How good is this crop of QB's coming out?

[loudnproudcolt]

Well Bridgewater is coming out, Bortles is a senior I believe, Manziel is declaring, don't know about Hundley yet (UCLA), and Derek Carr which a lot of people have not heard of much, but is getting a lot of love. The college game has changed so much, very few run pro offenses where you go through many progressions, so you really need to judge on accuracy, strength of arm, etc.

 

I ask the question because Houston is the number one pick, and Jacksonville is number four. They are both going to take QB's along with Cleveland, Schefter reports. St. Louis is looking to trade back the number two, so someone could move up. (Was that a great deal for St. Louis on the RGIII trade!) Personally, I think Bradford is injury prone, and not a franchise QB, and they should draft a QB, but they continue to say he is their future. We will see. Still with our division getting ready to draft two QB's who we will compete against, and history says one will be good, one will bust, 50/50 shot, who would you draft, and how do you rank the class. I think Houston goes after Bridgewater, Cleveland is behind Jacksonville, but they like Manziel according to chatter, and have the draft picks thanks to us partly to move up, and Jacksonville, not sure who I would take.

 

Although I like the QB's this year, it is not nearly the class of 2012 talent wise. Each one has flaws, and will get dissected through the process, but we will be facing two of them twice a year for the next several years, so I am intererested in your thoughts!

[Gavin]

Bridgewater and Bortles are my top two...but Bortles has not declared......He is a real good Bowl game vs Baylor right now but not a great one.... 301 yards passing 3 TD's but 2 int's 20 of 31 passing, Im not sure it would be a good move for him to come out though, Except for the Texans who pick 1st I would not wish him to land on any of the first 7 teams which I think if he came out he would be a top 5 pick

[Balzer40]

Not real impressed with any QB in this class, but if I had to choose one who I think could turn into a decent to good QB...it would be Bridgewater. If I had to choose one to be a total flop...it would be Manziel without a doubt.

[Dustin]

Bridgewater and Bortles are my top two...but Bortles has not declared......He is a real good Bowl game vs Baylor right now but not a great one.... 301 yards passing 3 TD's but 2 int's 20 of 31 passing, Im not sure it would be a good move for him to come out though, Except for the Texans who pick 1st I would not wish him to land on any of the first 7 teams which I think if he came out he would be a top 5 pick

 

Did you watch Bortles in the bowl game? At least 200 of his 300 yards had to be after the catch. 

[Superman]

I don't think any of these guys are ready to start right away in the NFL. 

[Dustin]

Bridgewater is the most pro-ready. He has everything you look for in a franchise QB. He reminds me of Aaron Rodgers when he was coming out of Cal. 

 

Carr has the highest bust potential IMO. He has a strong arm, but not really anything else that spectacular. He has a case of the happy feet when he's under pressure reminiscent of Blaine Gabbert. Ceiling is Jay Cutler IMO.

 

Bortles: He'll have to sit a few years to be successful IMO. Reminds me of Jake Locker. He has a lot of unrealized potential. 

 

Manziel: Biggest wildcard here. I personally think he'll be solid at the NFL level. A good runner, but an average to below average passer. He'll probably be an injury-risk his entire career.

 

All in all, not as good as was previously thought. Would have been better without an injury to Mettenberger and Mariota returning. 

[Andy]

There is incredible depth in this QB class. You can find a lot of solid quarterbacks in the 3rd, 4th, and hell even 5th round. Some names in those rounds include Tajh Boyd, David Fales, Sean Mannion, Aaron Murray, and Brett smith to name a few.

 

The guys that highlight the QB class are Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel, Derek Carr and Blake Bortles. The most proven out of those 4 is hands down Teddy Bridgewater, who is easily the most NFL ready of the bunch.

 

Manziel is an electryfing, but in my opinion, lacks a consistent accurate arm that NFL teams look for in a top 15 starter.

 

Carr has a great arm, but he's an aggressive quarterback who takes a lot of risks.

 

Bortles is unproven if you ask me. He's got a great arm, but they don't utilize him that well in his offense. He puts up great numbers, but it's not the right offense for me. Either way, he's got good talent and can make all the throws. He also needs to declare.

[Superman]

Bridgewater is the most pro-ready. He has everything you look for in a franchise QB. He reminds me of Aaron Rodgers when he was coming out of Cal. 

 

Carr has the highest bust potential IMO. He has a strong arm, but not really anything else that spectacular. He has a case of the happy feet when he's under pressure reminiscent of Blaine Gabbert. Ceiling is Jay Cutler IMO.

 

Bortles: He'll have to sit a few years to be successful IMO. Reminds me of Jake Locker. He has a lot of unrealized potential. 

 

Manziel: Biggest wildcard here. I personally think he'll be solid at the NFL level. A good runner, but an average to below average passer. He'll probably be an injury-risk his entire career.

 

All in all, not as good as was previously thought. Would have been better without an injury to Mettenberger and Mariota returning. 

