NFL Mock Draft, Pick 9: Bills Select Jimmy Clausen, QB Notre Dame

The ninth pick is in and SB Nation's Bills community, Buffalo Rumblings, has selected...

Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen

From Buffalo Rumblings:

I have no idea if the Bills like Clausen, and that's probably a good thing. I, personally, like Clausen - for a junior entrant, I think his game has a solid amount of polish, and I think his oft-criticized intangibles are slightly underrated. This is not a prospect I want to simply hand the starting job to, but if he beats out Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm in an even-playing-field competition, he'll have at least earned his keep.

From Mocking the Draft:

Even though this would be a reach for Dan Williams, the nose tackle is the anchor of the defense and shouldn't be underscored. An offensive tackle is also a big need, and the second-round quality is nowhere near as good as the first-round quality.  Still, those quarterbacks on Buffalo have been mostly below average. Clausen would be the centerpiece of the offense and give the franchise its much-needed face.

From Rakes Of Mallow's Clausen player profile:

Again, ignoring King Ill-Informed Contrarian Todd McShay, most drafts have had Clausen going somewhere between four and ten, which seems perfectly fair. Drafting a quaterback in the NFL is extremely difficult and a bit of a crapshoot (Malcolm Gladwell wrote an entire New Yorker story about it being an inexact science), but Clausen has shown that he's a mature, capable signal caller who can get the ball to his receivers quickly. I will make no guarantees about his ability to excel at the next level, but there aren't a lot of clear red flags. Perhaps his greatest strength is his ability to put the ball right on the hands of his intended targets. In college, that let his receivers pick up huge yardage after the catch. In the pros, that will be the difference between a completion and an interception, and that sort of accuracy could make all the difference with his career.

The quarterback is the most important position in all of professional sports so when you're drafting in the top ten -- and you don't have a long-term answer at quarterback -- you need to get one. Clausen comes from a NFL system run by Charlie Weis and seemingly has the physical tools capable to be a successful quarterback.

The only issue, the way I see it, is the possibility of a David Carr type situation in regards to the protection. The Bills offensive line might be the worst in football right now and that's never a good thing for a quarterback and especially not for a rookie quarterback.

It might be a little while before Clausen can fully develop but his pedigree suggests he'll be a successful quarterback.

Check out the full write-up over at Mocking the Draft.