QB class lacks surefire franchise player

Updated: March 22, 2005, 9:20 AM ET

By Todd McShay | Scouts Inc.

Few quarterback classes can compare with last year's, and this won't be one of them. There are two probable top-10 prospects in the group, but neither Aaron Rodgers (Cal) nor Alex Smith (Utah) would have gone ahead of the top three quarterbacks selected in 2004 – Eli Manning (Giants), Philip Rivers (Chargers) and Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers).

Rodgers has elite arm strength and is further along in his development than Kyle Boller was when he left coach Jeff Tedford, but Rodgers doesn't have great size and there are some understandable concerns that he's a product of a passer-friendly system. Those same concerns exist for Smith, who played not only in a wide-open offense at Utah but also in a scheme that primarily used the shotgun.

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