Is Vick really not worth a mid-round draft pick?


Apparently the rest of the league is not nearly as high on Michael Vick as the Eagles are, which could be due in part to the review that some scouts around the league are giving him.

"He can't throw," a scout told Fox's Alex Marvez. "A guy could be open 20 yards downfield and he'll throw it 25. He never could throw, but he was fast before. It's not like he's slow now but he doesn't stick out like, 'Wow, this guy is faster than everybody.'"

That had to be the concern when the Eagles first decided to bring Vick on board, but I'm not sure I would agree with the scout as far as Vick's passing. Granted, he's not now, nor has he ever been, the most accurate passer. But when he actually got the chance to throw the ball, the passes looked accurate and they always got there in a hurry.

Sure, there were some throws that landed off the mark, but to say he just can't throw anymore, or that he's worse than he was in Atlanta, is just not an opinion that a scout can reasonably come to off of only 15 passes (including playoffs).

He only completed seven of those passes, but completed two of those for touchdowns -- one of which came in the playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys on a beautiful throw to Jeremy Maclin, who then turned it upfield and raced into the endzone.

And as far as his speed goes, he has clearly lost a step after being out of the game for two seasons. However, he did have two rushing touchdowns and a very impressive run against the Chicago Bears.

For those who don't recall, Vick took a quarterback option right up the middle and, about 10-15 yards down the field, juked a Bears player (whom I cannot identify) out of his shoes, and raced 34 yards.

He did get chased down from behind, but by the looks of it, it was only because he had to slow down to make a couple moves.

Maybe he won't be running away from defensive backs anymore, but he can certainly still run away from defensive linemen and linebackers, which is really all that matters. If he can get away from those guys blitzing and extend the play, it can be huge for any team willing to pick him up.

The Birds might not get the third-round pick they're looking for out of any team who wants Vick, but it's not out of the question for a team to give up a fourth or fifth round pick -- especially in a draft that's not very deep in quarterbacks once the top four or five are off the board.