2022 NFL Draft QB prospects

[tsweezy]

QB Prospects

 

Dekoda Link

Pocket QB, Oregon State, A- overall

9.3, Early 1st rounder

 

Potentially the top-QB in this draft: Dekoda boasts the highest overall rating with an A-. A 5 star prospect from Alabama who graduated from Oregon State, Dekoda didn't blow anybody away on the field last season with production, although he was squarely average to above-average in every metric compared to this top grouping of QBs. However, he really turned heads during his workouts, with the highest grades in the class for both Accuracy AND Distance drills. Boasting an A in the entire trinity of Football IQ, throw power, throw accuracy (1 of only 4 in this class to do so), he supplements that great performance with A's in strength, catching, and a B in agility and carrying, implying that he should be elusive in the pocket and not be an easy sack. A C in speed and stamina shouldn't matter too much as he will not make his bones scrambling (only 1 rush attempt for 0 yards in college). The only real "knock" on him is his D injury grade (although even this is in the top third of prospects here), and C+ potential. There are a few worries that he is "tapped out" and won't grow as much as a pro, but at minimum, he has the highest floor, and is the closest thing to a sure thing at the position. The NFL seems to agree, as in a poll of front staff around the league, Dekoda got 10 nods as the best QB in the draft, while no other QB got more than 1. The only negative note I heard was some trepidation over his numbers, "Link's pre-Draft is excellent, but almost counter to his college production."

 

Rashaan Lyons

Pocket QB, Kentucky, B+ overall

9.1, Early-mid 1st rounder

 

Another CFB Playoff QB, this is the 3rd 5-star QB in the draft class, coming out of Texas and playing for Kentucky. Great size for a pocket QB: 6'2 227 with a B+ overall grade, 2nd only to Dekoda. During his drills he wowed with "The power of a mortar mixed with the accuracy of a Tango 51 sniper rifle". He had the 2nd best Throw distance drill, and a top-5 Accuracy drill, putting him at 2nd overall amongst QBs behind only Dekoda.. Production-wise, he had a great season and college football fans will sing his praises as "the Lion of Lexington". Led Kentucky to a 14-1 record and CFB semifinals appearance. Best comp. pct in this class, 2nd best QBR, 2nd most YPA, 6k yards and only 6 INTs, all while throwing more passes than anybody not named Matt Howard. Again, as a pocket QB the athletic testing doesn't matter much to his success (although he did have the slowest 40 of this group), he also had a solid 35 wonderlic score. Ratings-wise, Rashaan is one of the 4 QBs to get the As in the trinity, and also has an A catching and strength. A C in speed, B in agility, C in carrying all combine to make him a little bit prone to being sacked, so teams would do well to get him

some good pass blockers. A D injury isn't phenomenal, but it isn't the worst and with a B- potential, teams can be sure there's still a little bit more polish you can put on his game. In the Front office sampling, Rashaan emerged as the consensus 2nd best quarterback, with staff saying: Lyons is a better leader and much more mature. Lyons' combine was phenomenal. Overall, I think Rashaan is as good a prospect as any to build your team around. He has proven production, phenomenal talent and showed out in drills, and has room to grow with good traits. He may not be the absolute best at any of those 3 things, but the combination puts him in the conversation to be the first QB taken and I have no doubt he'll go in the top half of the first

 

Matt Howard

Pocket QB, Florida State, B overall

9.0, Mid-1st round

 

Coming off a phenomenal, record-breaking college season, Matt Howard has a ton of hype and barely fell short of winning a national championship, losing to Tulsa by 7. 5 star prospect out of Henderson TX, 6'1 219 lbs pocket QB, received a B overall grade when coming out. In terms of production, he's off the charts, with almost 8k passing yards, 53 passing TDs (although this did come with almost 40% more passing attempts than the next highest player). He was not quite as efficient, but still had a competitive Comp Pct, YPA, and QBR. One knock is that he took by far the most sacks (39), which would still be the highest number even adjusted for passing attempts. A howitzer of an arm, with the 3rd best showing in the distance drill, Matt had just ok accuracy when tested, 3rd lowest of the top-11 QBs

In terms of ratings though, he still received an A in the triple IQ, Power, Accuracy along with As in catching, and strength. He has a B agility, D speed, and C carrying, so he's not the most elusive guy (further evidenced from his 39 sacks). Luckily he has one of the highest injury ratings, a B, so at the least teams can be pretty confident he won't get hurt while being slammed to the turf over and over

Projection wise, he has the lowest potential of this grouping at a C, so that is one of the biggest knocks, that his college production won't translate and he'll be unable to grow into a true franchise all-pro candidate. I don't hold pocket QBs to task for their athletic testing, so his mediocre performance there isn't a big issue, but his 26 wonderlic (10th out of 11 here) doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. In my opinion, Matt has just over the threshold for A in football IQ, and Throw accuracy, but he does indeed have a cannon and proven production abilities. I'm a bit lower than his #2 ranking, but he's still a first round candidate, especially for a team that wants to run a vertical offense. Based on other front office rankings, he seems to be either the 3rd or 4th consensus best QB, and he will likely go first round as there will definitely be a team that falls in love with his moxie, winning attitude, and strong arm, although one GM said “quite frankly Matt Howard is overrated” so we will see which narrative prevails

