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Going into the 2020 NFL Draft, there is one Michigan State Football player whose future seems most uncertain, and that is former Spartan quarterback Brian Lewerke. Lewerke had an extremely up-and-down career at Michigan State, but after putting up a nice performance at the NFL combine which included an above-average score on the Wonderlic test, Lewerke could see a rise in his draft stock come selection-time.

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The SpartansWire Take:

Personally, I think Brian Lewerke was a victim of circumstance while at Michigan State. His own injury issues coupled with the decimated offensive line and injuries to key wide receivers like Felton Davis III and Darrell Stewart Jr. left him in a tough position.

While many fans will point to Lewerke’s struggles throwing the ball downfield, the Spartans also played a conservative offensive scheme by design, especially after the repeated injuries on the offensive line left Lewerke under pressure almost constantly for his last two season.

Lewerke doesn’t have a cannon, but he has shown enough to me that I think he can be a solid NFL backup for a long-time. He isn’t that fast but he has proven to be elusive and smart when he has to tuck the ball and run. I think that Lewerke should at least be a day 3 draft pick who could end up having a Brian Hoyer-like career.

What analysts are saying:

As noted above, one NFC coach told NFL.com that he thought Lewerke looked great during his freshman year (I think he meant his sophomore year, where he threw 20 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions) but then was held back by his own injuries, no help, and a bad scheme.

“He got crushed because he played with a bad shoulder two years ago,” the NFC coach said. “I thought he played really good his freshman year. And last year they had a terrible scheme and no talent. He had moments of greatness and moments of bad play, but there was nothing that helped him.”

According to Daniel Jeremiah, some front office members around the league have “fallen in love” with Lewerke and this could lead to him rising all the way to the fourth round, even though Jeremiah himself sees him as a fringe NFL Draft prospect:

“Lewerke, to me, he’s a late-round player. He’s a seventh-round free-agent-type player for me,” Jeremiah said. “Although I will say, I’ve talked to some folks around the league — there’s some quarterback coaches that have really fallen in love with this kid, and I say that in terms of fourth, fifth round. It would not shock me if he went a little bit higher than I thought he would.”

Jeremiah had him ranked as the fourth-best MSU prospect heading into the draft.

Bob McGinn of The Athletic has Lewerke ranked as the No. 11 best quarterback in the draft. For reference, there are an average of 11 quarterbacks taken each year in the draft, so that ranking could pay dividends for Lewerke if it translates on Draft Day.

DraftWire has him listed as a projected day 3 prospect.

NFL Combine Results:

Height: 6-2

Weight: 213

Arms: 32 1/8″

Hands: 10 5/8″

40-yard dash: 4.95 seconds

Bench press: N/A

Vertical jump: 31.0 inches

Broad jump: 113.0 inches

3-Cone drill: 7.14 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.4 seconds

60-yard shuttle: N/A

Wonderlic: 30

College Career Stats:

8,293 passing yards, 47 passing touchdowns, 1,255 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 32 interceptions, 120.8 passer rating, 57.7% completion percentage.

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