In the debut episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg and Doug discussed the non-negotiable attributes for draft prospect quarterbacks, offensive tackles, edge defenders, and cornerbacks.
When it comes to draftable quarterbacks, it’s a bit like real estate — it’s all about location, location, location.
Greg: “I would say it starts with ball location. If you can’t control the football — if you can’t throw the football where you want to throw it — you don’t really have anything. The word ‘accuracy’ gets used a lot, and that’s a more general term, but if you go back to the Bill Walshes of the world, and some people might say, ‘Who’s Bill Walsh?’ But he was one of the greatest quarterback coaches and teachers the game has ever seen, [and he would tell you] it’s about ball location. I’ve had this conversation with coaches and former quarterbacks. I remember having a great conversation with Troy Aikman years ago, and this was after he retired, and he told me, ‘If you can’t throw it where you want to, then it doesn’t matter what else you can do.’ So, it starts there. Because no matter whether you’re throwing it from the pocket or on the run, if you cannot control the football and place it where you want to, you will not be successful.
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“That is really the No. 1 starting point. You can make a list of 15 different traits, and pretty much every quarterback coach and coordinator would have the same 15 traits, and it would just be a matter of what value they ascribe to each one. But my guess is, they would all start with ball location.”
Top prospects C.J. Stroud from Ohio State, and Alabama’s Bryce Young, each have reams of tape in which their ball location is above reproach, so NFL teams will be starting there when looking for quarterback attributes in the 2023 NFL draft evaluation cycle.
