I’m shaking up the upcoming NFL Draft projections and consensus any way I can. Not since Jamarcus Russell was considered the “best quarterback in the draft” in 2007 have the national rankings been so upside down.
So here I present to you my own quarterback rankings, based on actually watching each guy play the sport, not on meaningless measurables and vague notions of what a quarterback should look like. Instead, I base my projections on silly things like accuracy, ability to read a defense, intelligence, playmaking ability and desire to win. It’s an admittedly odd system, but I think it’ll catch on.
10. Cardale Jones, Ohio State
2015: 62.3 completion percentage, 1.459 yards, eight touchdowns, five interceptions, 64 rushes for 193 yards, 6-foot-5, 250 pounds
I know what you’re asking aloud to your computer screen or mobile device right now and I couldn’t agree more. Why is Cardale Jones even on this list at all? For me it was all about numbers and I’m not talking about his pitiful stats. I needed 10 guys for this list and Jones had to be that 10th man. Who else was I going to put here? Kevin Hogan from Stanford? Jake Coker from Alabama? Please. The day a Jacoby Brissett from NC State takes a the field in a meaningful NFL game is they day they shut the whole league down.
Jones has three things working for him and only three things. He’s won the big game, he’s a physical specimen and he has a canon for an arm. Back in 2007 this would have been enough to make him the No. 1 pick in the draft. As it is he’s projecting in the fifth round or so.
If Jones is lucky he’ll get picked by a team with an already solid quarterback situation. If there’s every a guy that needs to sit and learn the position for the next four seasons it’s Jones and even then he may be no better than a career back-up.
9. Christian Hackenberg, Penn State
2015: 53.5 completion percentage, 2.525 yards, 16 touchdowns, six interceptions, 6-foot-4, 236 pounds
Speaking of “career back-ups” no one on this list exemplifies that trait more than Hackenberg, star quarterback of Molester University. Hackenberg is currently projected as a second or third-round pick by a group of people who probably never watched him play a down of football. For a guy so big, Hackenberg’s ability to consistently underthrow receivers will make him an interception machine in the pros. Just look at how many jump balls made his 2014 highlight reel. How many of those make it into the hands of a wide receiver at the NFL level? I’ll give you a hint, the answer rhymes with zero.
Hackenberg, as a player and a leader, is as overrated as they come. Frankly, if he’s the kind of person you’d want leading your franchise he would have never picked Penn State as his university in the first place. He’s the second coming of Dan McGwire and if you’ve never heard of that guy, there’s a reason for that. If you draft a guy that can’t complete 60 percent of his passes against college opposition, what the hell do you think he’ll do against a pro defense?
But, really, it’s wrong to say he’ll spend his career holding a clipboard. NFL teams use Microsoft Surface tablets now.
There’s no question of who will grab Hackenberg, though. His old coach Bill O’Brien is in Houston right now and could pick up the worthless lunkhead anywhere from the first to the third rounds.
8. Marquise Williams, UNC
2015: 61.2 completion percentage, 3068 yards, 24 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 948 yards rushing, 13 touchdowns, 6-foot-2, 225 pounds
We finally get to the meat of the list at No. 8. Williams is the first of these three quarterbacks that I would consider adding to my team. He’s a winner, a playmaker and can improvise when plays break down. He also can set his feet and put the ball downfield with better accuracy than Hackenberg by a mile. While I’m not sure Williams can start in the NFL, I know that if I needed a back-up quarterback to come off the bench his skillset could keep my team in the game and even lead to some wins.
Williams is the opposite of a lot of athletic quarterbacks, like Colin Kaepernick for instance. He makes his reads and when they aren’t there, that’s when he likes to scramble. He doesn’t drop back into the pocket looking to run as a second or third read. He wants to attack downfield. But if there’s nothing there, he’s not going to force it. He’s going to take off and burn you with his legs and since he’s actually gone through his progressions, the defense is usually spread out enough that it turns into a big play. Nearly 1,000 yards worth.
Williams doesn’t even project to be drafted, which is completely insane to me. A Division I player, against legit opponents, who produces nearly 4,000 yards of total offense and is responsible for 37 touchdowns seems like a guy I maybe want to add to my team. Williams’ best fit would be with a team like the Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks or Buffalo Bills. A team that already runs an offense he can fit right into.
Next: 7-4
