The NFL Draft is only eight days and a prospect who is climbing up many draft boards lately is Cougar Quarterback John Beck. Here is a breakdown of one of the best Cougar signal callers ever to come through Provo.

#1 Intelligence, Hard Worker
Beck is known by all Cougar die-hards as a football junkie. When head coach Bronco Mendenhall took over BYU in 2005 and brought along Texas Tech offensive line coach Robert Anae as Offensive Coordinator, Beck studied every Texas Tech play on offense from the previous two seasons so he could get a feel for what type of offense he was going to be running. He loves the game of football, and since he was a little kid he was destined to be a Quarterback.

#2 Accuracy
In his four seasons in Provo, Beck improved each season on his pass completion percentage. Last season he was at a staggering 69.3% by season's end which was just shy of Steve Young's 1983 record of 70%. Beck not only is very accurate but he knows where to put the ball, making Beck a Wide Receiver's dream QB.

#3 ARM STRENGTH!
I have been tired of hearing about Beck's lack of arm strength. This is just down right ridiculous. NFL scouts seriously need to watch highlights from Beck's 2004 season where he was going deep all the time in former Head Coach Gary Crowton's offense. Watch this highlight package from the Boise State game at the 1:25 mark. Beck at numerous plays is going deep to Todd Watkins, Austin Collie, and Bryce Mahuika. In these highlights he makes the deep pass look easy with a quick release and a flick of the wrist. So this whole "adequate" or "below average" arm strength comments are just pathetic. Beck threw 61.1 mph at the combine which was 2nd behind a QB from a D-1AA school.

Age
Not many NFL franchises want a Quarterback who will be 26 years old when the season starts. But Beck is very mature and a natural leader. Many teams will over look Beck simply because of his age but they will be getting a steal.

Durability
Beck struggled during his four years in Provo with injuries. Even last season during the great 11-2 season he had problems with his two ankles which he injured in the season opener at Arizona. He needs to prove that he can be able to survive a rigorous 16 game NFL schedule.

Miami Dolphins
A lot of talk lately has been about the Dolphins taking Beck with possibly the 40th pick. ESPN Draft guru, Mel Kiper has Beck going to the Dolphins as well at pick #60. This would be a very good situation for Beck. He would be able to learn under Trent Green (expected to sign) who has two to three seasons left in his career and has been known to be injury prone so it could be sooner than that. The Dolphins have a great leadership in their front office with Wayne Huizenga. They have many skill position players as well for Beck to succeed. I really see this as being one of Beck's best fits.

The Hair never gets old. Also a huge fan of former Cougar John Walsh

New Orleans Saints
The Saints are set at QB with Drew Brees, but Brees has had a history of being injured and the Saints depth at the position is a concern. A player like Beck with his talent could be a great back-up behind Brees. How exciting would it be to see Beck along with Reggie Bush?

New York Jets
The Jets hope and pray each season that Chad Pennington stays healthy. The back-up, Kellen Clemens is still young and has only seen time in two seasons but Beck could step right in and be the #2 guy.

Oakland Raiders
The Raiders are expected to take QB JaMarcus Russell, but if the Raiders happen to take WR Calvin Johnson or even trade the pick, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Raiders possibly taking a shot at Beck. Now going to Oakland wouldn't be bad in terms of having a chance to play early but with that Offensive Line (they are so bad they have former Ute Barry Sims still) being as bad as it is, Beck would be seeing a lot of time in the McAfee Coliseum turf.

Baltimore Ravens
Steve McNair has a few years left in the tank. Kyle Boller is nothing to get excited about and Brian Billick has ties with BYU (former TE).

John Beck will go to the (blank) during Draft weekend

I really believe that Beck deserves to be a 2nd Round pick or even sneak into the 1st Round. Beck is much better than Stanford QB Trent Edwards who for some odd reason is a big-time prospect for many teams. But part of me realizes that with Beck playing at BYU he will probably go in the 3rd Round which is not bad at all. I just hope he doesn't slip to the second day like many former Cougars who have expected to go on Day 1 and then slip all the way to the 7th Round. The NFL draft is a confusing thing, its not always based on how productive you are on the field or your overall football talents. But, I would agree with Mel Kiper I think Beck is going to go to the Dolphins at pick #60. I think that would be a great franchise for Beck to succeed.