Could Jimmy Clausen Have a Brady Quinn-esque Slide in the Draft?

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen is one of the biggest enigmas in this year’s NFL Draft. Some figure it’s a no-brainer that he goes in the first ten picks (with Cleveland as a potential destination), while others believe that he could have a slide as drastic as Brady Quinn’s was back in 2007. It’s an issue that is discussed over at Pro Football Talk, but Mike Florio makes the case that it is highly unlikely that Clausen will slide into the bottom of the first round.

Sure, plenty of teams could make the case to draft a quarterback, but Clausen comes with baggage, some of which is out of his control. Brady Quinn was the last big-name Notre Dame quarterback to enter the draft and, despite his experience in a pro-style offense with Charlie Weis, Quinn is currently labeled as a bust in the NFL. I would have to believe that some teams are at least cognizant of the fact that Clausen comes from the same system and could be a product of the Notre Dame hype machine. Clausen is a good quarterback, but he just might not be worthy of so much money that he would command in the top ten and, possibly, beyond.

– In other news, the Raiders are supposedly interested in both Tim Tebow and Clausen. I don’t know why I didn’t make the connection before, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Al Davis forced the Raiders to draft Tebow with the eighth overall pick.

– Apparently, Tom Brady reached out to former Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth on the day of his accident, the one that ended with Stallworth hitting a man with his car and, sadly, killing him. How did Brady reach out to his former receiver? Through a text. Now, I understand it was the day of the accident and Stallworth certainly had other things on his mind – and, yes, it was a good gesture on Brady’s part – but it’s sad that texting has essentially replaced actual phone calls in this day and age.

– The reason Brett Favre returns to the NFL in 2010: You KNOW he wants to be the first grandfather to play in the NFL.