Anyone who follows the NFL Draft knows that Mel Kiper, Jr. is the guru of all of it. Even though several of his predictions end up being nowhere near to correct, he’s been doing this as long as any other expert and is the first name most think of when draft experts are discussed.
Kiper joined the ESPN College Football podcast recently and shared his opinions on the 2021 NFL Draft class of quarterbacks while offering a breakdown of Notre Dame’s current signal caller, Ian Book.
“I’m a big Notre Dame fan, as you know,” Kiper said.
-Disclaimer: I actually had no idea about this. I know he’s been more than generous about some Notre Dame players scouting reports over the years but I had no idea he was actually an open Notre Dame fan. Not that it really matters. Anyway, back to Book.
“Ian Book is just a good college quarterback. I think, as a backup in the NFL, that’s what you’re hoping maybe he can develop into. He’s not Jake Fromm. Look where Jake Fromm went, fifth round. Is he as good as Jake Fromm? No. His grade is not going to be as high. Jake Fromm went in the fifth round to be in Buffalo backing up Josh Allen. Ian Book is just a good college quarterback, consistent week in and week out.”
“I have him at nine in terms of the quarterbacks. He’s in that mid-round to late-round type of guy.”
Mel Kiper, Jr. on Ian Book as a potential NFL Quarterback
I like that he brings up the comparison to Fromm because there is a lot to compare there for Notre Dame fans. When you think back to the 2019 game against Georgia what was the biggest difference in the game?
Notre Dame’s defense could play with Georgia’s but the difference between Fromm and Book was as telling as anything else that night. Fromm made what would be seen as closer to “big time throws” while Book simply didn’t.
If Fromm was worthy of a fifth round pick, my best guess is that it’s borderline at best that Book would even be drafted right now. That said, there is a full season of football (hopefully) for Book’s stock to (hopefully) grow.
Fromm was nowhere near an elite college quarterback, at least when you’re talking Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields, but he was also a good college quarterback.
I don’t have a ton of faith in Ian Book making an enormous leap and and getting much higher than ninth in most rankings of potential quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft, but he is a solid college quarterback and clearly the best option for Notre Dame as the 2020 season approaches.