2019 NFL Draft: Gardner Minshew has a lot of Brian Hoyer in him

Gardner Minshew is hoping to get himself noticed in what is a wild card 2019 NFL draft class of QB. Should he deserve more attention?

Position:  QB

School:  Washington State

Year: Senior

Height: 6’2

Weight: 220 lbs

STRENGTHS:

• Size won’t be a major hindrance he’s not overly big but he’s tall enough coupled with a well-proportioned frame that should handle NFL hits.
• Accuracy is fairly consistent. Tends to put the ball where he’s aiming it both in ball placement and overall area. His receivers are always given a chance.
• Delivery is the top grade for a quarterback. No wasted motion. The ball goes up to the ear and out quickly, limiting the chances for a strip sack.

This is what Minshew does well. He gets the snap and drops back. The moment he hits that final step, he turns and throws the ball on a timing route. It comes out fast and sails on a perfect arc right where his receiver will be for a touchdown. The accuracy and ball placement are excellent. If he can get into an offense that allows him to throw a majority of routes like that, he’ll be good.

• Does a good job of not rushing his progressions. Moves from one option to the next and trusts his protection before delivering the football
• Actually handles pressure well. Consistently gets the ball out right before the hit and has delivered accurate throws under the gun on more than one occasion.
• Mobility is decent. Can pick up the first down on scrambles from time to time. He should be able to run an effective run-pass option.
• Once he finally transferred to Washington State for his senior year, he was highly productive completing over 70% of his passes with 38 TDs to just nine interceptions.

WEAKNESSES:

• Arm strength will be a concern. He’s fine when allowed to set his feet but the ball loses a lot of juice when he has to improvise.
• Tends to line drive his passes a lot, which leads to several deflections at the line of scrimmage. Has to learn to put more arc on the football.
• Field vision can be called into question at times. Has trouble identifying coverages and it’s led to well-coached defenses getting a lot of hands on his passes.
• The deep ball is questionable at best. Doesn’t try to go vertical often and it’s not hard to see why. Ball tends to come out funky and is rarely getting to his receiver in stride.
• Hasn’t worked at all under center in college. Played exclusively from the shotgun and spread formations, which means it may take him time to adjust to the NFL.
• Teams fluster him when they drop lots of defensive backs into coverage. He’s not willing to strike deep or run much so he loses something when the short and intermediate stuff is taken away.
• Though his production was good, he could be classified as a one-year wonder in school. His previous year at East Carolina saw him struggle just to complete passes (57.8%).

Pro Comparison: Bryan Hoyer

The term “game manager” will come up a lot with Hoyer. That’s because more often than not he’d take the high percentage passes and checkdowns when starting at quarterback. There were times this was effective but his lack of potency as a deep ball thrower always seemed to get him replaced eventually. If he has a good offensive line and some weapons to work with, he can run a decent offense. If you want him to elevate the rest of the offense? Don’t hold your breath.

Projection:  5th round pick

Minshew didn’t do himself any favors at the Senior Bowl completing just one of his eight passes. Combined with a rather meh week of practice and the fact he was helped a lot by the scheme at Washington State, it leads one to believe that he has too many limitations to warrant a higher draft pick. He feels like a late round flier they can bring in as a backup and maybe he develops into something more, though that feels somewhat unlikely.