Nov 24, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) before playing against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers may not get his fair share of love outside of Panther Nation, but he's now getting some from ESPN analyst Jon Gruden.
As David Newton of ESPN reports, the site had originally ranked Newton fifth out of five when evaluating him against Seattle's Russell Wilson, Indianapolis' Andrew Luck, San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick and Washington's Robert Griffin III.
When re-evaluating those rankings currently, Gruden had some very, very positive things to say about the lead man in Carolina. The most positive thing, was placing him No. 3 after Wilson and Luck, who are currently two of the best in the business.
"Luck and Wilson are two phenomenal talents," the former NFL head coach said on Wednesday during a MNF conference call. "Cam Newton, if you're willing to set your offense up around him, he is physically different than any man I've seen play quarterback."
"He looks like Charles Oakley or a power forward. He is built to last. If he can stay healthy, I think he can throw the football better."
Gruden then finalized his comments by saying that "after those three, it's a crapshoot."
The praise given to Newton is definitely overdue, and it's likely that if he can help take Carolina to the next level, he'll put himself in the next tier of quarterback. For now, Carolina fans will happily take a playmaking quarterback who's ranked behind just Wilson and Luck when evaluating the young QB talent in the NFL.
(h/t ESPN)
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