Dynasty Draftnik

Washington, Round 6.

Postseason Events: Shrine Game and NFL Combine.

Positives: Very tall for the position at 6’6″, but with proportional bulk. Above-average hand size. He throws with above-average intermediate and deep accuracy and touch. Above-average accuracy on the move. Is accurate enough throwing to stationary receivers. Is able to fit passes well in zone defenses. Able to fit the ball through tight windows. Above-average arm strength. Adequate velocity. Nice touch on passes at all levels. Doesn’t look to run often, but is willing when necessary. He keeps his eyes downfield when on the move. Knows when to throw away.

Negatives: Runs a spread offense with a very high tempo and a lot of read option, so he may not be ready for a standard NFL offense. Below-average accuracy on fade routes. Eyeballs receivers at times. Below-average speed and quickness. Though his accuracy is okay when his throwing to stationary receivers, he has below-average accuracy on moving targets and crossing patterns, and will throw behind receivers. He needs to know when to throw with more velocity and will float passes to the flat. Tends to throw off of his back foot when pressure is coming when he should just step into the throw or make decisions earlier. Doesn’t seem to step into his throws, and loses a lot of velocity. Slow feet. Will short hop to receivers when he is fading back. Hesitates in the pocket and will double clutch often. Sometimes throws across his body on the move, inviting interceptions. Deep passes will sometimes flutter when he has to drive the ball. Below-average vertical leap for the position. Poor overall lower-body explosiveness in Combine drills. Injured left shoulder in October 2014, had surgery, and missed rest of season. Injured ankle in October 2015 and missed unknown time.

Pre-Draft Projection: Round 6. He is a pretty solid dropback-style quarterback with great size. His lack of athleticism, accuracy, and his slower decision-making ability probably limit him pros to a backup role.

Bengals, UDFA.

Postseason Events: NFLPA Bowl.

Positives: He was a redshirt senior with a lot of starts in both a pro-style and spread offense in college. The offense he ran in college used a very high tempo, so he is used to making quick decisions. Consistently above-average accuracy and anticipation on timing routes. Generally above-average deep accuracy. Nice accuracy rolling to his right or left. Consistently above-average accuracy on the run, even throwing across his body. Improvises well on broken plays. Above-average arm strength and velocity. Above-average speed and has adequate quickness and ability to accelerate out of his cuts. Is willing to run. Nice pump fake. Nice touch on deep passes.

Negatives: Below-average height for the position. Below-average accuracy on intermediate passes to the sideline. Needs to learn to vary his velocity. Needs to use more touch in the red zone over linebackers in coverage. Below-average decisions rolling to his left and will throw across his body often. Loses a lot of accuracy and velocity in wet conditions even on short passes. Very hesitant, and consistently makes late decisions. Eyeballs receivers. Though he seems very accurate on the move, he doesn’t control his body well and will throw out of sync. Doesn’t seem to sense the rush. Misses opportunities to check down under pressure, and especially needs to learn to throw it away on the rollout in the red zone. Under pressure, will just throw it up for grabs. Seems like he has an uptight throwing motion. He throws with a long delivery, even on short passes. Doesn’t set up in pocket well and loses velocity and accuracy as a result. Doesn’t always set his feet when he is on the move. Also dropped the ball twice in wet conditions – small hands? Not a whole lot of escapability. Hip injury in September 2014 and missed rest of season.

Projection: Round 7. He is a generally accurate quarterback with some nice improvisation skills. However, he has enough deficiencies that will keep him from getting drafted higher – deficiencies that will probably limit him to a backup role at best in the NFL. He may be better suited to the CFL.

Transferred from LSU to Vanderbilt in spring 2014. Then, transferred to FCS-level Northwestern State as a grad student for the 2015 season.

Postseason Events: NFLPA Bowl.

Positives: Has a good bloodline as the brother of Phillip Rivers. 6’7″ size – very tall for a quarterback, with good bulk. Pro-style offense experience at LSU in 2012-2013 and at Vanderbilt in 2014. Keeps his eyes downfield on the run. Is able to sidestep the rush up the middle. Has played in a variety of offensive systems in college. Able to step up in the pocket under outside pressure.

Negatives: Maybe too tall for the position at 6’7″. Generally below-average accuracy at all levels – even short. Below-average throwing mechanics and will throw off of his back foot for no reason. Suspect pocket presence and won’t sense when pressure is near. Will just throw the ball up under pressure. Odd throwing motion and seems to push the ball rather than throw it. Long delivery. Three-quarter release will sometimes drop down to sidearm – looks tight overall. Holds the ball too long. Doesn’t show a lot of escapability in the pocket. Not a lot of lateral quickness and it takes a while for him to stop his momentum on the run. Injured foot in September 2014 and missed unknown amount of time. Fumbled without a hit in NFLPA Bowl practices – small hands?

Projection: Undrafted free agent, and potential practice-squad player.

