Rohan Davey, New England's third-year quarterback, has been tearing up NFL Europe in unprecedented fashion, so a shot as a starter in the NFL may not be too far away.

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, May 23, 2004

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

With the 11th pick in this year's draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Miami of Ohio quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. With the 22nd pick in the first round, the Bills took quarterback J.P. Losman, who played at Tulane.

Losman was deemed worthy of a first-round pick because of his work against teams such as East Carolina, Navy and UAB. Meanwhile, Roethlisberger made his mark in the MAC Conference, terrorizing Akron, Kent State and Bowling Green, among others.

If those two guys were worthy of first-round picks based on their work against middling college competition, what must Rohan Davey be worth?

Davey, the Patriots' third-year quarterback, has been tearing up NFL Europe in unprecedented fashion. Kurt Warner didn't have the statistical success in Europe that Davey is having. Neither did Jake Delhomme. And even if the level of competition across the pond isn't the same caliber as it is over here on Sundays in the fall, it's miles better than an afternoon spent picking apart Army, for instance.

Davey's work this spring for the Berlin Thunder has helped turn

him into a quarterback and a commodity. Teams in the market for a quarterback will need to ask themselves whether they'd rather spend a first-round pick on a kid who's three years removed from his senior prom or try to land a cannon-armed 26-year-old such as Davey, who's spent three seasons learning his trade in the NFL's best program.

Davey's contract runs through 2005. It's likely Davey will be gone to some quarterback-challenged team before that time comes.

Asked last week what Davey's work in Berlin means, Kansas City Chiefs general manager Bill Kuharich said, "If Rohan finishes the (Europe) season strong and then comes back here and bides his time behind (Patriots starter) Tom Brady, chances are someone will say, 'Well, he did it in Europe, so let's take a shot.' Carolina took a shot on Jake Delhomme. Going into this year, they needed a quarterback and they liked Jake's history."

Delhomme was acquired by the Panthers as a free agent from New Orleans before the 2003 season. He didn't have a lot of NFL work to recommend him -- just 86 passes thrown -- but he did win an NFL Europe title with Frankfurt in 1999. That may not have been a big deal before the 2003 season, but now that Delhomme has helped lead a team to the Super Bowl, the respect for NFL Europe seasoning may change.

Which would be good news for Davey and the Patriots.

Good news for Davey because he's playing well overseas at a time when there's as much high regard for developing players as there is for drafting them. Davey is trained, prepped and conditioned to the NFL. All on the Patriots' time and dime.

And good news for the Patriots because they could turn a player they originally got in the fourth round into possibly a first-round pick.

Not that Europe is a foolproof proving ground.

"Success in Europe can give an indication that a player may perform well given the opportunity, but it's not, 'OK, player A is successful in Europe, he'll succeed here.' Take Danny Wuerrfel. He held the record for touchdown passes in Europe and didn't have that kind of success here. But Warner was successful there and Delhomme had two stints there, one year behind Warner and another when he played. There's no question, it is a plus."

Of course, the Patriots value Davey themselves. Right now, he's their No. 1 backup, and with each passing week it seems less necessary for the Pats to import a veteran backup for Brady should the starter go down.

As Kuharich said, "Could Davey step in for Brady and help the Patriots be in the hunt again? Probably. At least off of what I've seen so far."

But as much as they like him, they have to realize Davey will want to leave.

"You want opportunities to show that you can play in the league and you can be a good quarterback," Davey said. "I know the situation I'm coming back to. We have a quarterback. We have a good quarterback. I know what's going on when I come back. All I can do is learn as much as I can and get better with whatever reps I get. My contract is with the Patriots."

For now, yes. But probably not for long.