Counting down 10 of anything is kind of arbitrary and last year, frankly, we really didn’t have 10 quarterbacks that I felt were even draftable. The irony there is the two worst guys on my list, Cardale Jones and Christian Hackenberg, both got picked while two guys I had ranked above them on the list (and far above them in ability), Vernon Adams Jr. and Marquis Williams, didn’t get drafted.
I still stand by those rankings. Williams was signed by two teams as an undrafted free agent, the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, and cut by both in the preseason. Adams is in the Canadian Football League and started the last three games of his rookie season for the Montreal Allouettes. He won all three.
This year’s crop of quarterbacks are different. While I felt there were three guys that could start out the gate last season (Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz and Connor Cook), this year I really only see two. But that doesn’t mean the rest of these guys can’t be developed and turn into something later. Some, of course, have a longer path to being starter ready than others.
No reason to waste any more time. Let’s start the countdown with number…
10. C.J. Beathard, Iowa, 6-2, 215 pounds
56.5 completion percentage, 1,929 yards, 17 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, two rushing touchdowns
Beathard is one of those players that’s not going to wow anyone with his measurables, but I’ve already made it clear I don’t give a damn about that. Here’s what I like about Beathard; he’s smart, he knows how to move in the pocket and he doesn’t screw around. He makes a decision and slings it. He’s also the perfect example of the “arm strength” fallacy. I guarantee you he probably has the weakest arm of any of the QBs on my Top 10 list and yet he can still sling it all over the field. Beathard keeps his head up, even when facing a rush and consistently looks downfield.
Beathard’s completion percentage took a five-point dive this season, thanks to a banged up receiver corps, but Beathard’s biggest issue was disappearing in big games. In the Hawkeyes’ biggest win of the season, a 14-13 win over then No. 3 Michigan, Beathard completed just 8-of-19 passes for 66 yards, a touchdown and a pick. He was worse in a pitiful 17-9 loss to Wisconsin, completed just 17-of-33 passes for 153 yards and no touchdown passes and not a single touchdown drive.
Beathard played well against one ranked team all season, No. 16 Nebraska, but he was still just a supporting player as two Iowa running backs scored three TDs and went over 100 yards. Beathard was 10-for-15 for 144 yards and three touchdowns.
But it was the Outback Bowl where Beathard really shit the bed, throwing three interceptions and finishing 7-of-23 for 55 yards before leaving the game with an “injury.”
Still, Beathard is draftable and his worst case scenario is a Trevor Siemian-level back up quarterback, especially in a similar, run-first system.
Ideal situation: Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots
9. Jerod Evans, Virginia Tech, 6-3, 238 pounds
63.5 completion percentage, 3,552 yards, 29 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 846 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns
Evans is a project, but one worth developing . He obviously has a canon for an arm, but only uses it when he needs to. There may not be a better touch passer in this draft. Just watch how effortlessly he can lay the ball right into a receiver’s hands down the field. He’s built to take the punishment an athletic QB in the NFL needs to take to be effective. When he scrambles, he moved forward and doesn’t try to outrun the defensive ends on the outside.
Evans was just the opposite of Beathard when it came to big games. Win or lose, he put it out on the field and nearly led the Hokies to a season-ending shocker over then No. 3 Clemson, losing 42-35 after throwing a desperation pick on fourth and six at Clemson’s own 13 yard line.
The Hokies’ offense doesn’t require a lot of reads and this is where Evans needs to do his work when he gets drafted, and he should. I really wish he’d stayed in school another year. Not only does it hurt him that he’s a junior, but this is the only year he started for Virginia Tech. If he could have mirrored this season he could have sneaked into the top half of the draft, if not the first round, in 2018.
Evans isn’t a first-year starter by any means, but he’s a guy that, in the right system, can be developed into a year-three starter or potential trade bait to a QB needy team down the road.
Ideal situation: Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers
To be continued….
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