Once upon a time, Drew Brees was too small. His arm wasn’t strong enough. He was a good college quarterback that wouldn’t translate to the pros.

Then look what happened. All Saints drama aside, there is no arguing that Drew Brees became one of the best pro quarterbacks of his generation, carrying a once defeated city and franchise on his back to a Super Bowl victory. Since being drafted in the second round, Brees has broken Dan Marino’s single season passing yard record, outdueled Peyton Manning in a championship game, and garnered elite status that isn’t given out lightly.

In 35 days, the NFL Draft will commence, and 32 tension-filled draft rooms will be hoping they can look back at the 2012 draft as proudly as the 2001 Chargers felt about theirs. For many teams, this includes a search for the next great quarterback. If those teams don’t happen to base their operations in Indianapolis or Washington, D.C., then the task becomes extremely problematic. After Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, there are no obvious guarantees –and let’s be honest, they aren’t even guarantees. Ryan Leaf once had exciting up-side.

So who’s next? Do any of the other quarterbacks possess the right combination of measurable talent and intangible leadership that will make them franchise quarterbacks? Many draft experts seem to think that Ryan Tannehill, Kirk Cousins, and Brandon Weeden have strong chances of moving into the first or early second round, as teams hope they’ve chosen their next billboard-ready face.

Who would I choose? How about ‘none of the above’? The widespread desire for elite quarterbacks, as usual, has teams stretching the boundaries of who had elite potential. The fatal mistake of thinking that a pro-style offense during a pretty good college career is enough to translate are missing the point. Quarterback is a position that goes beyond the numbers. The best ones have something special.

Drew Brees had something special, and an entire first round of picks ignored that potential. This year, I think two quarterbacks, poised to fall even farther down the board, have that same intangible potential that could translate to something special –something worth taking a chance on.

Will both of these guys achieve elite status in the next decade? Probably not. But I’m willing to take my chances with either of these guys before I’d groom a mid-level quarterback as if he’s the future. The draft is an inexact science, and too often, amazingly gifted athletes are ignored for the most ridiculous of reasons. Remember: Drew Brees (DREW FREAKING BREES) was too short to play quarterback in the NFL.

Guess what? Russell Wilson is even shorter. And yet, each time I see him play, see him interview, or simply see him in a sleeveless tee shirt, I wonder why more people aren’t talking about this guy. Allow me to introduce you.

While Drew Brees stands at 6’0, 207 lbs, Russell Wilson measures at a comparable 5’11, 204. And to be honest, I don’t care. What I do care about is the athleticism, the fight, and the pure ability that Wilson exhibited as a college quarterback.

If NFL scouts are looking for a man ready to make a transition, how about investing in a quarterback that’s already proven he can do just that? After a stellar junior season at NC State, Russell Wilson transferred to Wisconsin. And he didn’t miss a beat. Having to learn his new offense, his new teammates, and his new opponents in a matter of weeks, Russell Wilson didn’t only maintain his fantastic play –he improved on it. After a junior year in which he threw 58.4% completion, 28 TD, and 14 INT (with 435 rush yards) against a watered-down ACC, he set his sights on the much tougher Big 10 his senior year –and dominated it. In 2011, Russell Wilson completed 72.8% of his passes for 33 TD to only four interceptions (!!!) and ran for 338 yards on half of the attempts.

And he’s not just a statistical anomaly, folks. He’s a winner. He led the Wisconsin Badgers to the first ever Big 10 Championship Game, won it, and took home the game’s MVP honors. His incredible season against the talented defenses of the Big 10 led him to an award that, to me, seems almost too coincidental to be accidental: The Griese-Brees Big 10 Quarterback of the Year award.

Russell Wilson also possesses the intangibles necessary to be uttered in the same paragraph as Drew Brees. He, like Brees, works incredibly hard. ESPN featured a fantastic report that talked about Russell Wilson sneaking into Wisconsin’s stadium at night in order to shadow-step the plays he was learning from the new playbook. He would do it for hours. Looks like it worked.

If I’m an NFL Team, I’m keeping my stadium unlocked for this guy. I want a guy that is willing to work that hard for success, because those are the guys that win games. If Brees, Brady, and Manning all have something in common that eluded Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russell, and Vince Young, it is that same desire to work –to work until it’s perfect.

Kellen Moore does not have Russell Wilson’s biceps. Kellen Moore does not have a pedigree of running through Big 10 defenses like Wilson and Brees. To be honest, Kellen Moore looks more like a second baseman than a quarterback.

