2019 QB Prospects

  • Justin Herbert; 6-5, 230, 4.75; Oregon; JR … Third-year junior has emerged as one of the best young QBs in the country with the potential to be a top 5 pick this coming April; rangy player with elite arm strength and an easy throwing motion; can make all the throws including the deep outs; stands tall in the pocket, reads the field well and has a quick, compact delivery; normally a very accurate passer who completed 67% of his pass attempts last fall, but has struggled a little through the first three games, although the Ducks are still averaging over 50 PPG; also has thrown for 46 TDs in his career while throwing just 13 picks; needs to be a little more consistent in the pocket, though, as he will get a little antsy when pressured on a regular basis; good athlete who also starred in baseball and basketball in high school can escape trouble; outstanding student in the classroom majoring in biology; missed 5 games last season after breaking the collarbone in his non-throwing shoulder.
  • Jarrett Stidham; 6-3, 215; 4.70; Auburn; JR … Rising QB star was the #1 rated QB recruit in the country at Baylor in 2015, but left the program in the wake of the sex scandal there and spent the 2016 at a junior college where he did not play; was the SEC newcomer of the year last fall when he led the Tigers to the conference championship game; along the way he threw for almost 3,200 yards and 18 scores against just 6 picks despite playing much of the year with a slight tear in the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder; has a big-time arm with the arm strength to make all the throws; greatest strength, though, is his accuracy on underneath routes; reads the field well, has outstanding route anticipation, a quick release and consistently puts the ball on the numbers where his receivers can make the catch without breaking stride; indeed, completed 69% of his passes in 2015 when filling in for Seth Russell in 2015 and 67% last fall with the Tigers; doesn’t run much by design but is a very good athlete who can escape trouble in the pocket and throws well on the run; has decent length, but could add some lower-body bulk to help absorb the hits at the pro level; also has operated mostly out of a shotgun in his college career and will need to work on playing under center at the next level; had off-season surgery on the shoulder in January and missed much of spring practice.
  • Drew Lock, 6-3, 225, 4.90, Missouri, SR … Fourth-year senior led the country with 44 TD passes last fall when he threw for just under 4,000 yards and was named to the SEC’s first unit all-conference team; solidly built 225-pounder with a thick lower-body who can take a hit; also a very good athlete who was an all-state basketball player in high school and received several hoops scholarship offers from major programs; doesn’t run much by design, but has excellent escapability skills and can make throws on the run; also has next-level arm strength and nice touch on deep balls; in fact, also led the NCAA in yards per completion last fall; fiery competitor with solid intangibles and leadership skills; still somewhat of a work in progress, though, as he completed just 58% of his pass attempts last fall, although his completion percentage has gone up each year in his career and was actually 63% during a 6-game Missouri winning streak to end the 2017 season; hasn’t been asked in the Missouri offense to go through many progressions; the Tigers’ also didn’t call for many intermediate routes, although the Missouri offense is expected to be more complex this fall with the arrival of Derek Dooley as offensive co-ordinator.
  • Will Grier, 6-1, 215, 4.65, West Virginia, SR … One-time Parade prep Player of the Year kind of fell off the draft radar after being suspended for a year by Florida for using performance enhancing drugs, but re-emerged as a top prospect last fall with the Mountaineers; measurables aren’t going to wow anyone as he isn’t all that tall or thick and doesn’t necessarily have elite arm strength, but he’s athletic, smart and efficient in the pocket; threw for almost 3,500 yards and 34 TDs in 2017 when he completed 66% of his pass attempts and threw just 12 picks in 11 games before missing the end of the year with a broken finger on his throwing hand that required surgery; son of a coach understands defenses and sees the field well; has excellent footwork in the pocket and a quick, compact release and smooth delivery; has good route anticipation with the ability to throw receivers open; very accurate on underneath and medium routes with nice touch; still something of a system QB working primarily out of a shotgun who will need to work on going through progressions.
  • Shea Patterson, 6-1, 195, 4.70, Michigan, JR … Former high school All-American played two years at Ole Miss before transferring to Michigan with the former program facing sanctions; threw for 3,200 yards and 23 TDs in 10 games over two years at Ole Miss where he completed 64% of his passes and threw 12 picks; missed the final 5 games of the 2018 season as a result of a knee injury; will be eligible this fall after the two schools worked out an arrangement; lacks prototype measurables in that he’s barely 6-1 and 195 pounds which is very small for an NFL QB; very athletic, though, with the ability and instincts to scramble away from trouble in the pocket, buy time and find an open receiver; has enough arm strength to make all the throws from the pocket, but is most effective throwing underneath and intermediate routes; accurate passer with good route anticipation, but will force throws into coverage at times.
  • Ryan Finley, 6-3, 210, 4.80, North Carolina State, SR … Experienced 6th year senior spent three years at Boise State before transferring to NC State for the final three; lacks elite measurables in that he is somewhat lean for a pocket passer and doesn’t have super arm strength, but he is still one of the most efficient passers in college football; very accurate passer who reads the field quickly, anticipates routes well, and throws a very catchable ball; smart player who really understands defenses and takes care of the football as he had a stretch of over 300 passes last fall without a pick; overall, threw for over 3,500 yards in 2017 when he completed 65% of his pass attempts including 17 for scores against just 6 interceptions; smart in the classroom also where he has a 3.9 GPA in his second master’s program; missed all but three games in 2015 with an ankle injury.
