Just how good of a prospect is Kevin O'Connell?

[maverick4]

The answer to this may impact how we want to deal with Cassel (and also Brady). Anyone have any insight? I can't seem to find any *useful* scouting articles or vids, even post-draft, on this kid O'Connell.

I just went onto some old pre-08 draft San Diego message boards, who are presumably more knowledgeable about this local kid, and when talking about O'Connell they were saying how he'd be a good 6th or 7th rounder, and and there was lots of heated debate about whether O'Connell was better or possibly worse than Colt Brennan out of Hawaii.

The recurring themes I've read on this guy are:
- Natural leader, hard worker
- Good athlete and height, strong arm, very fast runner/scrambler
- Raw, bad mechanics, throws off his back foot too often, too many off target throws
- Goes for the home run throw too often

I have read a half dozen reports say he has BAD accuracy, while a half dozen other reports say he has uncanny accuracy. Which one is it?

His last 3 college seasons his TD/int were (most recent first): 15/8, 3/5, and 19/12. Maybe someone can chime in here, is this considered good/decent production on a bad team?

Here are some links:
New Era Scouting

NFL Events: Draft Player Profiles - Kevin O'Connell

SI.com - 2008 NFL Draft - Kevin O'Connell

 

[Nestapats]

We won't know how good he is until he plays. Cassel proved this point, cause everyone thought he sucked until he proved us wrong. It's clear O'connell has got the physical tools, but we won't know how good he actually is, until we see him play.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

The answer to this may impact how we want to deal with Cassel (and also Brady). Anyone have any insight? I can't seem to find any *useful* scouting articles or vids, even post-draft, on this kid O'Connell.

I just went onto some old pre-08 draft San Diego message boards, who are presumably more knowledgeable about this local kid, and when talking about O'Connell they were saying how he'd be a good 6th or 7th rounder, and and there was lots of heated debate about whether O'Connell was better or possibly worse than Colt Brennan out of Hawaii.

The recurring themes I've read on this guy are:
- Natural leader, hard worker
- Good athlete and height, strong arm, very fast runner/scrambler
- Raw, bad mechanics, throws off his back foot too often, too many off target throws
- Goes for the home run throw too often

I have read a half dozen reports say he has BAD accuracy, while a half dozen other reports say he has uncanny accuracy. Which one is it?

His last 3 college seasons his TD/int were (most recent first): 15/8, 3/5, and 19/12. Maybe someone can chime in here, is this considered good/decent production on a bad team?

Here are some links:
New Era Scouting

NFL Events: Draft Player Profiles - Kevin O'Connell

SI.com - 2008 NFL Draft - Kevin O'Connell

Well I dont think he will be anywhere near a Ryan or a Flacco but probably the 4th most talented QB in last years draft

I still think BB keeps him as a 3rd stringer another year and the team signs a vet QB to backup Brady or if something goes horribly wrong such as if Brady has another major setback,then 3rd stringer to backup Cassel

 

[Patsmaniac]

I agree with a veteran 2nd string QB if Matt C leaves. I would rather another year of learning for Kevin before he is even thrown into a situation. MAybe waiting a bunch of years is the way to go. Worked for Matt.

 

[BelichickFan]

My impression is he has a very high upside but might be a little boom or bust based on needing to improve his mechanics. All accounts seem to say he's smart, big, strong and fast. He needs to work on his mechanics and having played behind a crappy OL probably needs to learn to trust the pocket. I'm not willing to annoint Flacco just yet, though, he wasn't all that good this year he was just on a team whose defense could carry him. Could O'Connell have done what Flacco did ? I'm guessing so. What Ryan did ? Probably not. No doubt, though, O'Connell has high potential given his size and speed.

 

[maverick4]

Anyone from the San Diego area who can comment?
Or has anyone actually come across any scouting vids of this guy?
I've seen one, it was grainy and looked more like a HS game.

 

[BradyBranch39]

Well I dont think he will be anywhere near a Ryan or a Flacco but probably the 4th most talented QB in last years draft

I still think BB keeps him as a 3rd stringer another year and the team signs a vet QB to backup Brady or if something goes horribly wrong such as if Brady has another major setback,then 3rd stringer to backup Cassel

From what I've seen, I'll put him fifth... behind Henne and Brennan.

 

[farn]

While I agree that it might be prudent to bring in a vet, it's worth it to mention that BB stuck with him as #2 all year long.

People will say : it was too late to get a vet up to par at that point, but still... he was the man if Cassel went down.

Maybe O'C & Gutz fight it out (starting a few games) in the case Brady needs a few weeks (which I do not expect).

 

[Deus Irae]

He was a good enough prospect for the Patriots to draft him in the 3rd round.

 

[maverick4]

He was a good enough prospect for the Patriots to draft him in the 3rd round.

Thank you for yet another completely worthless waste of everyone else's time. Keep it up.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Thank you for yet another completely worthless waste of everyone else's time. Keep it up.

The Patriots' opinion on the matter is far more informed and qualified than that of anyone here. Add in that they have a pretty excellent track record for drafting diamonds in the rough at QB, and I'd say that the point does matter.