Positives: His height is adequate and his bulk is good for the position. Was mostly used as a running quarterback in 2013, but he grew into the starter position later that season. He throws with good arm strength and above-average velocity. Though he is slow to go through his progressions, he will do so if given enough time. Steps up in the pocket under outside pressure. Pretty good escapability in the pocket. Not easy to bring down in the pocket. Runs with above-average power. Very strong, and can just push rushers away from him while delivering the pass.

Negatives: He ran a high-tempo spread offense with a lot of option plays in college, so he may not be ready for an NFL offense. Generally very inconsistent. Below-average accuracy on short patterns all over the field. Below-average deep accuracy. Deep passes tend to flutter. Slow to go through progressions. Holds the ball too long under pressure and will try to just slip the ball away at the last second. Eyeballs receivers. Doesn’t see the field very well on the move and will miss obvious opportunities. Misses a lot of open receivers in his reads. Continues to drift backwards under little pressure. Makes consistently poor decisions and misses wide open receivers. Will throw it down the middle of the field into double coverage. Will throw it into quadruple coverage in the end zone. Will throw the ball across his body on the rollout. Long throwing motion with a hitch. Three-quarter release. He runs with below-average burst. Below-average ball security technique on the move and will hold it away from his body while running. Injured hip kept him out of spring 2015 practices.

Projection: Undrafted free agent. Though he has some athleticism to his game, I don’t see enough as a quarterback to get him a roster spot in the NFL. His decision-making and accuracy needed a lot of work.

Dolphins, Round 7.

Postseason Events: Shrine Game and NFL Combine.

Positives: Above-average height for the position. Adequate bulk for the position. Adequate hand size. Consistently throws with nice touch on passes at all levels of the field – a very catchable pass. Above-average accuracy rolling to the right. Fair play fakes. Nice anticipation on comeback routes. Adequate velocity. Above-average arm strength. Adequate speed for his size. Despite his lack of speed, he seems to move his feet pretty well to slide away from pressure. Adequate accuracy on intermediate passes to the sideline.

Negatives: Spread offense with a high tempo. He missed his 2011 and 2012 seasons due to foot injuries, and was given a sixth year of eligibility for 2015. Coach says he responds best to encouragement, which makes me wonder how tough he is mentally. Very poor track speed and slow off the line for the position. Poor vertical leap and lower-body explosiveness in Combine drills. Very poor ability to change directions with burst in Combine drills. Seems a little skittish under pressure and will just throw the ball up into coverage. A bit of a long windup with a mostly overhand delivery. Consistently throws the ball into coverage – sometimes where there are no receivers – and this trend continued into the Shrine Game. Suspect performance when pressure is coming up the middle. Consistently throws off of his back foot or falling backward and does not step into his throws. Needs to learn to throw the ball away under pressure. Needs to learn to vary his velocity and throw with more touch on sideline patterns and drive the ball through tight windows. Inconsistent accuracy on deep throws. Looks like he has a hard time rolling away from inside pressure. Eyeballs receivers pretty hard at the goal line.

Pre-Draft Projection: Round 3. I’ve heard a lot of people really like him as a quarterback in the draft, but I don’t really see it. I would see him as more of a free agent prospect with a limited NFL ceiling.

Former transfer from Texas Tech in 2014.

Positives: He ran a pro-style offense at Virginia Tech after running a high-tempo spread offense at Texas Tech, so his pro learning curve should be shortened. Was a redshirt senior, so he is experienced at the position. He throws with enough arm strength and has nice touch on intermediate passes over linebackers in coverage. Knows when to throw the ball away. Though his accuracy is below average in general, it’s better when he’s on the move. Keeps his eyes downfield on the run. Willing to check down to uncovered receivers. He is an athletic quarterback who runs with above-average speed and quickness. He moves pretty well inside the pocket and is willing to run when he needs to. Runs with pretty good vision and is able to pick his way through traffic on the run. He caught a difficult touchdown pass in his 2014 bowl game.

Negatives: He is built more like a wide receiver than a quarterback, with below-average height and weight for the position. Though his arm strength is adequate, it’s lacking in velocity, and he has to put a lot of air under passes to get them downfield. As a result, his deep passes tend to wobble. He is also inaccurate at all other levels of the field, even to the flat, and his timing is sometimes off on slant patterns. Needs to be a little more patient on routes in the red zone. A little late to pull the trigger rolling to his right. Doesn’t see the field very well, and will miss obviously open receivers – especially over the middle of the field – and will throw to the sidelines often. He consistently doesn’t see the deep safety in coverage and throws into double coverage deep. Eyeballs receivers hard. Doesn’t sense the outside rush very well. Though it won’t come into play often in the pros, he’s not much of a blocker on running plays. He hurt his back in Summer 2013 and missed 1st month of the season. Broke collarbone in September 2015 but was back by the end of the season.

Projection: His athleticism might get him into a training camp, but I don’t see enough as a passer to get him more than that.