 

I'm not impressed by Bridgewater's arm or his pocket skills. Most of what he does is a quick hitter out of the gun/pistol, or off of the bootleg. He has good medium velocity, but his deep balls aren't very good. Good decision making, quick release. He's good on intermediate throws and up the seam, which is very important. Throws a nice out route. I wouldn't want to spend a first rounder on him, and I think he will take some time to get used to the speed of NFL defenses. If you're starting him as a rookie, you're writing his first season off. JMO

 

Edit: His delivery/arm slot reminds me of Vince Young. That's not necessarily a problem, but it causes some of his balls to sail on him.

[Dustin]

I'm not impressed by Bridgewater's arm or his pocket skills. Most of what he does is a quick hitter out of the gun/pistol, or off of the bootleg. He has good medium velocity, but his deep balls aren't very good. Good decision making, quick release. He's good on intermediate throws and up the seam, which is very important. Throws a nice out route. I wouldn't want to spend a first rounder on him, and I think he will take some time to get used to the speed of NFL defenses. If you're starting him as a rookie, you're writing his first season off. JMO

I disagree entirely (well, almost) I think he moves great in the pocket. Steps up into his throws and feels blindside pressure. I also disagree woth your assertion that he takes most of his snaps from the shutgun/pistol. I don't know if you have watched all of Louisville's games, but Bridgewater is constantly taking snaps from under center with 3, 5, and 7 step drops.

His deep accuracy leaves a lot to be desired, but there have been plenty of QBs who have been successful without a overly accurate deep pass (Tom Brady).

His touch and ability to understand where to put the ball to maxify YAC is better than almost every other prospect I've seen in the past few years. His ability to change the angle of his arm to throw the ball from any position is second to none.

He's smart, a hard worker by all accounts and on top of that has underrated mobility.

As for adjusting to NFL speed, that is pretty much the story for every rookie QB.

Sorry for any typos, im on my phone and to tired to read through it again. Hahah

[Dustin]

On top of that, his footwork is also almost flawless.

[Superman]

I disagree entirely (well, almost) I think he moves great in the pocket. Steps up into his throws and feels blindside pressure. I also disagree woth your assertion that he takes most of his snaps from the shutgun/pistol. I don't know if you have watched all of Louisville's games, but Bridgewater is constantly taking snaps from under center with 3, 5, and 7 step drops.

His deep accuracy leaves a lot to be desired, but there have been plenty of QBs who have been successful without a overly accurate deep pass (Tom Brady).

His touch and ability to understand where to put the ball to maxify YAC is better than almost every other prospect I've seen in the past few years. His ability to change the angle of his arm to throw the ball from any position is second to none.

He's smart, a hard worker by all accounts and on top of that has underrated mobility.

As for adjusting to NFL speed, that is pretty much the story for every rookie QB.

Sorry for any typos, im on my phone and to tired to read through it again. Hahah

 

I'll defer to you. I've only watched a couple of his games, and a couple tapes. I didn't see more than a handful of actual drops, and saw almost no pocket work. Plenty of standing behind the line with no rush coming at him, no climbing the pocket, no five step plant and throw. He felt blindside pressure, but that's from behind the line, not in the pocket. I hear a lot of people praising his footwork, but I haven't seen him work the pocket.

 

If that's not representative of what he normally does, that's fine. I certainly didn't see anything that makes me think he can't play in the NFL. Just saying that I didn't come away thinking he was a can't miss prospect to be a solid pro. 

 

One more thing, I do agree with you about his ability to hit his receivers in stride, especially when they're coming across the field. He throws with great touch up the seam and on moderate sideline routes. But too many underthrows on deep routes.

[NewColtsFan]

Well Bridgewater is coming out, Bortles is a senior I believe, Manziel is declaring, don't know about Hundley yet (UCLA), and Derek Carr which a lot of people have not heard of much, but is getting a lot of love. The college game has changed so much, very few run pro offenses where you go through many progressions, so you really need to judge on accuracy, strength of arm, etc.

 

I ask the question because Houston is the number one pick, and Jacksonville is number four. They are both going to take QB's along with Cleveland, Schefter reports. St. Louis is looking to trade back the number two, so someone could move up. (Was that a great deal for St. Louis on the RGIII trade!) Personally, I think Bradford is injury prone, and not a franchise QB, and they should draft a QB, but they continue to say he is their future. We will see. Still with our division getting ready to draft two QB's who we will compete against, and history says one will be good, one will bust, 50/50 shot, who would you draft, and how do you rank the class. I think Houston goes after Bridgewater, Cleveland is behind Jacksonville, but they like Manziel according to chatter, and have the draft picks thanks to us partly to move up, and Jacksonville, not sure who I would take.

 

Although I like the QB's this year, it is not nearly the class of 2012 talent wise. Each one has flaws, and will get dissected through the process, but we will be facing two of them twice a year for the next several years, so I am intererested in your thoughts!

 

The class is ok....   or fine...   but it's not special, or even great.

 

Proof of that came today from Houston Owner Robert McNair who announced the Texans will entertain all offers for the #1 pick.

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10238006/houston-texans-owner-bob-mcnair-open-trading-no-1-pick

 

 

Remember when Luck came out?     The exact opposite.

