PLAYER PROFILE
Height: 6-2
Weight: 221
College: Clemson
Class: Junior
SIZE/PHYSICAL TRAITS — 4/5
- Average height for the position
- Solid build with lower body thickness
- Large hands (9 3/4″)
ARM STRENGTH/VELOCITY — 12/15
- Adequate arm strength
- Good zip on short and intermediate throws
- Can fit the ball into tight windows
- Can make most of the required NFL throws
- Deep outs can flutter a little
ACCURACY/BALL PLACEMENT 18.75/25
- Pretty good general short-to-intermediate accuracy
- Deep accuracy (20+ yards) is highly inconsistent; typically sails deep throws, occasionally underthrows targets
- Solid accuracy on the move
- Ball placement on intermediate and deep throws can be very spotty
- Over-the-middle throws like slants and crossers are oftentimes thrown a little behind the target, which forces receivers to break stride and adjust
- Good timing — gets ball out on schedule
- Very good at throwing the back-shoulder fade
- Struggles with accuracy vs. pressure (36% catchable pass rating when pressured)
- 47% completion percentage on passes 15+ yards down the field
- Balls get batted down at line of scrimmage a lot (13 times in 2016)
MECHANICS — 4/5
- Quick, compact throwing motion
- Solid footwork from the pocket
- Tendency to over-stride on drive throws
- Can sail throws when he has to crank up the velocity
MENTAL PROCESSING — 13.5/20
- Very good at identifying favorable matchups pre-snap
- Displays limited ability to read the field (almost exclusively half-field reads, vast majority of throws are to first read)
- Shows some ability to move defenders with his eyes
- Struggles to recognize zone coverage, doesn’t see lurking zone defenders underneath
- Sometimes misses wide open receivers underneath
- Stares down receivers more than you’d like
- Shows some ability to throw receivers open, anticipate throwing windows
- Forces too many throws into double, sometimes triple coverage
- College system featured many predetermined reads, didn’t have to make as many decisions on his own/outside of the structure
POCKET PRESENCE — 12/15
- Very good pocket awareness
- Has a good feel for when and how to move in the pocket to avoid the rush
- Does a nice job of keeping his eyes downfield when he’s forced to maneuver within the pocket or escape
- Calm demeanor in the face of pass rush
- Will bail out of clean pockets at times
MOBILITY — 4.5/5
- Legitimate dual-threat (ran 4.66 in the 40-yard dash); can be utilized on designed runs
- Good speed, elusiveness, vision, and instincts as a runner
- Very good at extending plays outside the pocket with his feet
INTANGIBLES — 10/10
- 2.5-year starter
- 32-3 career record
- Led his team to two consecutive national championship games and won one of them
- Excellent football and personal character
- Great leadership skills
- Mental and physical toughness — played through torn ACL as a freshman; doesn’t get rattled by mistakes
- Intelligent and hardworking — graduated with Bachelor’s in Communication in three years
- Clutch factor — plays his best when the stakes are highest and the spotlight shines the brightest
TOTAL GRADE: 78.75/100.00 – (EARLY) DAY 2 – complimentary starter or raw player with star potential
NFL COMPARISON: (Rich Man’s) Tyrod Taylor