Let's try door No. 3


By Adam Schefter
Special to NFL.com


Adam Schefter's "Around the League" reports and commentaries can be seen regularly on NFL Total Access.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Once, few thought that former University of Miami running back Edgerrin James would be drafted ahead of former University of Texas running back Ricky Williams.

And he was.


Jay Cutler completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for over 3,000 yards in 2005.
Now, few think that Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler will be drafted ahead of USC quarterback Matt Leinart or Texas quarterback Vince Young.

And he could be.

The man who ultimately might make the decision is New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, holder of the draft's No. 2 overall pick.

Those close to Payton say that, behind closed doors, the Saints coach has conveyed the opinion that Cutler could turn out to be the next Brett Favre. Payton has yet to study extensive game tape of Cutler, but he has seen enough to believe that the quarterback has a real chance to be a bona fide star at the next level.
Because he never even played in a bowl game, Cutler did not receive the offensive line protection that the higher-rated quarterbacks did. Yet he performed admirably, impressing his teammates plenty and NFL scouts even more.

If Payton is as enamored with Cutler as people say, then the debate over whether Leinart or Young will be the first quarterback picked could be moot. Cutler could pull the upset.

This would not surprise NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, who has maintained that Cutler is this draft's top-rated quarterback -- ahead of Leinart, ahead of Young.

And if Payton is, in fact, thinking the same way as Mayock, then this draft's first surprise could come at No. 2.


Should Cutler go No. 2, it would rearrange the projected first-round order. Then, Leinart would fall to No. 3, where he would be reunited with his former offensive coordinator at USC, Norm Chow. And it also would leave Young to go No. 4 to the New York Jets, who need a quarterback. Yet, should the Jets opt for a bigger need with Virginia's D'Brickashaw Ferguson, then Young could fall to the Oakland Raiders at No. 7.

Of course, these are purely hypothetical. And there will be countless variations of them between now and draft day.