Cam Newton's many hurdles

There have been a number of retorts to last week's article that said Cam Newton should not be a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

The gist of most of them is that whatever mechanical issues Newton has that currently make him a less-than-polished pro prospect could be overcome with NFL-caliber coaching.

That is certainly a valid point, but as noted near the end of the article, the three items listed there were only part of a much larger array of question marks.

To be more specific, there are at least seven other issues of note for any team that drafts Newton. And again, I am not saying that Newton shouldn't be drafted or is destined to be a bust. I am questioning the premise that he should be an ironclad lock for the first round. Here are more reasons:

Limited experience in reading defenses

Newton basically ran a one-read offense at Auburn and wasn't asked to go through the complex read progressions he'll have to go through in the NFL.

To read more about the reasons that KC Joyner thinks Cam Newton will not be a successful NFL quarterback, you must be an ESPN Insider.

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KC Joyner

NFL Insider

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• NFL and CFB analyst for ESPN Insider
• Known as "The Football Scientist"
• Uses proprietary metrics from game tape study