 

Yusei Asencio

Pocket QB, Ohio, B overall

8.5, 1st round

 

Yusei is one of my picks for an under the radar star, although how under-the-radar remains to be seen

He had a relatively low profile in college despite leading his Ohio team from the MAC into the playoffs and posting a 12-3 record. Not only did he showcase leadership for team success, he also had a statistically outstanding season, leading the country (by a huge margin) in YPA (12.7), QBR (208), and passing TDs (55), while throwing for 7k yards (2nd only to Matt howard) and a 71% completion rate off of only 555 attempts (not extreme usage). He only threw 7 INTs, although he did take 20 sacks as the only statistical knock. He is also the tallest QB in this draft group at 6'4 and boasts a B overall grade. The 2nd best accuracy grade and 4th best distance drill among this group, he showed out in draft prep, although as a pocket guy he did not look very athletic (explains all the sacks as well). In terms of ratings, he has the A throw power and accuracy, but only a B IQ (although a 34 wonderlic is actually pretty good). His speed and agility/carrying are pretty mediocre, and he has F stamina, but considering his performance in college, that shouldn't play too much of a role one would hope. The D injury is almost expected from the top group it seems, and a B potential is actually above average, so he does have plenty of room to grow.

Overall, the draft profile is a smaller school phenom who put up amazing stats, and looked good pre-draft, but doesn't quite have the elite ratings of a Dekoda Link. He didn't get a lot of explicit buzz around the league, but it is a bit surprising how little discussion he's stirred considering he's vying with Matt Howard as the consensus 3/4th best prospect I would project that Yusei is going to be one of the QBs drafted in the 1st round this year, but it may be at the tail end depending on how individual teams have their draft boards set

 

Chris Frazier

Balanced QB, UCONN, B- overall

8.2, mid-late 1st

 

The only balanced QB in this class, Chris comes out of UCONN at 6'0 and the only sub-200 lb QB and has a B- grade. UCONN had a rough season, and it shows up in Chris's stats. Only throwing 274 times, he had a pretty good 68% completion pct. but only 1634 yards, and a negative 6:8 TD:INT ratio leaving him near the bottom of this top group in production. He only ran 5 times gaining 4 yards, so wasn't a huge threat on the ground either. One note is that he did only play 987 snap, less than half the amount Matt Howard did, so a slightly smaller sample size. In the drills, Chris looked much more comfortable, with a ~7.5 score on each, leaving him as 6th best performance here, so he does have some raw talent.

His 35 wonderlic score was tied for 2nd, and athletically he was the best performer outside of the scramblers. Grade-wise, he is the 4th member of the triple A club in IQ, Accuracy, and Power, and combines that with an A in agility and strength which should have him able to maneuver the pocket well and scramble if he has to. Aside from that, he has a D stamina and injury which is not phenomenal, but the A potential is extremely enticing. When you mix the triple As with the A potential and good combine showing, it's definitely possible to envision him becoming a force to be reckoned with and a true face of the franchise one day, college production irrelevant. This thinking seems to be spreading around the league with comments like "Frazier is someone who is going unnoticed" and "look at Chris Frazier to become a late riser as the draft nears." I would project Chris as a top-5 QB in this class, and I do think he will wind up being drafted in the 1st so teams can eke out that 5th year with him while he blows up

 

David Paul

Field General QB, Oklahoma, B- overall

7.9, 2nd round

 

The first Field General on this list, David Paul leaves Oklahoma after a disappointing 4-8 season, but still holds a B- overall grade and fits in the top tier of QB prospects. Having a fairly sub-par drill performance, David had some accurate throws, but disappointed in the distance drill. In college, David was hampered by the lack of a coach, and a non-QB friendly offense, as he put up some rough numbers for a player of his caliber. Throwing for under 2000 yards with an even 13-13 TD:INT ratio is not a good look, nor is the 6.2 YPA. Again however, it is hard to read too much into it when Oklahoma as a whole had so many issues, but we could probably glean that he isn't single-handedly capable of carrying a franchise

On the bright side, while he has average athleticism, David is extremely smart, with a class-leading 42 on the wonderlic. He of course has the A football IQ, and an A throw accuracy, although only a B in throw power. The non-throwing ratings give him C speed, B agility, C carrying, B strength, and C stamina. So overall very average, nothing to write home about here but no major disqualifiers either. The biggest bright spot is his A potential rating. There is a lot of unused potential here and the right coach with an offense that doesn't rely heavily on deep shots could likely coax some great years out of him for the future. While I haven't said a lot positive so far, that is only in comparison to the top-end QBs in this class. David definitely fits in to the 2nd pack of QB prospects and has the potential to be a long term starter.

Based on our front office polling, David looks to be the 5th or 6th most highly thought of QB in this class, and will likely be a fringe 1st round candidate.

