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Sports

Kolb's place in draft up in the air 

Judge Dredd

Chris Elliott

Though the scenario is not totally out of the question, it's no longer likely that former UH quarterback Kevin Kolb will be drafted by the Houston Texans. 

The Texans struck a deal with the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday that will send Falcons backup quarterback Matt Schaub to Houston for two second round picks and an exchange of Houston's 2007 No. 8 overall pick for the Falcons' No. 10. The deal will likely be finalized today.

Kolb will be a great quarterback in the NFL some day, but he probably won't be taken in the first round of the 2007 draft. After trading away their high second round choice, the Texans have all but lost their chance of stealing him with their second pick.

This leaves the door open for some other quarterback-hungry teams to select Kolb, the man who could be the steal of the draft's first day. This also means Houston's favorite gunslinger had better get his suitcases ready. 

A list of possible destinations for Kolb come late April would have to start with Miami, where he would be quickly introduced to sun, sand and 2006 defensive MVP Jason Taylor.

Miami seems like a pretty nice place to settle down and build a name for yourself as a quarterback. Just ask arguably the greatest passer of all time, Dan Marino, or Hall of Famer Bob Griese.

The Daunte Culpepper experiment hasn't panned out and Cleo Lemon appears to be only backup material.

Considering the scrubs who've trudged through Dolphins Stadium under center in recent history -- Jay Fiedler, A.J. Feely, Joey Harrington and Ray Lucas -- Kolb, even as a rookie, would be a drastic upgrade to what Dolphins fans are used to seeing. 

Not to mention he would have a nice group of skill position players to toss the ball to. Pro Bowl wide receiver Chris Chambers has been making acrobatic catches and putting up consistent numbers for years. Opposite him would be Marty Booker, and running back Ronnie Brown has extremely soft hands. 

If Miami doesn't select Kolb, other potential destinations could be Minnesota or Baltimore. Both teams have quarterback issues. 

After letting go of Brad Johnson, the Vikings are left with Brooks Bollinger and Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson, the second-year man out of Alabama State, is the forerunner for the starting job, but could use some competition.

In Baltimore, Steve McNair did his thing in leading the Ravens to a 13-3 record. However, he no longer is the same guy he once was and only has about two more years left in the tank. The Ravens could take him with the 29th pick in the first round, but that's a long shot, considering they badly need a cornerback.

They could trade up if they deemed it necessary to select Kolb. If this happens, spending a year or two under a leader such as McNair could be the best thing for Kolb.

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