Rumors On Why Brad Kaaya Fell In the 2017 NFL Draft

Dec 28, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Brad Kaaya (15) warms up before the start of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Russell Athletic Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Brad Kaaya was expected to be one of the top quarterbacks selected in the 2017 NFL draft. Instead he became one of its victims.

That is to say he went far later than expected. Hard to imagine considering Kaaya was one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the class, more so than both Mitch Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes. He was also more productive than C.J. Beathard who went in the 3rd round to the San Francisco 49ers. By all logic he should’ve at least gone late on Day 2 what with the draft considered rather light on proven quarterbacks. So what happened?

Charlie Campbell of Walter Football has it on good authority that teams soured on Kaaya leading up to the draft. Despite his size and arm talent it wasn’t enough to convince anybody he’d be the kind of guy to build a franchise around.

"“Sources say the reason why Kaaya slid was a combination of bad tape and questions about his personal makeup. Teams felt that Kaaya’s junior year tape was very shaky, and as a result, he was graded in Day 3 for many. Kaaya demonstrated poor vision and mobility, which led to a lot of taken sacks. Teams also felt that Kaaya lacked leadership skills, and all teams want leaders at quarterback. Sources didn’t like that Kaaya was very focused on his draft standing last fall rather than being focused on winning the next game for his team. All of those factors combined to Kaaya being a late sixth-round pick.”"

Dark times ahead?

Things couldn’t have come off much worse for Kaaya than they have. Not only is he a late round pick, but he ended up on a team that has no looming need for a starting quarterback. Matthew Stafford just turned 29-years old in February. He hasn’t missed a single game since 2010. By the look of things he’s going to be playing for a good while longer. So where does that leave Kaaya?

Pretty much in quarterback purgatory. A player who grew obsessed with his draft standing ironically lands himself in a situation where he may not see the field for four years outside of preseason or an injury. Perhaps this is a valuable lesson. The best thing to do is focus on playing great every week. The moment a man gets caught looking ahead? It goes off the rails.

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