Years as starter: 4
Notable number: 10,541 career passing yards
Highest individual honor: 2017 First-Team Academic All-American
Team success: 2020 Rose Bowl champion
NFC exec 2: “He was my favorite guy from Day 1. Every test, he passed [in Indy]—6-6, 236, runs 4.6, big frame, huge arm, four-year career. You don’t have the concern there you had with Burrow about one-year production. Senior bowl MVP, Rose Bowl MVP, Pac-12 champion, smart as hell. He’s not the culture changer, fire-breather, but how many guys are now? In terms of a guy that checks every box, he’s got it. … You have to get him under center, that’ll be where his strength is. It took [Jared] Goff time; he’d never been in huddle, never called a play either. So there could be bumps, yeah. But he’s smart enough, athletic enough, has no hesitation to learn to play under center. I’m telling you, I can’t remember what his major was, but the kid’s like a scientist. He’s just very smart. Nothing football-wise is difficult for him.”
NFC exec 3: “I’m not a huge fan. In terms of create-a-player, that’s your guy. He’s a little bit like Brady Quinn, good and bad. The arm strength, athleticism, size, it’s how you’d draw them up. He did well at the end of the year, won the games at the end, and you love to see that. But in terms of being a natural thrower, he’s not natural, I thought he struggled at the Senior Bowl learning how to take a drop. He has things to improve. All the physical stuff is there, he’s just not a real natural thrower. And I haven’t seen the ‘it’ factor.”
AFC coordinator 1: “His tape is tough to watch. I’m not sure the offense fit his skillset. He should be good in the NFL playing under center off play-action and getting the ball down the field. He’s that type of player. I don’t think they did that much at Oregon, it didn’t feel like it ever fit his skillset. And in the same sense, there were throws you cringe at, like, ‘Come on, man.’ The tape’s not nearly as clean as the other two. But the other two are throwing to what’ll probably be a total of six or seven first-round receivers when all those guys come through. Those two are the best players on the best teams, with the best guys catching pass. You look at Oregon, you don’t see the same talent, especially in the guys catching passes.”
AFC coordinator 2: “I like him a lot, really smart. … Stuff that comes with new system, he can pick up quickly—that’s a strength. His arm is elite, up there at the top with anyone, maybe not [Aaron Rodgers], but can throw every ball, can go far hash to near sideline. I was impressed with his accuracy, how he got through progression, he’d get to no. 3, and rip it right on the facemask. And he has an ability to run better than most people think. His wiggle’s not great, but he can see the hole and chew up yards … The glaring thing: He’s never under center, so with his footwork, he does have tendency to be robotic, segmenting in his drop, but he can clean that up. He’s a quiet kid; he’ll have to overcome that.”