2018 Draft Thread -- because the "off-season" is when you get better!!!

[Mizerooskie]

My current faves:

Guice, Courtland Sutton, Jaire Alexander, Christian Wilkins- I know, not a great position for us to draft, but:

Take a look at Matt Miller's defensive line superlatives:

Most NFL-Ready: Christian Wilkins, Clemson
Best Run-Stopper: Christian Wilkins, Clemson
Best Nose Tackle: Vita Vea, Washington
Best 3-4 Defensive End: Christian Wilkins, Clemson
Best 3-Technique: Christian Wilkins, Clemson
Best Pass-Rusher: Da'Shawn Hand, Alabama
Best Potential: Christian Wilkins, Clemson
Biggest Question Mark: Kahlil McKenzie, Tennessee (injury)
Biggest Sleeper: Kahlil McKenzie, Tennessee (injury)

[BigPlayReceiver]

Anyone else as horrible as I am at evaluating QBs?

I found this helpful: http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/vi...a-adadfa4e7e94

My takeaway on the top attributes/skills to focus on:
#1: Accuracy - Not the stat so much, but rather what the guy's footwork does for him and how/where he places the ball

#2: Vision coupled with poise - Does he survey the field and progress through his reads? Or does he lock on and just rip it YOLO-style? (This applies to non Baylor-esque offenses). How convincing are his pump-fakes? How patient are his meshes?

#3: FBIQ and judgment - Pre-snap direction (not as prevalent in CFB vs. NFL, I know). Does he throw it away...or risk an INT? Does he bail too soon? Does he hold the ball too long?

#4: Miscellaneous - Can he put the team on his back? How is his command, precision, confidence and demeanor when the game is tight?

I thought about elusiveness, but I think that it's more of a by-product of #3 (coupled with raw athletic ability) than anything else. I could be wrong on that, but four attributes is probably all that I can stand to record and track for the (5-8 max) QB prospects that I'll get a chance to watch over the next 10 months.


Any tips from the QB masters out there?

[BcRaven]

Anyone else as horrible as I am at evaluating QBs?

"We are!" says all former and current Cleveland Browns GMs... Bc

[JimZipCode]

Anyone else as horrible as I am at evaluating QBs?

Yes: Brian Billick, and the staff of the Cleveland Browns.

[BigPlayReceiver]

[BigPlayReceiver]

#2: Vision coupled with poise - Does he survey the field and progress through his reads? Or does he lock on and just rip it YOLO-style? (This applies to non Baylor-esque offenses). How convincing are his pump-fakes? How patient are his meshes?

Adding: does he keep his eyes up and downfield as the pocket tightens?

[Laxdad24]

Gotta vote for Washington State QB Luke Folk if Ravens gonna grab a QB. 6-4 , 205 averaged 69% completions over 2 1/2 yrs starting. 30 + TDs also. Doubt he's there in the middle rounds though. May have to reach into 2nd to get him. Gotta bring solid competition for Joe Cool.

[Goode05]

Gotta vote for Washington State QB Luke Folk if Ravens gonna grab a QB. 6-4 , 205 averaged 69% completions over 2 1/2 yrs starting. 30 + TDs also. Doubt he's there in the middle rounds though. May have to reach into 2nd to get him. Gotta bring solid competition for Joe Cool.

He's a Leach qb isn't he? When has a Leach qb ever even been a starter in the NFL?


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[Mizerooskie]

For me, when scouting a college QB, you've got to consider things that NFL QBs have in common (excluding leadership and other locker-room attributes).

Quick release
Arm strength
Pocket presence
Ball placement
Active/light feet (Older guys can have heavy feet, but very rarely do young QBs with heavy feet stick)
Throw anticipation
Play diagnosis/decision making
Toughness/poise

Now, which of these is coachable, and which is innate? I'd say toughness/poise, arm strength and pocket presence are pretty close to innate attributes. They can be minimally improved with experience and practice, but generally a prospect can sling it, or he can't. A prospect can sense pressure, or he can't. A prospect will take a hit to make a throw, or he won't. A prospect will raise is game in the big moments or he won't. I'd say release, anticipation, and diagnosis are the next level up. Release can be improved moderately with mechanical corrections, but is limited somewhat by the quick-twitch capabilities of the arm. Anticipation and diagnosis are the aspects than can be improved the most through experience and practice, but again there's going to be an innate level of football intelligence that puts an upper and lower bound on a prospect here. I think ball placement (or accuracy) is the attribute that can be most improved through mechanical adjustments and repetition. Some prospects are certainly hopeless in this area, but I think it's the last of the football attributes you worry about (assuming a prospect has an acceptable baseline).

How does that translate to scouting?

Arm strength is obviously the easiest to see, so that's definitely worth looking for.

Release takes a little more disciplined of an eye, but you can generally tell if a QB has a prolonged windup.

Pocket presence is reasonably apparent if you watch for it over a large enough sample size. Does the QB take a lot of unnecessary sacks? Does he tend to escape pressure?

Similarly, is he bailing on contact, or will he stand tough and make a throw knowing he'll take a big hit? Reasonably easy to see, though heavily context-dependent (e.g., is he kept clean due to scheme and/or talent disparity between his OL and opposing DLs?).

Does he step up in crunch time and in big games?

I think the feet are reasonably easy to evaluate in most cases. Footwork technique will vary wildly across schemes and coaches, but you can tell when a guy has lead feet. The combine helps a lot here, allowing you to see a guy move relative to his peers.

Ball placement and accuracy can be apparent on film, but I think you've got to step back and consider a few factors. One, college ball placement should be on a completely different evaluative scale than NFL ball placement. Two, if you see some inaccuracy, was there an apparent reason for it? Were the feet out of sync with the shoulders? Did he throw flat-footed or off his back foot? Did he throw across his body? Was the arm angle wonky? If he looks in balance and throws with good form, but still consistently misses badly, that's when flags are raised with me. My overriding question is "If he gets consistent with mechanics (upper and lower), will he be accurate?"

Anticipation and diagnosis are by far the most difficult for us as fans to evaluate, IMO. College schemes might be based on half-field reads. They might have no built-in option routes or hot routes. They might be heavily RPO based (i.e., one read). I think this is where team interviews are most important with QBs. Get those guys in the film room and evaluate their football intelligence in there. I'd assert that this is also the area most difficult for professionals to evaluate, and the reason most QBs fail in the NFL. Most of the time, you just don't know until you get him on the field in a live setting.

Anyway, that's my .02. I'm far from a professional and all that might be way off-base, but it all seems logical to this draftnik/CFB fan.

[BigPlayReceiver]

Good stuff, Miz.

[BigPlayReceiver]

Oh snap!

[Sarcasticfury]

Oh snap!

Ravens at 14?