Category: Quarterbacks

2020 NFL draft: Tyler Huntley scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Utah quarterback prospect Tyler Huntley

Tyler Huntley | QB | Utah

Elevator Pitch

One of the more notable NFL Combine snubs, Huntley is one of the more exciting quarterbacks of the class to watch. He won’t get the fanfare of a Tua Tagovailoa or Joe Burrow but he does possess some traits that will translate. Bit of a project early on in his career. Huntley can challenge a defense with his legs at the next level.

Vitals

Height | 6-1

Weight | 205

Class | Senior

College Stats

College Bio

Strengths

Immediately what comes to mind with Huntley is his ability to escape the pocket when he senses trouble. Not just a tuck-and-run guy, but he can extend plays with his legs and zip the ball downfield to the receiver. While he keeps his eyes downfield, Huntley is well aware where the markers are and will run. His footwork allows him to beat the defense with a variation of jukes. He does it well inside the pocket as well to give him time to find his read. His poise in the pocket is definitely a plus on the checklist.

Huntley has more than just an adequate arm. He shows good velocity on deep throws, especially off play action. Shows a good ball fake that linebackers will bite on before ripping it downfield. Really never a question of his velocity, just needs to make sure he doesn’t attempt too many off his back foot. A multi-platform thrower, doesn’t need a perfectly clean pocket to get the ball out as he will adjust his arm angle.

Weaknesses

The biggest questions on Huntley stem from his mechanics. His arm has plenty of juice when throwing the ball downfield but he needs to work on getting his feet set in the pocket. When his process is accelerated, can get slopping with throwing off his back foot or not resetting in the pocket. A lot of his accuracy issues would likely get better with proper mechanics but it is still a relative unknown with how much it will help his deep ball accuracy. He tends to sail some intermediate throws with a muddy pocket.

Huntley will need to get better with getting through his progressions. As a member of the Utah Utes, it felt like he was a one read and rip it quarterback. A big reason why his decision making was poor at times, needs to get through his second and third reads. Needs a better understanding of where to attack a defense in zone coverage, felt like he was easily baited.

Projection: Day 3

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2020 NFL draft: Jacob Eason scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Washington quarterback prospect Jacob Eason

Jacob Eason | QB | Washington

Elevator Pitch

Eason is your prototypical pocket passer. Before the likes of Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes, Eason would be the type of quarterback that would be the first quarterback taken in the NFL Draft. Big arm and will stand in the pocket to make the throws. Very reminiscent of Josh Allen of Buffalo. Likely will find himself in the first round as quarterback is consistently over-drafted.

Vitals

Height | 6-6

Weight | 231

Class | Redshirt Junior

College Stats

College Bio

Combine Profile

Strengths

Big-time arm, Eason has a howitzer for an arm. He can stand in the pocket and rip it down the field with ease. He really excels on deep shots coming off of play action. Scouts will salivate at his ability to make deep breaking routes to all areas of the field. He has plus velocity that allows him to get the ball into tight spaces despite coverages.

Eason will stand in the pocket like a statue. Despite pass rushers making a beat on him, the Huskies’ quarterback will stand his ground and chuck it down the field. His strong hands also allows him to hold onto the ball even with edge rushers ripping at the ball to create a turnover.

Despite his size, Eason does a good job of moving around in the pocket if need be. He can create big plays on the move due to his arm strength and the ability to rip it at a moment’s notice. The former Georgia quarterback isn’t a high risk quarterback as he will make sound decisions even under duress.

Weaknesses

One of the big aspects of his game that Eason needs the most work on is within the pocket. His footwork can be very sloppy at times. Eason can be a bit elongated in his dropbacks. On quicker throws, needs to hurry up his process. Often times can be flat footed, while he has the arm strength to get away with it, NFL defenders will be able to take advantage of the poor mechanics. He doesn’t handle pressure well either.

When it comes to throwing the football, Eason has one pitch. Everything that comes out of his hand is a fastball. He needs to work on having more touch on the short and intermediate throws. The other part being that he needs to see the field better, at times he goes with his presnap reads and doesn’t go through his progressions.

Projection: 1st Round

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2020 NFL draft: Jordan Love scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Utah State quarterback prospect Jordan Love

Jordan Love | QB | Utah State

Elevator Pitch

Love has the upside to develop into a franchise quarterback at the next level. His regression in 2019 is cause for concern, but his top-notch arm strength, mobility in and out of the pocket and the flashes of elite touch behind his throws make him an enticing prospect. The bust potential is definitely there, but his ceiling is as high as any quarterback in this class.

Vitals

Height | 6-4

Weight | 224

College Bio Page

Career Stats

Strengths

When Love is on, he’s really on.

His arm strength is among the best in the class, as he throws with great velocity behind his passes and can hit receivers at any spot on the field. He has the ability to deliver rockets from awkward throwing angles that players like Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson display in the NFL. Love’s accuracy has shown elite flashes, as he can throw with a great sense of timing and anticipation behind some of his throws.