But, just in case you haven’t heard of him, Kellen Moore does know how to win games. In fact, he’s won more NCAA Football games than any other quarterback. Ever.

Like Drew Brees, he stands at 6’0, and like Drew Brees, he has a knack for leadership and making plays that leaves spectators spellbound. If Boise State had simply recruited a half-decent kicker, Kellen Moore would have led a WAC team to the National Championship Game. Twice!

The numbers are unreal. This past season, he completed 74.3% of his passes, threw 43 TD, and only got picked off nine times. While many accuse Moore of having inflated numbers because of his level of competition, he hasn’t exactly shied away from the big boys. Against the Pac-12, Moore maintains a 70% completion percentage, and has thrown nine touchdowns versus three interceptions. Against Georgia, he completed 82.4% of his passes and threw three touchdowns. Point being: Kellen Moore is good against anyone. It isn’t his fault that the BCS and a kicker denied him the chance to prove it.

If he were a first round pick, Moore would be extremely high risk. In the late rounds, Moore is a must risk. I’m aware that there is a history of system quarterbacks (Ware and Klingler, anyone?) busting in the NFL. But Moore wasn’t a product of Boise State’s system…he WAS Boise State’s system. With this guy’s immense intelligence, pinpoint accuracy, and the silly fact that he’s won more games than any other college quarterback, are you honestly going to pretend he isn’t worth a late round pick?

Because he is. I don’t care if he weighs 55 pounds with a dumbbell in his pocket. I don’t care if he can’t see over the counter at the bank. This guy deserves a chance. The team that gives him one may be in for a hell of a reward.

Okay, I cheated. I know that Colt McCoy has already been drafted. I also know that I’m probably somewhat biased because I love the Texas Longhorns. But, for the love of God, Cleveland needs to give this guy a chance to prove he isn’t another failed quarterback.

It’s the Cleveland Browns that continue to fail their quarterbacks. If it isn’t enough that Colt McCoy’s introduction to the league includes four games a year against the Ravens and Steelers’ nasty defenses, he had to face them with zero weapons on offense and an offensive line whose protection has been equivalent to a shredded condom. If the Browns would actually surround their quarterback with some talent, rather than spending each off season spending money on more quarterbacks to ruin, they might find that they possess a quarterback with Brees-like qualities and a passion for winning.

The connections are there. Colt McCoy fell in the draft because he lacked NFL football size and didn’t have a strong enough arm. Sound familiar? Colt McCoy was an excellent college quarterback despite standing at only 6’1. Sound familiar? Colt McCoy is a humanitarian, deeply involved in charity projects that benefit children in the Austin area. Sound familiar?

It should. And when you get to the numbers, McCoy begins to show even more promise to this point in his career than Brees ever did. In his college career, Brees completed 61.2% of his passes, throwing 88 TD, 45 INT, and rushing for 925 yards. Compare that to McCoy, who completed 70.3% of his passes, threw 112 TD, 45 INT, and rushed for 1571 yards.

Starting to sound pretty good, isn’t he? Many might argue and say that, despite McCoy’s prolific college career, Brees clearly set himself apart as an NFL quarterback. Not so fast.

In Brees’ first two seasons, he only went 8-8, completed 60.5% of his passes, and threw 18 TD versus 16 INT. Considering that Brees had an offense that included Ladainian Tomlinson, that isn’t exactly setting the world on fire. He was also reasonably well protected, being sacked 26 times in 17 games (16 starts).

McCoy’s numbers aren’t drastically different. In 2 seasons, he’s completed 58.4% of his passes, throwing 20 TD and 20 INT. His offense, though, featured a Peyton Hillis that eventually went AWOL and wide receivers that dropped more balls than any other team in the league. Couple his lack of weapons with the fact that he’s been sacked 55 times in 21 games, and you start to wonder if Colt McCoy’s been given a chance to show what he’s got.

I’m begging the Cleveland Browns. Either surround him with weapons…or trade him. I’m sick of hearing “The Cleveland Browns select [insert quarterback’s name]” and knowing immediately that the poor guy has been sentenced to his football funeral.

As I said before, the draft is an inexact science. History has proven, time and time again, that every pick is a risk. The beauty of the draft is in its unpredictability –a system in which JaMarcus Russell can go first in the draft while Tom Brady falls to pick 199. During the draft, we talk about the first picks, the locks –the studs and the blue bloods. Years later, we talk about the steals.

In ten years, don’t be surprised if we’re talking about Wilson, Moore, or McCoy. Don’t be surprised if one of the short guys is suddenly standing oh-so-tall.