Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Rookie Joe Webb impressing Vikings Staff

Joe Webb running the ball at the University of Alabama-Birmingham
The Minnesota Vikings selected a raw, explosive athlete that played for an Alabama college in the 2010 NFL Draft. Sound familiar? No, this is not the story of Tarvaris Jackson. Drafted as a wide receiver by the Vikings in the 6th round, rookie Joe Webb found himself taking snaps at quarterback with the second unit at a three day mini-camp in early June. With Webb taking snaps, it has caused perhaps a quarterback controversy as to who will be with the Vikings when the season begins with Brett Favre (crossing fingers) and Jackson.

Sage Rosenfels was acquired by the Vikings from the Houston Texans last offseason in exchange for a 4th Round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Since arriving to Minnesota, little has gone as planned for Rosenfels, who was expecting to compete as the starter before Brett Favre arrived. Since Webb was promoted to quarterbacking the second unit at mini-camp, Rosenfels may have been shown his place on the depth chart. The emergence of Webb may be Rosenfels last straw in Minnesota, as many teams tend to use a young and raw project for the 3rd unit quarterback.

At Alabama-Birmingham, Webb finished his two seaons at quarterback with 5,771 passing yards and 2,774 rushing yards. He could potentially play wide receiver or as a return specialist if the coaching staff feels Webb is better suited there. Webb became a YouTube sensation while training for the NFL Draft, leaping over 7 dummy bags at a workout. The talent and ability is endless for Webb, as it will be interesting to see if he can in fact develop into a starting quarterback for the Vikings someday. After all, he was chosen 199th overall - the same as a certain quarterback named Tom Brady.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Looks like he might turn out to be a gem in the rough after all. Or at least a Daunte Culpepper. ;)