 

 

Russell Latimer

Scrambler QB, Iowa State, B- overall

7.9, 2-4th rounds

 

The first scrambler on our list, Russell comes out of Iowa State with a B- grade. At 6'0, 239 pounds Russell may not have prototypical height, but he is the heaviest of these prospects at 239. Interestingly, you would think that would give him some oomph to take hits, but his F injury grade seems to indicate that he may not be carrying the weight well for the amount he relies on his scrambling ability. at Iowa State, Russell definitely leaned more heavily on his legs, to the tune of an 1100 yard rushing season with 10 TDs at a 7 YPC clip. Unfortunately, his passing left something to be desired, finishing last in this group with 55% comp. pct, 5.4 YPA, 1300 yards, and a 9:13 TD:INT ratio and 102 QBR. He did however, only take 1 sack, so he's definitely elusive. Unfortunately, the drill portion only highlighted his deficiencies here as he posted the 2nd lowest score with a dismal distance showing and sub-par accuracy. Unsurprisingly, he is the fastest QB out here with legitimate 4.32 speed and good quickness in the shuttle and cone drills. Ratings wise: an A in speed (unsurprising), A agility, A carrying A strength show his running bonifides. However, the B IQ, B throwing power combo isn't phenomenal, although he did score an A in accuracy

As mentioned before, the F injury is a bit scary, and a D in stamina isn't great for a scrambler either

He does have A- potential though, so there could be more here than meets the eye. In the end, I would say that you'll definitely have to tailor your offense around Russell if he's drafted, and likely need to be patient for a few seasons, but down the road he could explode if the league isn't built to contain him.

He hasn't been getting a lot of buzz around the league, and I think this is one player who could slip to the mid rounds

 

 

Luke Trahan

Scrambler QB, TCU, B- overall

7.4, 2-4th rounds

 

Luke comes out of TCU as one of the most athletic, fastest prospects in the league regardless of position

A 4 star originally from Tampa, he led TCU to an 8-5 record, mostly on arm talent. Despite boasting great athleticism he seemed encouraged to not take off too frequently, as he only ran 28 times for 89 yards and 1 touchdown, with a longest run of 8 yards. Quite frankly, this is a little concerning if you draft him envisioning a lot of home run carries. Where he really excels is escaping the pocket as it breaks down, recording 0 sacks on 475 pass attempts!! Passing wise: he was not in the best scheme, but put up respectable numbers: 3533 yards, 61% completion, and 23:10 TD:INT. At his workouts, he ran a 4.3, nearly went sub-4 in the shuttle, and led the QB class in vert, broad, and 3-cone, second in benching, and still kept a respectable 30 wonderlic. His passing drills weren't phenomenal: getting 6.5 and 6.6 in accuracy and distance, but that score is not abysmal and he should certainly be serviceable. A B- overall, he boasts As in speed, agility, carrying and strength with Bs in IQ, Throw power and accuracy, and a C stamina so he should be alright on that front. An F injury rating could be an anchor though, as teams are already wary of scramblers and their propensity to take hits (although Luke didn't rush a ton anyways).

Lastly, he has B+ potential, so if a team does ant a scrambler, I think he's at the top of the list, or at worst 2nd in this draft class. I do not think he goes in the first round, as I've heard "I really like Trahan but the fact that he doesn't have an A in throw power or accuracy moves him down my list". I do however believe he will be drafted before round 4

 

 

Brandon Ramirez

Pocket QB, Arkansas, C+ overall

7.2, 3-5th rounds

 

A pocket guy from Arkansas, Brandon has a C+ rating, but has looked a little better than that in the stats

Last year he hit a 72% completion, extremely high, and his game seemed to be about efficiency rather than big numbers, but he was pretty solid on the field. He turned heads during the throwing drills, with the 5th best combined score out of all QBs. A rated throw power and accuracy, with a B in football IQ (and no wonderlic info), he's nothing special athletically, but does have A stamina and B injury which are great plusses for him. The A- potential is also a really good look and probably vaults him near the top of developmental guys you look for. I'm actually pretty impressed by his showing, and think that after you leave the top-tier of QBs you want as starters, this guy is near the top of the list for developmental prospects to sit for a year or 2 and grow before getting on the field

I would think he'll go in the mid rounds, 3-5

 

 

Joel Patton

Scrambler QB, Oklahoma State, C overall

5.0, 7th/UDFA

 

Joel is the last scrambling prospect, and is a true burner, just a hair slower than luke, but out-benched him by 1. A C prospect from OKST, he put up the 2nd most rushing yards with 266 although he is by far the worst QB production on this list. less than 200 pass attempts, only 1018 passing yards with 3 TD and 5 INTs is not a good look. His drills also looked fairly bad with a 5.69 and 5.3. He has an A in all the rushing stats, but a B IQ, B Power and C accuracy leave something to be desired. Nothing special in the "intangibles" either with a D stamina, C injury, and only C+ potential. I think Joel is destined to be a late round pickup to be a rushing backup for a team committed to the scrambler, if he gets drafted at all

[acewulf]

There's a distinct lack of Bud Coleman here ?

[tsweezy]

Maybe he should’ve been better ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.