For half the season, a significant portion of USC fans (and national media) doubted Sanchez, saying he was too inconsistent and erratic. I remember him having a couple of sub-par games against mediocre Pac-10 competition. Fortunately for USC, their overwhelming talent more than compensated for the QB deficiencies.

To his credit, Sanchez turned it around later in the year and had a once-in-a-lifetime performance in the Rose Bowl. But I have my doubts about him. Although he's a gutsy player, he's got some issues: mechanics, accuracy, consistency, decision-making and maturity. Prior to this year, even his own coaching staff wasn't sure if he could step up to the challenge. He could be a one-year wonder...not even that, a half-year wonder.

With the lack of sure-thing QBs in this draft, I'd rather go with a mid-to-low round QB and wait for him to develop. Maybe someone like Stephen McGee or Chase Patton. McGee, in particular, seems interesting: he's got all the physical attributes, was a blue-chip prospect out of high schoool, excellent leadership and toughness, but never got a chance to play much in an run-option-oriented system. He's reportedly looked very good at the East-West Shrine practices, and if we can get him in the 4th round, I'd consider that a better investment than Sanchez at #9.


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