*NQBR = Newmanomics QB Rating = (Career) Completion % x TD/Int
**CS = Career Stars
1. DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame, NQBR 150.65, CS 23, NR 7.25
· Great size
· Over strider, causes low throws
· Can make things happen when pass pro breaks down
· Reminds me of a Matt Stafford with a little less of an arm, and a bit more mobility
· Throws a nice tight ball consistently
· Really was given a bad hand with all the Start/not start bs…with confidence he may be the best passer in the draft
· Can run, but not a speedster, puts his shoulder down
· Good, compact, clean throwing motion, sometimes pats the ball pre throw
· Very good arm strength, can make the out cutting deep balls with pop, lacks touch at times
· If he sets his feet, and keeps the stride short he can hit his target all day
2. Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina, NQBR 270, CS 13, NR 4.75
· Has the look and Name of a baller QB (lol, jk, but seriously)
· Bad/Poor young Jay Cutler like footwork
· Always in the gun, left/lead foot doesn’t point to target, and gets real lazy with footwork
· Essentially a torso thrower (could be bad or good, the good being with good coaching it may raise his ceiling, bad is, well its bad technique)
· One year guy
· Good weight transfer on deep ball, but legs way to far apart (big stride, will translate to over or under throwing the ball)
· A bit of a long wind-up motion to his throws
· Willing runner, big stride guy may run in the low 4.7s (turns out ran a 4.67)
· Will put his shoulder down (will stop in the NFL, but I like what that says about him)
· Decent accuracy and arm strength
3. Davis Webb, QB, Cal, NQBR 150.13, CS 26, NR 4.74
· Tall and scrawny
· Long arm, long lever thrower, kinda slings it with all the natural force that long arm brings
· Consistent tight spiral
· Ball patter
· Quick release
· Cannon for an arm, can just flip the ball, and can throw with touch
· Accuracy still a work in progress
· Might end up a better pro than Goff
· Not the best decision maker
· Needs to be coached up, very raw but has talent
4. Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss, NQBR 151.90, CS 22, NR 3.85
· Decent creativity in the pocket
· Real knucklehead, but do genes cancel it out?
· Can throw with real nice touch
· Not the worst footwork for a shotgun guy
· Has the old school look to a QB
· Above average arm strength
· Telegraphs throws
· 2 transfer guy (Ryan Newman much?)
· Scrappy shows a lot of toughness
· Wind-up release
· Can throw the back shoulder very effectively
· He’s the biggest wild card in the class in my opinion, has talent, but still raw, and genealogy guys usually have had plenty of coaching already, so not sure where his ceiling is, but if he can stay out of trouble, he may develop into a starter-to-quality backup (coming into the league at an ideal time)
5. Nathan Peterman, QB, Pitt, NQBR 165.88, CS 25, NR 3.75
· Most technically sound QB in the draft (high floor, low ceiling?)
· Seems cool calm and collected
· Over the top, compact motion
· Can shift around in the pocket
· Better than advertised arm strength, has some zip on seam and fly routes, but still lacking elite power
· Creative in rollouts/shovels/play actions vs. disciplined d-line
· Tight spiral, except wet ball
· Can throw on the run with his body (right), not against (left)
6. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson, NQBR 190.93, CS 35, NR 2.75
· Long over the top release, Drops elbow a bit, almost the javelin throw like/Uncle Rico?
· Not always a tight spin on the ball
· Average mobility, not a scrambler, lots of designed runs
· Clearly an elevator of the program (thanks Bears’ GM)
· Seems like the most of the routes are in cutting/digs and posts…not a whole lot of out cutting (usually evidence to an offense trying to cover-up lack of arm strength)
· Lots of shotgun, tons of dink and dunk throws
· Not the most accurate
· ½ to ¼ field reader
7. Antonio Pipkin, QB, Tiffin, NR 2.33
· Strong arm
· Interesting small school prospect, hard to evaluate
· Good size
· Not that accurate
· Throws off back foot, improper throwing plane at times
· Basketball build, athletic but hard to tell vs. level of competition
8. Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami (Fl.), NQBR 174.23, CS 38, NR 2.25
· Very poor arm strength, can barely push the ball to the outside
· Lots of experience under his belt in big time college football
· Doesn’t throw a tight ball
· Over strides
· Lacks athletic and creative ability behind the LOS
· Likely a career backup guy, low ceiling, but somewhat high floor with all those starts
9. Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee, NQBR 112.40, CS 35, NR 2.0
· Good athlete, probably the best runner in the draft at the position
· Lacks arm
· Productive college player
· Throws off back foot too much
· Something about him I like, but don’t think he can hack at as QB in the NFL…maybe he can continue the trend of athletic, productive college QBs from big programs making the “seamless” switch to WR?
10. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech, NQBR 203.64, CS 29, NR 1.0
· Low elbow, oh, ugh…his motion when trying to put zip on the ball is just ugly, won’t be able to have that release point when all the D-Lineman are 6-5
· Atrocious foot work, side arm slings at times
· I feel every year the Texas Tech QB coming out is labeled as “we know Texas Tech never has a legit QB, but this year may be different”
· Will pat the ball, and shows very little pop on his passes
· Not sure where all the underrated stuff is coming from, this kid won’t start in the NFL
· Little mobility
11. Seth Russell, QB, Baylor, NR .75
· Soft ball thrower
· Baylor system QB
· Wind up slinger throw type
12. Jerod Evans, QB, Virginia Tech, NQBR 230.19, CS 14, NR .75
· Long release
· Soft thrower, lacks zip
· Has serious ball control problems
· Ball patter
· Can’t see him doing much in the NFL
13. C.J. Beathard, QB, Iowa, NQBR 122.32, CS 28, NR .5
· His last name would serve for some very interesting headlines
· Ugly ball thrower
· Typical Iowa game manager
· Poor touch, ball nose dives on deep passes
· Bad, long, low release
14. Sefo Liufau, QB, Colorado, NQBR 107.66, CS 39, NR .5
· Did elevate his team, not to the Watson degree, though
· Too much of a project
· Lacks the arm, decent touch, poor arm strength, ball crawls off his arm
· Lacks ideal size
· Accuracy is below par, especially on the move
· Throws with too high of plane (seems like he’s unloading a hail marry, more than an even/45 degree plane)
· Ran a lot slower than I thought he would (5.08)
· Scrappy kid, reminds me of that long haired kid that spiked the football off a Buffalo helmet in the CSU CU game circa 02
· Goofy release and poor footwork