  • Clayton Thorson, 6-3, 225, 4.75, Northwestern, SR … Veteran 5th year senior is working on a 38-game starting streak; considered entering the 2018  draft, but three days after announcing he would be returning to school tore an ACL early in the team’s bowl game and may not be ready for the start of the upcoming campaign; actually arrived on campus as a dual-threat QB but has morphed into a solid pocket passer; has prototype size, a quick release, the arm strength of fit the ball into tight spaces as well as the athleticism to make plays with his legs although he doesn’t run much by design anymore; however, appears to lack elite instincts for the game; tends to be slow to read the field and lacks great route anticipation; numbers were down somewhat in 2017 when he completed 60% of his pass attempts in 2018 for over 2,800 yards while throwing 15 TDs against 12 picks, whereas the prior year he had 22 TD passes versus just 9 interceptions.
  • Nick Fitzgerald, 6-3, 230, 4.60, Mississippi State, SR … Athletic dual threat option QB with some legit Heisman potential in 2018; also an interesting pro prospect who has all the tools, but is still very much a work in progress as a passer; built more like a FB or TE and can run over people, but actually runs more like a slippery tailback with speed and vision who can make people miss in space; in fact, has almost 2,500 career rushing yards along with 33 total scores on the ground; as a passer has plenty of arm strength and the ability to fit the ball into tight spaces; also sees the field well and has good instincts and poise in the pocket, but his mechanics tend to be very inconsistent; really doesn’t set his feet all that well and delivery is clunky; health is a concern as he suffered a gruesome ankle injury in last fall’s Egg Bowl match-up versus Ole Miss which required surgery; started running again in March and participated in spring practice on a limited basis, but was held out of live drills; ultimately could be one of the more polarizing players in the 2019 draft as NFL scouts try to figure out whether he’s the next Cam Newton or the second coming of Tim Tebow; final drfat grade likely also won’t be helped by the fact he was suspended from the team’s season opener for a violation of team rules.
  • Kelly Bryant, 6-3, 220, 4.65, Clemson, SR … 4th year senior emerged as a top dual-threat QB after taking over from DeShaun Watson last fall; athletic runner with good instincts ran for 665 yards and 11 scores last fall; also a reasonably accurate passer who completed 66% of his passes last fall, but is still a better athlete than passer; has good size and stands tall in the pocket; also has adequate arm strength and does a nice job distributing the ball on underneath routes, but needs to wind to get the ball downfield; also doesn’t really set his feet well in the pocket and is too quick to bail when there is a hint of pressure; threw for 2,800 yards last fall, but had only 13 TD passes and had 8 picks.
  • Jake Browning, 6-1, 210, 4.80, Washington, SR … Super productive pocket passer seems like he’s been at UW forever, although he’s actually just a 4th-year senior; started from day one, though, after a celebrated prep career in which he held the national records for both single-season and career TD passes; unfortunately lacks prototype measurables as he is barely 6-1 and isn’t all that thick; also has limited arm strength, but is a very accurate passer who reads the field quickly, has a quick, compact release, good route anticipation and nice touch; has thrown for over 9,000 yards and 78 TDs in his career; best year, though, was 2016 when he threw for almost 3,500 yards and 43 TDs against just 9 picks and was named the PAC-12’s POY; numbers were down last year, though, after he underwent off-season surgery on his shoulder, although he had a career high 68% completion rate and had only 5 interceptions versus 19 TD passes.
  • Drew Anderson, 6-3, 230, 4.85, Murray State, SR … Could be described as the ultimate sleeper prospect this year, especially at QB; outstanding athlete who averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game as a high school basketball player and hit over .400 on the baseball diamond, spent a year at a junior college before transferring to Buffalo where he played in only 5 games, but did complete 62% of his pass attempts while throwing for 10 TDs with only one pick; with no guarantees of a starting gig at Buffalo this fall he transferred to FCS Murray State where he should get a chance to shine; has all the tools including good size, a strong arm and above average athleticism, but has to prove it on the field.
  • Easton Stick, 6-2, 220, 4.75, North Dakota State, SR … Rising 5th year senior with 37 starts under his belt already, is arguably the top QB prospect in the smaller school ranks; indeed, cue the comparisons to former NDSU QB Carson Wentz, the 2nd player selected at the 2017 draft, whom Stick replaced in the Bisons’ lineup; lacks the length and arm strength of Wentz, but is smart and very athletic; solidly built player ran for almost 700 yards and 12 scores last season; also threw for 2,500 yards and 28 TDs, against just 8 picks last fall when he led the Bisons to their 6th national FCS tile in 7 years; efficient game manager with solid mechanics can find the open receiver and delivers the ball on time and on target; completed 62% of his passes last fall; high character player is a three-time team captain; also an outstanding student in the classroom where he has already graduated and is currently enrolled in the MBA program.