Drafting a QB #1 Is Pricey Gamble

In less than two weeks, the Miami Dolphins will make the first overall pick of the 2008 NFL draft—and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan is the likely candidate, the Houston Chronicle reports. Seven of the past nine No. 1s have been QBs, but for every Carson Palmer there's a David Carr, and for every Eli Manning there's a Tim Couch.

Peyton Manning might have been the only guaranteed perfect-QB pick ever, says Texans coach Gary Kubiak, who emphasizes the steep hurdles top-drafted quarterbacks face in transitioning to the NFL: "There's so much pressure on them. They've got a lot of money, they're going to a team that's not very good, and they've got a lot of people pulling at them." (More NFL stories.)