2015 NFL Draft: Sean Mannion Scouting Report

Sean Mannion was once viewed as an early round prospect, but his draft stock took a tumble during his senior year. Let’s delve into what caused Mannion’s drop by examining his strengths and weaknesses as a quarterback prospect.

STRENGTHS

Sean Mannion has the prototypical size you look for in a quarterback. At the Senior Bowl he measured in at 6’5″ and weighed 229 pounds. In addition to his size, Mannion has great arm strength. Even when he plays with poor mechanics (which is often), he can still fling the ball downfield.

Another positive for Sean Mannion is that he has experience running a pro style offense. Mannion won’t have the learning curve coming into the NFL that a lot of spread and spread-option quarterbacks will face.

When Mannion does play with good mechanics, he can be as accurate as any quarterback in this draft class and his arm strength really shines in these occasions.

WEAKNESSES

Sean Mannion might have the worst mechanics out of any quarterbacks in this draft class, which is a shame because he has a lot of experience running a pro style offense. However, it is impressive how much drive Mannion can get on his balls without using his legs very much.

Mannion never throws with his feet set, often throwing off of his back leg or with both legs perpendicular to the sideline. This leads to erratic, inaccurate throws. He misses receivers when they find the soft spot in zones and overthrows them when they get a step on man coverage.

Luckily for Mannion, he can get enough velocity on his throws to get the football in the general vicinity of where his receivers are.

Another knock on Sean Mannion is his limited mobility in the pocket. He’s slow to evade pass rushers, making him a stationary target in the pocket.

Mannion should also try to cleanup his release point as he can bring the ball a little low sometimes, which might lead to strip-sacks once he gets to the NFL.

DRAFT STOCK

Based on mechanics and overall accuracy alone, Mannion is a borderline draft prospect. However, his arm strength and experience in a pro style system will probably lead him to being drafted in the 6th or 7th frame.

PLAYER COMPARISON

Tyler Bray, Kansas City Chiefs