Did Saints draft QB of the future?

The 152nd pick of the draft has me thinking.
With the 152nd pick, the Saints drafted a 6-3, 218-pound quarterback who's only 21 and possesses an arm that his former coach, Steve DeBerg, has seen only once before -- and that was on John Elway.

In fact, DeBerg is not alone in comparing Adrian McPherson to Elway. Saints quarterback coach Turk Schonert, who played with Elway at Stanford, tells Jeff Duncan in today's Times-Picayune that McPherson is "probably a better athlete in terms of escapability than John. And John could buy time, so there's no question we're talking about an outstanding athlete. John probably had a stronger arm, but [McPherson] throws it very hard, and they're a lot alike."

We all know McPherson's baggage. ESPN The Magazine's Dave Fleming detailed it terrifically in a story last month. And no matter what bad things you've read about some of the questionable characters in this year's draft, few quotes resonate stronger than this from Georgia Cappleman, the prosecutor whose 2003 trial against McPherson for gambling ended in a deadlocked jury.

"Is it my opinion he's a gambler? It's not opinion. That's what we know," Cappleman told the Miami Herald last month. "He's not only a gambler, he's a crook. Let me put it to you this way: If he was in a room with you, you better watch your wallet."

McPherson has certainly done what he can to clean up his rep, and let's just say for the sake of argument that his legal problems, image problems, and NFL contract will cure him of any gambling urges he may or may not have had during his short career at Florida State.

That said, don't be surprised if he's a starter.

Maybe not this year, maybe not the start of next year, but I think it could happen. He has only mediocrity ahead of him on the depth chart. Since Aaron Brooks led the Saints to the playoffs in 2000, he's been inconsistent at best -- and I emphasize "at best."

• In 13 of 16 games last year, he completed less than 60 percent of his passes.
• In 10 of 16 games last year, his quarterback rating was less than 80.0.
• In a era of football that glamorizes passing and QB ratings are higher than ever, he is a career 56.5 percent passer, despite playing in a version of the West Coast offense.
• He's supposed to be a downfield thrower -- and is playing with a talented group of receivers and running backs -- but his career yards per attempt is only 7.0.
• The Saints' record since 2000: 32-32.
• He still has three years left on a backloaded six-year, $36 million contract.

Playing in the Arena League last year, McPherson threw 56 touchdowns and only five picks. He learned how to read defenses quickly and unload the ball in a hurry. Yeah, I know, it's the Arena League. But Kurt Warner learned something there. Who's to say McPherson didn't?

Give it a year or two, but stay tuned