Tim Tebow: NFL Quarterback?

In 5 years,Timothy Richard Tebow will be regarded as perhaps the greatest College Football player of  al-time, a revolutionary of the College Quarterback position, and an ambassador of college football.  However, the question that we and many must seek to find an answer to in between now and five years down the road is will Tebow make a successful transition to a capable NFL starting Quarterback?
Here is our assessment:

Positives:
Overall, if you looked at his productivity it is hard to argue that there is a better Quarterback.  However, if there is one thing we have learned from Jason White, Eric Crouch, and even Akili Smith, it is that productivity doesn’t equate to the NFL level where players are mire athletic and smarter
Tim is by all accounts, a very intelligent young man. He is an honor roll student at the University of Florida. In addition, he is an adept leader, often seen rallying his Gator teammates
Tebow has a marketable face and his Christian background make him a PR machine.  He is funny and has the ideal blend of confidence/humility needed to make it in the league. Tim doesn’t shy away from the spotlight, but is not consumed by it at the same time.
One thing often said of Michael Jordan is that “It’s not that he loved to win, it’s that he hated to lose” the same can be said of the competitive Tebow.  His losses were often followed by promises of improvement and responsibility, leading to more victories.
He has the sheer will power to victory and is a hard worker

Negatives:
There are huge underlying problems in drafting Tim Tebow, however.
Tim has a little bit of a windup to his ¾ delivery and can at times double clutch the ball for rhythm.  This can allow defensive backs a split second more to react to his throws.  In addition, Tim has yet to employ very many pump fakes, and doesn’t look through his progressions at a high enough level yet. This can allow defensive backs to jump his receiver’s routes. Another concentration of those working with Tebow is his footwork.  Tim frequently throws off balance when it isn’t necessary, usually when pressured and moving to the right. He needs to take time to get his back foot set and drive through the ball and throw it tighter. This also has hurt his accuracy with the football as he is unable to throw the ball in to tight windows.  The combination of these variables will hurt Tebow, because at the next level athletic safeties won’t have to cheat down in to the box due to his running threat. Rather they can stay home, play center field, wait to read Tim’s elongated delivery and react to a ball that may flutter when his footwork is not sound.  Tim’s accuracy and mechanics are not unfixable, but they will need time to develop, as he got away from some of the pro-Quarterback fundamentals in a spread offense and in his proclivity to run.  With more athletic sure tacklers in the NFL, Tim will not be able to run as well without risking injury and he will have to improve his accuracy in traffic as team’s will likely force him to beat them with his arm.
Tim will likely have to alter his running style as well, in that he can not attempt to run over defensive ends, linebackers, and safeties in the NFL.  He will have to slide, juke, or run out of bounds, and reduce the likelihood of injury as QB (whether starting or backup) is an important role to the team.

All this is not to say that Tim Tebow will not necessarily fail nor necessarily succeed at the NFL level.  However, Tim will need to make marked improvements to become a capable NFL starter.  Tim has the athletic frame, mindset, and overall ability to play at the next level.  It is important that he gets the appropriate attention as a “raw” QB with great upside, so long as due diligence and work is put in, and he is not rushed to pay in his first season

If I were an NFL GM, I would definitely pass on Tim in the first round. I would probably pass on him in the 2nd round, unless I didn’t have other needs.  However, if I were a playoff team looking to add a wrinkle in my offense and had a durable bona fide starter, I would definitely give Tim Tebow a look in the late 2nd or 3rd round.  A team that may fit him (in addition to Jacksonville, who’s had a campaign to get him) is Philadelphia, if Michael Vick leaves.  There is no reason why Tim can not run the same Wildcat plays that Vick has run this year for the Eagles, and the Eagles have struggled in short yardage this season.