Sportsfrog.com

Even though it’s tragically named, the ‘Wildcat’ isn’t going away in the NFL.

And because of that, the NFL draft value of college players like Tim Tebow and Pat White just went from questionable mid-rounders to trendy 2nd round, get out the fans, darling picks.

So as pro teams look to add elements of the spread to their traditional offenses, guys like the Jets’ Brad Smith or Cleveland’s Joshua Cribbs have become even more valuable commodities. They work as 4th wide receivers, contribute on special teams, and have experience behind center to run things from the spread formation.

And look for the Cardinals to do something big with this soon. Remember when Ken Wisenhunt was calling plays for the Steelers when they won the Super Bowl, he had Antwaan Randle El doing all kinds of things back there. Wisenhunt has already started to use Anquan Boldin, but is reportedly just waiting for Anquan to get fully healthy.

Off the top of my head, here are some other former quarterbacks listed on current NFL rosters at another position. Swamp, feel free to add more to the list.
Cribbs, B. Smith, Boldin, Randle El, Matt Jones, Michael Robinson, Ronald Curry.

And then there are the backups who could easily step in fill this role as well. Guys like Dennis Dixon in Pittsburgh, Seneca Wallace in Seattle, and of course Vince Young in Tennessee. Although in order to get Dixon in, the Steelers would have to start him as their #2, not #2.

One thing I’m waiting for, however, is what happens when defenses start having their cornerbacks maul the regular QB off the line when he’s split out wide. You’ve got to do something with the QB when he’s out there, but I’m not sure leaving him open to contact is the best idea.

The bottom line is: this isn’t going away. It’s only going more mainstream and it’s going to evolve. Every year, there are a number of graduating college athletes who can serve no traditional role in the NFL. But the need for this kind of wildcard player is growing. It didn’t start with Houston Nutt or the Miami Dolphins. It’s been rising up the amateur ranks for over a decade.

Who knows, maybe it’ll become so common, we’ll see Reggie McNeal or Eric Crouch will make a comeback.