal to with the BCS Championship, losing to Florida 24-14. That outcome is what convinced Bradford to come back for his junior year rather than entering the 2009 NFL Draft, where he was considered the top overall quarterback prospect.

His return to college football did not work out for him. In the first game of the 2009 season he suffered a third degree AC joint sprain in his shoulder. He missed three games before returning against Baylor. He was 27 of 49 for 389 yards and one touchdown in the Sooners victory. In the next game he re-injured his shoulder and was sidelined for the rest of the season. The injury has been the only legitimate factor holding back Bradford's draft stock. When looking at him before the injury he had amazing accuracy, he was a smart decision maker and had perfect timing in his offense. He was a good arm, but not the Matt Stafford or Jay Cutler rocket arm. If it wasn't for the injury he may be battling for being the top overall draft pick, and he still could be.

Bradford also must answer then questions about if he is durable enough to last in the NFL. He helped to answer this when he weighed in at a very built 236 pounds at the NFL Combine, 14 pounds above his college playing weight. Bradford also reads “David and Goliath” before every game. With the draft fast approaching a lot of teams are interested in just how well “David” can sling that rock.