[milkman]

Originally Posted by cdcox

He's not a bust. Right now he's a solid back up that you can win some games with when your starter goes down.

If Thigpen is going to develop beyond what he is now, he needs two years working with a great QB coach to fix his bad mechanics and (hopefully) improve his accuracy. It is not guaranteed that he'll be able to make those adjustments even if given the time. The odds are kind of long. There are guys in the draft who already have good mechanics and accuracy. They are going to need some development in other areas, but you know the mechanics and accuracy are already there. There chances of success are much higher.

There is no reason you couldn't take the first rounder and continue to develop Thigpen's mechanics. You'd have two chances of developing a franchise QB then. In this scenario, Thigpen doesn't get another chance unless the first rounder busts. But if the first rounder busts, you could re-evaluate Thigpen in a few games to see if his mechanics had developed enough to invest more time in. If not you have to go back to the draft and try again.

There is no magic formula. Those of us in favor of drafting a QB know we absolutely have to have a franchise QB and just want to make our chances as good as possible. You don't get a chance to grab a guy like Stafford or Sanchez every year. We want to strike while the chance is there, especially since there doesn't appear to be a compelling alternative at a position of need this year.

Well said.