Dynasty Draftnik

UDFA. Was signed by the Steelers as a UDFA but released in August. With such great size, you would expect him to throw with more authority. He has enough talent, though, to stick on a roster for some time as a developmental prospect. But it will have to be for another team than the Steelers.

All-Star Games: NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Positives: Above-average height. Good bulk. Ran a pro-style system in college, so should be more prepared for a pro offense. Has adequate arm strength. Throws with nice touch. On the run, he shows above-average anticipation and adequate accuracy. Is fairly poised under pressure, and stands in to deliver the pass under pressure. Is a tough runner with above-average speed who will dive for extra yards. Has a good sense of when to take off running and when to pass. Good track speed, ability to change directions, and generally above-average lower-body explosiveness for the size and position.

Negatives: Below-average hand size. Has a fairly long injury history. Knee injury in 2009 made him miss most of season. Missed all of 2010. Had shoulder, back, ankle, and rib injuries in 2012. A sore shoulder in Summer 2013 caused him to miss the early part of the 2013 season. He consistently locks onto receivers and tends to only read one side of the field. Below-average red zone decisions. Throws with Below-average accuracy on crossing routes and at most levels of the field. Below-average velocity, and his deep passes tend to die. Underthrows deep receivers consistently. He seems overly careful with the ball, hesitating consistently and holding it too long – resulting in sacks. He checks down a lot and seldom throws the ball more than 20 yards in the air. He doesn’t move around very well in the pocket, and doesn’t sense the rush well, either.

Projection: No need to draft him in fantasy.

Cowboys, UDFA.

All-Star Games: NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Positives: Great height and bulk for the position. Seems poised inside the pocket. Shows generally adequate accuracy, anticipation and decisiveness. Can vary his velocity fairly well, with adequate velocity on short and medium passes and nice touch on deep passes. On the run, he keeps his eyes downfield and throws with above-average accuracy. Will go through progressions at times – especially in the red zone. When given time in the pocket, he shows good throwing mechanics. Good vision and balance as a runner, and isn’t easy to bring down. though his track speed is below average for the position, it is adequate for his size. Adequate quickness for his size.

Negatives: below-average track speed. BBelow-average hand size. He ran a spread offense in college, and may not be ready to run a pro-style NFL offense. Below-average arm strength. His medium and deep throws are generally inaccurate, and he will throw low or high often. He will pass up – or just not see – open deep receivers in favor of shorter patterns. Though he can go through progressions at times, he pretty consistently locks into receivers. Has a long windup. Seems slow to get set up in the pocket, probably as a result of running a spread offense where he was just expected to get the snap and throw it immediately.

Projection: Far down the depth chart, he looks like practice squad material. May be viewed by some as a developmental 3rd quarterback. No need to pay attention to him in fantasy football or in the draft, but will probably be on some roster at least for the short term.

Bills, Tryout. Most of his positives come from his running ability, but he does have some passing ability, too. He should at least get into a camp, and possibly end up on a practice squad. Needs a lot of development time, and I don’t expect him to consistently succeed in the NFL or be a factor in fantasy football, but should get a spot as a 3rd quarterback on some team, and get a lot of scout team reps.

All-Star Games: NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Positives: Adequate height and hand size. Is able to throw fairly accurately with touch – especially on fade routes. He also shows above-average velocity and an ability to fit the ball through tight windows. Knows when to throw the ball away. Good play fakes. As a runner, he shows above-average power and good speed. He is also patient as a runner and follows his blocks well. Was also the holder on field goals. Adequate overall lower-body explosivesss and track speed at pro day workout.

Negatives: Below-average bulk. Generally below-average accuracy at all levels and will underthrow deep routes. He shows consistently late recognition and late delivery. Locks onto his receivers. Below-average throwing mechanics and has a long, three-quarter delivery.

Projection: No need to draft.

All-Star Games: NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Positives: Above-average height. Adequate hand size. Is versatile, and also played wide receiver in 2012 and was also the holder on field goals in college. When flushed out of the pocket, he keeps his eyes downfield and shows adequate accuracy on the run.

Negatives: Below-average bulk – more of a wide receiver build. Lost the starting quarterback job in 2012 to a freshman, and didn’t start again until early 2013. Ran a spread offense in college, and may not be ready for a more pro-style NFL offense. Below-average accuracy on short and medium passes and, even in short spaces, he will throw the ball behind receivers. Makes a lot of decisions before the snap, and eyeballs his receivers consistently. Below-average velocity. He tends to hold the ball too long. On the run, he will often throw across his body and not set his feet, losing velocity and giving defensive backs a jump on the ball. Mechanically, he is inconsistent. He has a fairly long delivery with a release point that drops down to sidearm at times, adding to his inaccuracy. He consistently throws off his back foot. Under pressure, his throwing motion tightens up and it becomes more about his arm than about his whole body. Below-average speed and acceleration, and doesn’t look like a natural runner. Seems to run out of control and will often slip making cuts. Inside the pocket, he is not very elusive and doesn’t seem to realize where defenders are coming from.

Projection: UDFA. Because of his versatility, I expect him to at least get into a camp. I don’t expect him to make a team – at least right away. His best bet might be the CFL. No need to draft in fantasy.

Former transfer from Duke.

All-Star Games: NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Positives: He is a generally accurate thrower with nice touch within 20 yards. Above-average accuracy on short routes. Throws with very nice touch on passes to the flat and his short and medium passes are very catchable. On his dropback, he holds the ball at the ready, which allows for a quick release. He sets up quickly in the pocket. As a runner, he shows average speed, but is willing to run when necessary. Gives extra effort on runs to get the first down.

Negatives: Slighty below-average height and bulk for the position – built more like a wide receiver. Below-average arm strength and velocity. He has to put way too much air under passes to get them deep, and his intermediate passes will die after about 20 yards. Generally poor accuracy on routes past 30 yards. On the run and outside of the pocket, his accuracy suffers. He also looks inexperienced at throwing deep, and doesn’t read the deep safety well. In the red zone, he appears indecisive, and will hesitate to throw.

Projection: UDFA. In some systems, such as a West Coast system, he may be an adequate backup. He will likely never start in the NFL, though, barring some transformation such as Graham Harrell and Chase Daniel saw in the past 5 years with a patient quarterback coach and some weight room work.

Son of former MLB player Mickey Tettleton.

All-Star Games: Medal of Honor Bowl — one of the lower-tier all-star games.

Positives: Has adequate arm strength, though not great. On the run, he keeps his eyes downfield to look for open receivers and doesn’t always just tuck the ball and run. He is also more accurate on the run than in the pocket. Shows OK accuracy and touch on deep passes. As a runner, shows good speed and pretty good vision in the open field and is willing to dive for extra yards. Has experience running a high-tempo offense and making quick decisions. Is OK at using play fakes.

Negatives: Slightly below-average size. On crossing routes, he shows below-average accuracy. Not effective at reading defenses and will lock in on receivers — throwing passes directly to defenders. Ran a pistol spread offense in college, so may not be ready for a typical NFL pro-style offense. 3/4 release. Suspect decisions on the run and throws across his body to defenders consistently. He sometimes has too much faith in his mobility and will hold the ball too long when he needs to just throw the ball away.

Projection: Round 7-UDFA. In the right system — one that takes advantage of his mobility — he could eventually be developed into a solid backup. But he will need to work on reading defenses and decision making. Overall, I see him as a practice squad player who could contribute at some time down the road. No need to draft him in fantasy.