Vikings, UDFA.

Post-Season Events: Shrine Game and NFL Combine.

Positives: Was a redshirt senior, so he has a lot of experience at the position. He also ran a pro-style offense in college for several years, shortening the learning curve for him in the NFL. He has great height and bulk for the position, and huge hands. He throws with above-average arm strength and velocity and is able to throw with some pretty good touch when he needs to. Under pressure, he keeps his head and goes through his progressions to find the open receiver. He is also willing to just take a checkdown receiver. Nice accuracy and touch on fade routes. He also has some pretty good athleticism for a quarterback of his size, and is a better quarterback when he is on the move. His accuracy on the move is above average and he keeps his eyes downfield on the run. During Combine testing, he had adequate track speed for the position and the size as well as an above-average vertical leap and overall lower body explosiveness.

Negatives: Though he is able to go through progressions when given time, he tends to eyeball his receivers. He is consistently just a bit late to make his decisions and throw the ball. He is late to recognize open receivers when he is on the run. It seems like he avoids looking toward the middle of the field, and he won’t see open receivers there. Overall, his accuracy is scattershot – especially on intermediate and timing passes and. On deep passes, his passes tend to wobble. He seems to throw the ball high consistently on intermediate passes. Also, since he is late to pull the trigger on deep passes, those tend to fall short of their target. Below-average accuracy on timing routes – even short – and throws behind receivers consistently on crossing patterns. Below-average decisions at times on the run and will throw across his body. Doesn’t see the field well downfield and will consistently throw it into heavy coverage. He has some mechanical issues to clear up — throwing with a long motion and not stepping into his throws. He tries to use all arm instead of his lower body on throws. Though he has pretty good athleticism, he showed poor change of direction and burst during his Combine testing. He doesn’t sense the rush up the middle well and has a hard time sidestepping pressure. Needs to learn to slide as a runner. Concussed in October 2015 and missed very little time. Injured right shoulder in 2013 bowl game and was limited for several months.

Projection: I see him as an undrafted free agent pickup for some team. He looks like a classic career backup at the NFL level, and would be effective in games, though not as a long-term starter.