 

Off the top of my head,  from the last three drafts alone, at least 4 QB's are on the playoffs that were NOT drafted in the first round.    Kaepernick and Dalton were 2's,  Wilson and Foles were 3's.

 

So,  QB's can be found...

 

Feels like the Texans may not love any QB enough to take them first overall.   So,  at least try to trade down so you can collect pick(s) and see if you can still get the same QB you like the most......   or, at worst,  2nd most....

 

Seems reasonable.

[Gavin]

The class is ok....   or fine...   but it's not special, or even great.

 

Proof of that came today from Houston Owner Robert McNair who announced the Texans will entertain all offers for the #1 pick.

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10238006/houston-texans-owner-bob-mcnair-open-trading-no-1-pick

 

 

Remember when Luck came out?     The exact opposite.

 

Off the top of my head,  from the last three drafts alone, at least 4 QB's are on the playoffs that were NOT drafted in the first round.    Kaepernick and Dalton were 2's,  Wilson and Foles were 3's.

 

So,  QB's can be found...

 

Feels like the Texans may not love any QB enough to take them first overall.   So,  at least try to trade down so you can collect pick(s) and see if you can still get the same QB you like the most......   or, at worst,  2nd most....

 

Seems reasonable.

"Feels like the Texans may not love any QB enough to take them first overall. So, at least try to trade down so you can collect pick(s) and see if you can still get the same QB you like the most"

 

 

I think thats what they will do

[esmort]

The class is ok....   or fine...   but it's not special, or even great.

 

Proof of that came today from Houston Owner Robert McNair who announced the Texans will entertain all offers for the #1 pick.

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10238006/houston-texans-owner-bob-mcnair-open-trading-no-1-pick

 

 

Remember when Luck came out?     The exact opposite.

 

Off the top of my head,  from the last three drafts alone, at least 4 QB's are on the playoffs that were NOT drafted in the first round.    Kaepernick and Dalton were 2's,  Wilson and Foles were 3's.

 

So,  QB's can be found...

 

Feels like the Texans may not love any QB enough to take them first overall.   So,  at least try to trade down so you can collect pick(s) and see if you can still get the same QB you like the most......   or, at worst,  2nd most....

 

Seems reasonable.

 

I agree that's probably what they would like to do, but with the way the draft is stacked I think if they really do want a specific top QB or even if they like 3 of the top QBs they are taking a big risk trading down, even if its just to Cleveland's #4 pick. 

 

Because you know in that scenario Cleveland is coming up for a QB, and with the Rams sitting at #2 willing to trade there is a chance Oakland, Minn, or even TB trade up and grab a QB (especially with new HCs). Then odds are pretty good Jax takes a QB at #3. 

 

So there is a chance 3 Qbs are gone by the 4th pick, almost certainly 2 ... seems risky; I think Houston would have to really be unimpressed with any of the top QBs or think they can get themselves a "Russell Wilson" later to risk a trade back.

[coltsfanatic24]

It's decent but i think Manziel will be the best QB in the draft. There's something about him hard to explain but he just make plays. Luck is a carbon copy of Peyton/Rodgers and Manziel is the same to Fran Tarketon. I think he's gonna be really good.

[dw49]

Well Bridgewater is coming out, Bortles is a senior I believe, Manziel is declaring, don't know about Hundley yet (UCLA), and Derek Carr which a lot of people have not heard of much, but is getting a lot of love. The college game has changed so much, very few run pro offenses where you go through many progressions, so you really need to judge on accuracy, strength of arm, etc.

 

I ask the question because Houston is the number one pick, and Jacksonville is number four. They are both going to take QB's along with Cleveland, Schefter reports. St. Louis is looking to trade back the number two, so someone could move up. (Was that a great deal for St. Louis on the RGIII trade!) Personally, I think Bradford is injury prone, and not a franchise QB, and they should draft a QB, but they continue to say he is their future. We will see. Still with our division getting ready to draft two QB's who we will compete against, and history says one will be good, one will bust, 50/50 shot, who would you draft, and how do you rank the class. I think Houston goes after Bridgewater, Cleveland is behind Jacksonville, but they like Manziel according to chatter, and have the draft picks thanks to us partly to move up, and Jacksonville, not sure who I would take.

 

Although I like the QB's this year, it is not nearly the class of 2012 talent wise. Each one has flaws, and will get dissected through the process, but we will be facing two of them twice a year for the next several years, so I am intererested in your thoughts!

 

 

Jacksonville is at 3 , not 4. Don't mean to nit pick you but you have Bridgewater , Clowney and if one other guy "moves up" , one spot could be big for the Jags. Or if they want to trade up a spot or two for the best QB , it could be much easier being at 3 rather than 4. But Houston and Jack probably don't deal with each other in this instance.

[T Y Goodbye]

Mariota and Hundley have stated they are going back to school, which personally, I think its a good decision on their part.. The only other I wish wold have stayed is Bortles.He has the talent, but, as another poster said, its going to take him a few years to get there, and I think would have better staying 1 more year and working on his game.