Ryan Nassib was ranked as the top quarterback in the 2013 NFL Draft by respected analysts such as NFL Films' Greg Cosell and ESPN's Jon Gruden, but not by his own college coach.
The Buffalo Bills, now coached by former Syracuse head man Doug Marrone, made Florida State's EJ Manuel the first quarterback selected in the draft, taking him at No. 16 overall.
While Nassib and Matt Barkley possess underwhelming physical tools, Manuel is the draft's best raw talent with a big arm and 4.62 wheels. Marrone showed a fast-paced, uptempo attack at last week's voluntary minicamp, and Manuel boasts the capability to run the trendy read-option attack.
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It makes sense for the Bills to roll the dice on a quarterback with a high ceiling, but Manuel doesn't come without question marks. His accuracy was inconsistent and his footwork spotty with the Seminoles. He may have to sit behind Kevin Kolb or Tarvaris Jackson while Marrone tutors him as a rookie. In other words, Manuel is more of a project than recent first-round picks.
It will be interesting to see how far Nassib and West Virginia's Geno Smith fall, as teams in the last half of the first round aren't in the market for a starting quarterback.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
