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Hits kept on coming for Stanford quarterback Edwards

 

By Mark Gaughan and Allen Wilson

BUFFALO NEWS SPORTS REPORTERS

Updated: 04/30/07 6:38 AM

 

Three of Trent Edwards’ four seasons as the quarterback for Stanford University were shortened by injury.

That didn’t diminish the respect Buffalo Bills quarterback coach Turk Schonert had for Edwards.

“People talk about him being injury-prone,” Schonert said after the Bills drafted Edwards in the third round. “When I met him at the combine I shook his hand and congratulated him on how many games he actually did play. He got hit that much. They were a bad football team.”

Edwards battled through adversity in college but he steps into what looks like a good situation in Buffalo. The Bills have only two NFL quarterbacks on their roster, and they had a need for a young developing passer.

Why did they use a third-round pick on Edwards? The Bills said he was much more highly rated than anyone else on their board when they made the 92nd overall pick. There already had been 16 receivers taken when the Bills made their third-round pick. The top nine cornerbacks were off the board. California cornerback Daymeion Hughes may have been the next best choice for the Bills. He went 95th to the Colts.

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper had Edwards going at the top of the second round — 34th overall. The Dallas Morning News rated him 37th overall. Mike Mayock of the NFL Network rated him 50th overall.

“He was a guy you didn’t expect to see around at this point in the third round,” said Bills scout Terry Wooden. “He was a guy we couldn’t pass up.”

“He was in our top three or four quarterbacks,” Schonert said.

Bills coach Dick Jauron stressed that the selection was no commentary on Bills starter J.P. Losman.

“J.P. is our guy,” Jauron said. “We believe you need depth at that position. We just like the competition behind him for the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. We need that depth.”

Craig Nall, the Bills’ No. 2 QB, still must prove he can stay healthy, in addition to producing on the field. But Losman still must prove he is a playoff-caliber quarterback, too. If either Losman or Nall falters, Edwards offers a talented option. If Losman and Nall both play well, then Edwards gives the team an asset they might be able to turn into trade bait down the road.

Edwards won only 10 of his 31 starts at Stanford. He was sidelined after seven games as a senior when he broke a toe in his right foot.

But NFL teams love quarterbacks with good measurable qualities. Edwards has classic size — he’s 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds — and a cannon for an arm.

“He’s got size, and he’s got a good arm,” Schonert said. “He makes the throws that we have to make in our system. He fits our system. He has very good pocket awareness. He finds check-downs. A lot of quarterbacks don’t. They take off running. They don’t have the poise or pocket presence to find those guys, and he does. He can make all the throws. He’s accurate, and he’s a cerebral guy. He understands coverage concepts and protection concepts.”

Edwards completed 62.7 percent of his passes as a junior and 60.3 percent as a senior. He finished with 36 career TD passes and 33 interceptions.

“He was playing with young receivers, and for the most part he was running for his life,” Wooden said.