Old Dominion QB Taylor Heinicke NFL Draft Scouting Notes

The 2015 NFL Draft class is considered to have one of the worst groups of quarterbacks in recent memory, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some kids with talent. Old Dominion’s Taylor Heinicke, who participated in the Shrine Game and turned some heads, is a guy that has some skill that not many have been talking about to this point.

The 6-1, 210 pound Heinicke is a gunslinger who has nice athletic ability and versatility, even able to punt. In fact, Heinicke punts really well for a quarterback.

After Old Dominion made the jump to FBS, Heinicke saw a pretty dramatic difference in the level of competition he faced, and that is reflected in his overall numbers. He won the Walter Payton award in 2012 as the best player in FCS, but his numbers faltered a bit as Old Dominion transitioned to a higher level of play, which included a 16 interception season in 2014.

All that said, numbers don’t tell the whole tale. Heinicke saw his completion percentage climb to 70 percent as a junior in 2013, and then dip under 64 percent this past year. I turned on the tape to see what the story was with this lesser known prospect.

The first thing that jumps out about Heinicke is his arm strength. He is able to fit the ball in tight spaces, and not afraid to attempt to do so. His arm strength is also evident on some major overthrows, but for the most part, it appears to be something that he can lean on and that’s especially true when he is forced out of the pocket and has  to throw off balance. Heinicke makes some really nice throws on the move in this series of clips, and his strong arm makes tough throws look almost routine.

The other thing you notice is that Heinicke isn’t being asked to do anything wild in terms of reading defenses and progressing through reads after the snap. The offense he is running here looks to be very basic in terms of making a pre-snap read and getting rid of the ball very quickly.

As we all know full well by now, that doesn’t translate to easy NFL success. One-read offenses in college are good for the college game, but not in the NFL where defenses disguise things before the snap much better and more often than college teams do, so if a young QB like this is forced into early action as an NFL player, they can seem lost because of how overwhelming the defenses are.

Heinicke displays really solid athletic ability, and keeps his eyes downfield. He has that versatility that I had talked about in that he can both run and throw well, and he can also punt. He had 42 punts in his career with a 42.5 average per punt. Not bad for a QB.

In all, I think in a weak QB class, Heinicke will find himself being drafted in the later rounds, or at worst being picked up as a priority free agent. He doesn’t have the ideal size for an NFL quarterback in the 6-3 or 6-5 range, but he has good enough size at 6-1 and is able to make all the throws. He pushes the ball to the boundary, can sling it downfield, and can make plays on the run. Overall, though, I think the offense that he has played in sort of hurts him, and could elongate his development as a second or third NFL quarterback.