Love is a solid athlete for the quarterback position. He can move around and maneuver the pocket well, and he has the agility and breakaway speed to offer some value if he takes off with the ball. His lower-body mechanics and hip work are great in a clean pocket; he crisply rotates his hips along with his arm in his throwing motion. Though his production fell off a little bit in 2019, his 2018 tape was fantastic. He was a playmaker who made several big-time throws per game.

Weaknesses

With the departure of players like Darwin Thompson and Dax Raymond after 2018, Love’s performance fell off significantly in his junior year.

His production went 32 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 2018 to 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 2019, averaging more than one interception per game. He has a tendency to force throws, neglecting other reads and sticking his with first read no matter what. His arm is certainly strong, but he sometimes trusts it a little too much.

Love’s upper-body mechanics could use some improvement. He has a bit of an elongated throwing motion and a slow-ish release that should be cleaned up a bit. He also has a tendency to panic under pressure, showing jittery footwork in a collapsing pocket and not rotating his hips all the way to follow through on his ball. That has shown some affect on his accuracy when defenders get in his face.

Projection: Top 20

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2020 NFL draft: Jalen Hurts scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts

Jalen Hurts | QB | Oklahoma

Height | 6-2

Weight | 219

College Bio Page

Career Stats

Strengths

Hurts’ transformation from a barely draftable prospect to one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2020 class has been fun to watch this season.

The NFL is a copycat league, and with the success of Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray this year, some team is bound to try and replicate that success with Hurts under center. He is a dynamic athlete with very good lateral agility both in the pocket and in the open field, and while not quite as fast as the aforementioned two, he still has great breakaway speed for the quarterback position.

Hurts was always a good athlete at Alabama, but his improvement as a passer since transferring to Oklahoma is what has teams impressed. His sense of timing and anticipation has gotten a lot better, as he has shown flashes of great placement on the deep ball. He has good velocity behind his throws and can fit his passes into tight windows. Throwing on the run is another asset in his game, as his athleticism and accuracy make him a tough quarterback to defend when he rolls out or scrambles.

Weaknesses

Though Hurts has gotten better as a passer, he still has quite a bit of work to be done.

His throwing motion is elongated and his release is too slow. That, combined with his tendency to lob deep balls, could make him an easy target for NFL defensive backs to read and pick off more easily than Big 12 defenders. He is also, for the most part, a one-read quarterback who locks into his targets too often and forces throws.

Hurts also tends to struggle under pressure. He has the athleticism to maneuver around defenders and extend the play, but he does so at the expense of reading the field, as he often keeps his head down and focuses more on running around in a backyard style of quarterbacking than he does scanning the field and finding the open man. He can be more consistent in terms of identifying the checkdown option and going through his progressions.

Bottom Line

Hurts is a dual-threat quarterback with ample athleticism who has shown improvements as a passer. He’s still a work in progress, but there will be a team willing to take a gamble on him fairly early in the draft.

Projection: Round 2

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2020 NFL draft: Justin Herbert scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert | QB | Oregon

Height | 6-6

Weight | 237

College Bio Page

Career Stats

Strengths

If you sculpted the prototypical quarterback prospect, odds are it would look a lot like Herbert.

Tall and well-built, Herbert has an impressive frame that teams love at the quarterback position. He possesses a very strong arm, as his throws carry great velocity and can travel a long distance. He has the natural arm strength to deliver rockets regardless of his footing or body positioning. The force behind his throws allows him to fit passes into tight windows on a pretty regular basis.

Herbert is a good athlete who can evade defenders in the pocket and pick up yards with his feet if necessary. He delivers the ball with a quick release and sound upper-body mechanics. His throws are executed with a solid sense of anticipation, and he has flashed deadly touch on the deep ball at times. Jump-ball situations are a specialty of Herbert’s, as he does a very good job of placing his throws right where the receiver can grab them.

Herbert has a reliable resume, having being a starter at Oregon for four years. The senior has a lot of quality tape to his name, and that will certainly entice teams during the draft process. Herbert is also a biology major who finished with a 4.01 GPA and is known for excelling in the classroom, as well as on the field.

Weaknesses

Though Herbert has had plenty of reps at the collegiate level, he still has some fine-tuning to do to his game.

His footwork has the tendency to fall apart in a collapsing pocket, thus hurting his ability to deliver an accurate ball. He drops back with a bit of a wide base and could stand to narrow his approach ever so slightly. Oregon’s offense doesn’t require him to look past his first read very often, and he has shown struggles with forcing throws and being unable to consistently read the field.

The touch on Herbert’s throws can be perfect at times, but he still needs some more consistency in that regard. He can overthrow his targets on deep balls from time to time and can get better at timing his vertical throws. He is also prone to firing rockets on short passes in situations that don’t require them, which can make it tougher for his targets — running backs, in particular — to make the catch.

Bottom Line

A productive, proven starter at the collegiate level with physical tools aplenty, Herbert has the potential to become a franchise quarterback at the next level. With Tua Tagovailoa’s injury likely dropping his stock, expect Herbert to be the second quarterback selected in the 2020 draft.

Projection: Top 10