Interesting Ringer article on qualities NFL gms should be looking at in quarterbacks (didn't see it posted)
Richner believes that though most of the keys to projecting quarterbacks lie in the numbers, traditional indicators like the ability to perform in a collapsing pocket, keeping your eyes up during a throw, and comfort with audibles are all still key components of the evaluation process. Richner’s biggest key, however, is completion percentage, particularly on third down, when passing windows are tightest—and that is where he differs greatly from many NFL evaluators. He believes Mayfield’s numbers resemble Drew Brees’s and that he’s well worth a high pick, and he also has USC’s Darnold as a first-round pick. He thinks Allen, he of the 56 percent completion rate, is not a prospect, and he believes that UCLA’s Rosen is “awful” because of the dip in his completion percentage from second to third down. He said the 12 percentage point dip is on par with Gabbert, Jimmy Clausen, and Locker. None of whom was … good. On the other side of the spectrum: Seattle’s Russell Wilson is the best collegiate passer on third down since 2009.
Will NFL Teams Ever Get Smarter About Drafting Quarterbacks?
here's another "uneducated" Ringer article which also addresses Jackson:
I keep seeing Jackson listed as the fifth-best quarterback in this draft class, after (in some order) Mayfield, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, and Josh Rosen. I can’t imagine watching college football over the past few years and coming away thinking that Jackson is the fifth best of those players at anything.
If Mayfield is the QB who was best at distributing the ball to his teammates, Jackson was the best at scoring his damn self. Lacking a strong supporting cast, he became a one-man show for Louisville, tallying 51 total touchdowns en route to a runaway Heisman Trophy victory as a sophomore and adding a piddly 45 touchdowns as a junior. One of my favorite games from the past few seasons was Clemson’s 42-36 win over Louisville in 2016, a high-flying duel between Jackson and Deshaun Watson. They combined for 854 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns.
For some reason, NFL scouts seem to believe that a quarterback’s ability to run the football effectively amounts to evidence that said QB is not good at passing. Watson’s success as a rookie was a rebuke of that. And yet here we are: Jackson is a gifted passer, and a former NFL general manager went on TV to say that he should play receiver because he also happens to be fast.
Personally, I think it’s a bonus that
Jackson can not only throw a football well—something few humans on the planet are capable of!—but also can
hurdle people,
dodge sprinting defenders with ease, and
outrun anybody pesky enough to try to pressure him. Sometimes quarterbacks have to do those things—in fact, it can be a very useful part of modern NFL strategy!
Baker Mayfield Should Be the Top Pick in the 2018 Draft
