It seems like a right of passage every year after the NFL Draft concludes, many pundits are already looking forward to the 2021 version and the focus like most years is on the quarterback position. It seems like a consensus that Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are the cream of the crop, with the draft almost a year away from being held in Cleveland.
Since the 2000 draft, four Irish quarterbacks have been drafted, Jarious Jackson in ’00, Brady Quinn in ’07, Jimmy Clausen in ’10 and DeShone Kizer in ’17. None of them had much success in the NFL, but that has never stopped teams from selecting who they believe will be effective at the highest level. All it takes is that one elite season, see Washington selecting Dwyane Haskins or this year’s number one pick LSU’s Joey Burrow, for the NFL brass to change their views on a player.
ESPN looked at the 8 most likely drafted quarterbacks for this upcoming class, Book ended up being featured in their other QB’s to watch. The world wide leader told us what we already knew, that “Book has above-average athleticism and good accuracy, particularly in short and intermediate throws, but his downfield work and height (6-foot) don’t project as well to the next level.”
To me, the height isn’t an issue at all. Looking around the NFL numerous teams have successful QB’s that aren’t over 6-feet tall, New Orlean’s Drew Brees, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and Arizona’s Kyler Murray are just a few that height isn’t seen as a detractor.
What is a bit concerning at the next level is accuracy. This trait is viewed as something that is difficult to teach, either you have it or you don’t. Book had it in 2018, completing 68% of his passes during his sophomore year, but took a step back last year dropping 8% to just 60% completion rate. Yes, there were more than 80 more attempts, but a drop off should not have been as large. This could potentially hurt the way NFL team’s view Book.
With a big senior season, Book can change those narratives and become a viable NFL quarterback option for teams in the coming draft. He will need to improve his deep ball accuracy and if he can do that, could have a potentially huge season for the Irish this year. Here’s hoping Book can get better in that area, which would help the Irish in the short term and his NFL career in the long term.