Recently Drew K brought you the top 10 Quarterback prospects in this years draft.  Over two days he brought you a top 5 and 6-10, going into great detail about each prospect.  One QB prospect that I have been advocating for the 49ers to draft in the 6th or 7th round is Greg McElroy, Alabama.

McElroy is a two year starter at the University of Alabama. As an undergraduate, he finished with a 3.85 GPA and applied, but did not win, a Rhodes Scholarship and was voted as one of the smartest athletes in America by the Sporting News.  McElroy started 14 games in 2009 andfinished the season with a perfect record and won the 2010 National Championship Game against the Texas Longhorns.

In 2010, the Alabama Crimson Tide came back down to Earth andfinished the season with a 10 - 3 record (including Bowl Game).  In the three losses, McElroy had 6 TDs to only 1 INT, making me believe that he wasn't the reason they lost those games.  While McElroy doesn't posses the greatest of arms, I believe that he has a better arm than what he is given credit for.  McElroy probably is the most accurate passer coming out of college this year.  His ability to place the ball in a perfect area for his receiver to not only catch the ball, but in stride, allowing them to get that all so important YAC.

Stats      Yards       Comp%     TD     INT       YPP         

2009       2508          60.9          17       4         7.72

2010       2987          70.9          20       5         9.54

Greg McElroy didn't compile this great resume playing against second tier teams and players, he played in one of the toughest conferences in college football.....The SEC.  McElroy is a winner, and had one of the greatest seasons in Texas high school history.  His 56 TDs rank 1st all time in the 5A class, and 2ndall time in state history, just behind Graham Harrell's state record of 67....OMG!!!!  67?  I thought that 56 was quite an accomplishment.  Because of McElroy's arm strength, scouts have him pegged as a 6th  to 7th round prospect.

Like Tre9er, I also use http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/scouting_department.html for scouting reports. Their scouting reports seem to just deal with fact and less on opinion.

Also they have another take from Gabriel: 

"McElroy might not have all the physical traits that many quarterbacks possess, but he has all the intangibles. He is a winner to the 10th degree. He lacks ideal size (6016 - 222) and doesn't have a cannon for an arm, but it is good enough and he is very accurate (better than 66% career completion percentage). He seldom forces the ball or makes bad decisions (only 10 career interceptions). He is very poised and is an excellent leader. What he does is play within himself. He knows what his limitations are and doesn't try to do things that he can't do. On top of that, he has been trained in a pro style offense and that puts him ahead of QBs who played in a spread from a learning perspective.

In many ways, he is similar to Colt McCoy who was a steal for Cleveland in the third round last year. Players like this have a history of being winning professionals. The team that drafts McElroy will be making a great decision."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQPVv4pafN8  Video Link. 

If you watch this video of some of McElroys highlights (I tried to load it here but was unable) you will see that he doesn't have a weak arm.  In fact, when I watched it, it reminded me of the arm strength that Joe Montana possessed.  Now I will not compare McElroy to the greatest QB of all time in a playing standpoint, but I will when you compare arm strength alone. 

To recap my points.  I believe that the 49ers should draft McElroy in the 6th round. I also believe that they should draft a QB in the second round, like Ponder or Kaepernick, to go along with the drafting of McElroy.  As I don't believe the 49ers would enter the season with 2 rookies on the active roster (see Arizona Cardinals), I do think he would be served well on the practice squad for a year.  The 49ers have 10 picks in this years draft and picking 2 QBs would allow Harbaugh to groom two guys at the same time.  I am almost certain that Harbaugh will retain Alex Smith to start the season, as the CBA might not be finished before the draft. Besides, Alex Smith is better than most of the options that wouldn't command a draft pick and the Eagles want WAY too much for Cobb, or is it Kolb?