 

[captadamnj]

Right now we can rate him about as high as we could Matt C. after 1 year of backup duty in the Pats system. Have to think he learned a lot this year, although nowhere near as much as if he'd been playing behind Brady I'm sure. But he also had to get a big confidence boost seeing how a qb could do that came into the league as a significantly lower prospect...not that draft selection is an indicator of on field NFL performance. After another pre-season he'll be labeled as another draft bust on here, I'm sure!

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Right now we can rate him about as high as we could Matt C. after 1 year of backup duty in the Pats system. Have to think he learned a lot this year, although nowhere near as much as if he'd been playing behind Brady I'm sure. But he also had to get a big confidence boost seeing how a qb could do that came into the league as a significantly lower prospect...not that draft selection is an indicator of on field NFL performance. After another pre-season he'll be labeled as another draft bust on here, I'm sure!

Well, let's not forget that the Patriots had Cassel as their only backup in 2006, so it's not out of the question that the Pats could have O'Connell as "the guy" next year.

 

[patchick]

This is one of the true unknowables (outside of the Patriots' organization). Even if you saw every game O'Connell played in college, you'd have no clue. He was playing for a lousy, poorly coached team behind a dreadful OL. O'Connell essentially WAS his college offense -- he led the team in both passing and rushing.

So what the Pats drafted was simply an extraordinary package of raw potential.

Size/Atleticism: 6'5" 225 4.61/2.71/1.59 31" 09'05" 4.38 7.01
That's a rare, rare combo -- more like a top TE than a typical QB. Closest comparison on measurables may be Vince Young. Pre-draft analyses said his arm strength compared to Joe Flacco.

Intelligence/Intangibles:
4-year captain, hailed for his terrific leadership skills, toughness and confidence. Reported to have registered the #1 Wonderlic score of the year at the Combine.

Football Performance:
Gutsy, extremely productive, shaky form and fundamentals, tried to force big plays a little too often.

So who knows? I think KO landed in an ideal spot, with no pressure to start and a top coaching staff to break down his bad habits, build back his game from scratch, and take advantage of his tremendous raw talent. Is one year of that really enough, though?

 

[BradyBranch39]

This is one of the true unknowables (outside of the Patriots' organization).

This is what I used to think about Gutierrez.

 

[maverick4]

Brady produced after 1 yr on the bench, Cassel this year produced almost identical 01 Brady numbers after riding the bench for 3 years. How many years till KO is ready, 2?

The biggest problem I have is this guy is used to being the entire offense and multiple reports said he loves to make risky throws, likes to throw off his back foot too much, and go deep too often. Basically, too undisciplined and possibly less open to totally following coaching. All of the above sound a little too Bledsoe-esque to me, even though he probably also has great scrambling ability.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Basically, we have a young guy with a ton of athleticism, a great work ethic, and a lot of natural intelligence, whose fundamentals are shaky. Man, I wish he would have had another year to work with JMD, but, with the Patriots' coaching, that sounds promising.

 

[maverick4]

Basically, we have a young guy with a ton of athleticism, a great work ethic, and a lot of natural intelligence, whose fundamentals are shaky.

The same was said of Ben Watson when he became a Patriot 1st rd selection.... =/

 

[maverick4]

While trying to find some more info on O'Connell, I came across another QB from San Diego out of this year's draft, taken in the 5th rd by the Bucs, named Josh Johnson. Should be interesting to see how they turn out in the next few years, both from lesser known schools in San Diego with lots of upside.

NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Josh Johnson

This guy's head coach at SD was QB expert Jim Harbaugh, who said on record that Josh Johnson's mind is like 'Rich Gannon's. His senior year he threw for 43 TD's and only 1 int. His college career had 113 TD's to 15 int's, and he was the offensive MVP at the NCAA East-West all star game.

 

[mgteich]

The point of this thread is that posters here can evaluate talent better than the patriots. After a year, we can look at old college film and public scouting reports and figure out whether our 3rd rounder was really worth it and can be really be the #2.
===============
The reality is that our #2 QB for all of last year is likely thought of by the FO as highly as Cassel at the same point in his career. It is indeed important that Belichick thought that he was worth a #3 pick. While it is true that the patriots can find a QB in the 6th or 7th round, Belichick obviously thought a lot of O'Connell. Otherwise, he would have again picked up a QB in the 6th or 7th.

Apparently, for some O'Connell is good enough to be the #2 behind Cassel but not behind Brady. That makes little sense to me. Of course a veteran could have been brought in during the 2008 pre-season, and/or after Game 1, and could have been valuable late in the season if needed. Belichick decided that a veteran wasn't needed. Perhaps he will change his mind this year and bring in a veteran to take Gut's roster spot. I would have done that last year, and would do it again. HOWEVER, if we don't, then I'm fine. It means that O'Connell is really good enough to be our #2.

BTW, I expect Cassel's press conference for another team to be no later than March 3rd. That leaves almost 2 weeks of having ther franchise tag on him.

He was a good enough prospect for the Patriots to draft him in the 3rd round.