Tim Tebow has always said he needed only 1 of 32 teams to think he is an NFL-caliber quarterback. However, it is to his financial benefit to get four or five teams to think that, creating competition and a nice contract on Draft Day.
Following Florida's Pro Day on March 17, Tebow will have workouts with the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, two teams that have immediate needs at quarterback. The Buffalo's Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick clearly are not good enough to take the Bills back to the playoffs. Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly has also endorsed Tebow. The Bills have the 9th and 41st picks. Some Bills fans think Tebow is Alex Smith 2.0 because both were coached by Urban Meyer. This is like saying Danny Wuerffel and Stephen Garcia are similar because both were coached by Steve Spurrier.
In Seattle, the Seahawks have Matt Hasselbeck but just traded long time backup Seneca Wallace to the Browns. That nearly confirms the Seahawks will take a QB. The Seahawks have the 6th and 14th picks, making it unlikely they would take Tebow there since he has not convinced anyone he is a first round pick. However, Seattle picks 40th, which is a possible landing spot for Tebow.
The Panthers released Jake Delhomme last week, making Matt Moore their "Quarterback Of The Future" or at least the "Quarterback Who Won't Throw Every Pass To The Other Team." Carolina has the 48th and 78th picks, which they could use on a quarterback. Plus, Tebow would feel at home in the Bible Belt, even if North Carolina is bluer than the rest of the Deep South. Speaking for myself, I would root hard against Tebow if he was on Carolina. As a Bucs fan, the Panthers are the Oakland Raiders of the NFC, and get away with it because they have neon blue uniforms and play in front of a bunch of credit card and banking executives. But on the road, Panther fans are so bad, they make Saints fans look like the Kennedys. They had their team trainer giving steroids to players, who were never punished. Oh, and it's the team of Rae Carruth too.
With Ben Roethlisberger being unable to keep his pants on, maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers will enter the Tebow Race. Since last season, we and others have compared Tebow to Big Ben. And Mike Tomlin has done it too.
The recent news, in addition to having only former Oregon QB Dennis Dixon behind Roethlisberger, could make the Steelers take a second look at Tebow. He would also fit into the mold of Dixon and Ben with being a tall, mobile guy. Pittsburgh has the 18th and 52nd picks.
Of course, the team with the most to gain and lose, is the Jaguars. Tebow is the hometown boy and played for the college team of choice in Jacksonville. Plus, he might singlehandedly keep the Jags from being sold and moving to Los Angeles. (However, owner Wayne Weaver continues to say he is committed to Jacksonville. Just like Howard Schultz's commitment to keeping the Sonics in Seattle.) The huge fan support of selecting Tebow is offset by the rebellion among some who think Tebow is not worth the pick. (Tangent: I don't think the owner of Draft15.com is a Jags fan and is instead just trying to make a buck selling tshirts. Nice job of finally getting around to supporting the local team, asshole.)
Tebow has always put a lot of pressure on himself, so saving the NFL in Jacksonville while kneecapping the qualified David Garrard, might be perfect for him. The huge problem is that Jax picks at 10th and 74th. If CJ Spiller (by the way, another North Florida kid) is available, the Jags can't pass him up. That means the Jags might have to mortgage their future to move back into the first round, all for a guy that could be a bust. For Jacksonville, Tebow is high risk but high reward if it works.