It’s still going to be a while before the 2014 NFL Draft class of quarterbacks fully matures, but it’s historic for a few reasons – mainly because of a certain Heisman-winner out of Texas A&M.
February 2, 2016It’s still going to be a while before the 2014 NFL Draft class of quarterbacks fully matures, but it’s historic for a few reasons – mainly because of a certain Heisman-winner out of Texas A&M.
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It’s working out well. Surrounded by a ton of young receiver talent, Bortles needs to be more accurate – he needs to start hitting over 60% of his throws completing 58.7% of his throws – but he bombed for 4,428 yards and 35 touchdowns last season with 18 interceptions. Not just a big passer, he’s a runner, too, taking off for 729 yards and two scores. It’ll take a little more time, but he’s growing into a true franchise leader.
A lot of normally smart people went dopey when it came to analyzing a punter-sized party boy without NFL skills. I’m not normally smart, but at least I got this one right by calling him a mid-round talent, at best. However, he has the potential to be a good starter if he can get his life in order. He’ll never be a championship quarterback, but he wasn’t totally miserable in 2015 when he got his chances completing 58% of his throws for 1,500 yards and seven touchdowns with five picks in his limited time.
Remember, he’s really, really young. He set records for passing by a quarterback under 23, and he’s still growing into the job. After two years, he led the Vikings to a playoff appearance throwing for 6,150 yards and 28 touchdowns with 21 interceptions, hitting 65% of his passes. He appears to be the one who finally solved Minnesota’s quarterbacking problems.
There was some concern that he wasn’t tall enough and put up his huge numbers outside of a Power 5 conference, and now he’s looking like one of the best young quarterbacks in football coming off a Pro Bowl season. He completed close to 60% of his passes for 7,257 yards and 53 touchdowns with 25 picks in his first two years – he’s the quarterback Cleveland should’ve taken. Duh.
One of everyone’s hot quarterback prospects, he was about to be The Guy if Tom Brady was going to be suspended for Deflategate – but he spent the year mostly on the bench. He hasn’t really gotten his big chance yet, completing just 20-of-31 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown in his two years.
Thomas had everything you could possibly want out of an NFL quarterback prospect except for the ability to play football well. He’s big, he’s strong, and he has a huge arm, but he can’t play, completing 1-of-9 passes for 81 yards and a score – that was one big throw – before landing with the Miami Dolphins.
One of the high-risers in the draft process, he completed 10-of-19 passes for 127 yards and no touchdowns with a pick in 2014. Unfortunately, Houston needed a quarterback more than any team in the NFL, and Savage wasn’t part of the mix with a shoulder injury.
Nope. He wasn’t big enough, didn’t have the arm, and didn’t have the skills. However, he’s just good enough to hold a clipboard. That didn’t keep Kansas City from making a huge mistake by taking him one pick before …
Pat myself on the back time – I screamed that he might turn out to be one of the better starting quarterbacks from this draft. He filled in well for Andy Dalton late in the 2015 season and did enough to win a playoff game – Pittsburgh just happened to be better. He completed 66% of his passes for 854 yards and six scores and two picks in his limited time – he looks the part.
He has the size, he has the arm, and he has the raw NFL skills, but he’s not a pro starter. However, he’s just good enough as a sixth round pick to hang around the league as a decent emergency backup completing 60% of his throws for 2,347 yards and 12 touchdowns with 14 picks in his two years. One problem: He’s 0-10 as a starter.
11. David Fales, San Jose State: Chicago
12. Keith Wenning, Ball State: Baltimore
13. Tajh Boyd, Clemson: NY Jets
14. Garrett Gilbert, SMU: St. Louis