Blue 42: Christian Ponder isn’t a 1st-rounder
Mar 7, 2011, 11:36 AM | Updated: Apr 4, 2011, 7:52 pm
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MyNorthwest.com staff
Danny O’Neil of The Seattle Times joined Brock & Salk on Monday and said that among quarterbacks available in the draft, he thinks Christian Ponder of Florida State would be the best fit for the Seahawks.
In Monday’s Blue 42, Brock Huard said that while he thinks the Seahawks could take Ponder, it likely wouldn’t be in the first round:
“Second round pick, second or third round pick, that’s where he fits. I agree with Danny. He’s not a first round pick. There is some concern (with Ponder). Unlike some of these other guys – Ryan Mallett, Jake Locker, Gabbert, Newton, many of the guys we have discussed, Dalton, Kaepernick – none of them have injury issues. Mallet would be the only one with some foot injuries and his size and his lack of movement. But Christian Ponder has legitimate injuries in his shoulder and his elbow.
“I will say this, when I watch his release, I think it’s a little bit tight. The reason he doesn’t have a big arm, I think he’s a little bit bundled up. He is a good athlete. He is very accurate (he has a career 61.5 percent completion rate). He’s much more accurate than Jake Locker is and that’s why everyone says West Coast System for him – lack of arm strength but very accurate. Is he a second or third round value? Yeah, I think he is and he probably fits there and could fit here in Seattle.”
Ponder missed two games last season and most of Florida State’s bowl game due to a broken bursa sack in his throwing elbow. A separated shoulder required surgery and cost Ponder the final four games of his junior season.
Brock also explained why Cam Newton’s Pro Day is more important than Jake Locker’s and what’s happening with the allegations of recruiting violations at Oregon. You can listen to Blue 42 here and you can listen to Brock and Salk’s conversation with Danny O’Neil and Clare Farnsworth here.
You might also be interested in…
-John Clayton says he’d take Ponder over Locker with the 25th pick
-Mel Kiper Jr. weighs in on the Seahawks’ draft plans
-Ponder leads South to win in Senior Bowl
