8. Anthony Gordon, QB, Washington State
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 205
40-Yard Dash: N/A
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Anthony Gordon lit up scoreboards at Terra Nova High School in Northern California, setting a conference record with 4,899 passing yards and 49 touchdowns as a senior. He was also a three-time letter winner in baseball, something we will return to in a moment.
Despite his high school gridiron success, big-time programs did not come calling, so Gordon opted for junior college, enrolling at the City College of San Francisco. As a freshman, he was an All-California Community College Athletic Association first-team QB, leading CCSF to a 12-1 record and the CCCAA championship. Gordon threw for 3,864 yards and 37 touchdowns, averaging 297.2 yards per game, with just 12 interceptions.
He then enrolled at Washington State to play for Mike Leach and waited his turn behind Luke Falk and Gardner Minshew. He finally got his chance to play as a senior and made the most of it, completing 71.6% of his passes and throwing for 5,579 yards and 48 touchdowns, with 16 interceptions.
Stat to Know: 740. That is the number of times that Gordon dropped back last season. He might have waited his turn, but he got in almost two seasons’ worth of film when given the chance to play.
Strengths: As mentioned above, Gordon was a baseball player before he was a football player, and a middle infielder to boot. That shows up in his play on the field, as he has a Patrick Mahomes-like ability to make throws from a dizzying array of platforms and arm angles. Gordon also functioned at a high level in Leach’s Air Raid system, which as Gordon and predecessor Minshew are more than happy to explain, is an offense that tasks the QB with making full-field progression reads on each snap. Gordon also shows a penchant for attacking underneath coverage and leveraged linebackers and safeties. He is not afraid to challenge any window at any level of the field. He also throws with pretty good anticipation for a collegiate passer. Finally, his mechanics, despite appearing odd at first, are rather tight — and the ball comes out of his field quickly.
Weaknesses: Gordon’s footwork is going to need some work. In stark contrast to Minshew, who always moved his feet while working through reads, Gordon is more statuesque in the pocket. This sometimes artificially creates instances where he makes a throw off platform. Also, his willingness to play like Mahomes leads to some splash plays, but also some moments like this:
A while ago @JuMosq had a great point about this current crop of NFL QBs. Now we're seeing guys who wanted to be like Favre in the league and it's gonna be fun.
The kids now watching Mahomes are coming.
There might be some bumps along the way, but that's gonna be fun too… pic.twitter.com/EXStfstWNZ
— Mark Schofield (@MarkSchofield) January 6, 2020
There’s just … there’s just no need to try and no-look this throw.
Gordon, similar to Fromm, might be limited schematically. When the route concepts started to get more vertical, he struggled pushing the ball downfield. On 61 deep attempts last season, Gordon threw five interceptions, and his passer rating of 89.2 was his lowest when graded by depth of target.
Conclusion: Gordon would be best suited to land with a team running a blend of Air Raid and West Coast concepts, where he can work on refining his footwork and learning some of the nuances to playing the position. He might not be able to contribute immediately, but a team looking to grab a Day 3 developmental QB would be smart to bet on his growth.
Comparison: Watching Gordon brings back memories of watching Jared Goff. They have a similar frame, move around in a familiar way (although Goff had much better footwork in the pocket) and played in a similar offense. This is not to say that Gordon is worthy of an early-round selection, but if things really come together for him, he could be a quarterback that can deliver in a system catered to his strengths and with weapons assembled around him.