He's won two national championships and is one of the more decorated players coming out of the college ranks. None of that, however, means a thing for Tim Tebow when it comes to making the jump to the NFL.
Despite the athleticism Tebow displayed as quarterback of the Florida Gators, there is one major concern that I feel will make his transition to the NFL a very difficult one, and could lead to him eventually switching to a different position at the pro level.
He has a loop in his throwing motion big enough to drive a Volkswagon through.
On the surface it may not seem like that big of a deal, but with the increase in the speed of the game from college to the NFL, it's a huge deal. Just ask Byron Leftwich, who was more-highly touted entering the league, but could not overcome his slow delivery and has been relegated to a back-up role for the past couple seasons.
Here's the problem. In the NFL, defensive backs are generally blessed with incredible speed. And that extra fraction of a second it takes for Tebow to release the ball makes his window of opportunity a lot smaller than a QB with a quick release. That's a serious disadvantage, and unless he can modify his delivery -- which is one of the more difficult things for a quarterback to adjust -- he will be a risky pick for any team that decides to select him early in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Combine that with the fact that Tebow is far from the most accurate passer available, he has very questionable footwork at times, and he took snaps from center almost exclusively from the shotgun formation at Florida, and you have a guy who should be drafted in the third round instead of the first. Because of the intangibles that he brings to the table, though, it wouldn't be a surprise at all if some team takes a chance on him much earlier.


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