2016 NFL Draft: Quarterbacks, patience, and measurables
2016 NFL Draft: Examining the importance of patience with young quarterbacks, and specifically those who have elite tangible qualities…
Beyond everyone’s search for the latest, greatest, show-stopping headline, there might actually be some substantial talent.
Believe it or not, not every draft class is riddled with Andrew Luck-caliber prospects who are ready to start and play at a Pro Bowl level immediately, but who knew? Nobody has time to be patient with great young athletes at the QB position anymore, so much so that we are seeing Brock Osweiler, a talented player who developed for four years entering free agency with absolutely no precedence on the free agent market.
Who do you compare his situation to?
There are not many NFL teams that are drafting and grooming young quarterbacks who maybe weren’t ready right away coming out of college, but had starting and possibly even star potential at the next level.
Like I said, there’s no patience for that. Too many jobs are on the line, especially with coaches and general managers, that when you draft a quarterback, he’d better be able to play sooner rather than later because no one has time to really sit around and wait for him to get good at football.
But what if some of these guys are actually pretty good, we just don’t take the time to figure it out? This year’s draft class could be the ultimate test of patience at the QB position…
Already being defined as ‘bad’ by some, or ‘average at best’ by others, this year’s quarterback class is one of the most interesting in recent years, if you ask me, and it starts at the top of the class with North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz.
Wentz, who would likely be a candidate for the #1 overall selection if the Titans didn’t hold it, is in contention with Jared Goff and possibly Paxton Lynch to be the first QB off the board in April despite the fact that he played his college ball at FCS North Dakota State.
Wentz’s skills are translatable to the NFL, but will a team have the patience to wait on him? Will the Cleveland Browns pass on him because he might need a year or so to learn the NFL game?
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding Wentz of late. He was great at Senior Bowl week, and the clear star of the NFL Scouting Combine. NFL teams would be drooling to get this type of athlete from a major FBS school…
The numbers are up there among the best we’ve seen at the Combine, which is why some people went lofty and compared Wentz to Andrew Luck.
That comparison isn’t fair, but athletically and physically, it’s not that far off. Wentz might not be able to read a defense like Andrew Luck right now, but he’s certainly capable of eventually running an NFL offense at a high level and putting up huge numbers.
If you ask me, Wentz is franchise QB material, but it’ll take some time for him to get there. Can the Cleveland Browns afford that? Not that measurables mean everything, but the other player in contention to be the first QB off the board is Cal’s Jared Goff, whose athletic measurables are comparable to those of players who are no longer in the NFL, and didn’t last long in the first place…
Like I said, measurables don’t mean everything, but those comparisons don’t bode well for Goff.
What about Memphis’ Paxton Lynch? Lynch has drawn some comparisons to Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens, and for good reason, but he’s also really a lot like Osweiler, a player we mentioned before. Take a look at how he stacks up physically and athletically against other QBs in the NFL…
Combined with a strong arm, Lynch’s skill set should be that of a player that would ordinarily be talked about as a shoe-in top 10 selection. So what’s different about this crop of players? What makes Carson Wentz and Paxton Lynch ‘borderline’ franchise QB potential?
The level of competition they faced and the speed of the NFL game equates to a longer project, and NFL teams with a QB need don’t have time for that.
Those who do could reap the rewards.
Another player you should be looking at? Ohio State’s Cardale Jones. Jones showed out athletically at the Scouting Combine, scoring himself an impressive MockDraftable web…
Like the other QBs that have been mentioned in this article, Jones has flashed big time NFL QB potential, but also inconsistency. Is the project worth the wait?
For teams that have desperate QB needs, getting a quarterback that can contribute right away is essential, but there are guys in this class that are worth waiting for, no matter what Draft Twitter tries to tell you about this class.
If NFL teams can be patient, they will reap the benefits down the line with these players. There are a number of athletes coming into the league who are elite in the talent department, but low on experience or at least, experience against top competition. Can these teams find a way to get the best out of them?
The talent is there for the taking.