While it is still 58 days away from the kickoff of the college football season, the Athletic’s Dane Brugler has begun his 2021 NFL Draft work. The latest topic of conversation is the quarterbacks. One of the most important and criminally overdrafted positions in all of football. Either you already have your franchise quarterback in place or you are looking for one.
The draft outlook on Texas Longhorns senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger is a mixed bag. Some love the moxie of the Austin native while others look at him as just a good college quarterback. The latter mostly think that he would be a career backup. So you might raise an eyebrow to find that Brugler has Ehlinger among his top five draft eligible quarterbacks.
His best trait according to the latest article on the Athletic is his competitive toughness.
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Ehlinger doesn’t have the speed of Lamar Jackson or twitch of Murray, but his instincts and competitive toughness as an athlete are what makes him a dangerous dual-threat player. He is physical through contact and sturdy in the pocket, willing to hang and deliver before taking a shot.
Due to his unique skill set, the Longhorns emphasize pocket movement in their zone read scheme, allowing Ehlinger to showcase his arm and legs. His competitive grit is not only the central ingredient that allows Texas’ offense to move the chains, but it is also the key trait that will appeal to NFL play callers as a prospect.
His worst trait comes as a rhythm passer.
While his passing production and consistency have improved each season, Ehlinger is still learning the fine details of reading defenses and completing passes. Similar to Tim Tebow when he was at Florida, Ehlinger has fantastic instincts and toughness as an athlete, but introducing better rhythm from snap to release is something that remains a work in progress.
This is where the work of new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will come into play. He needs to work on the technique and mechanics that will allow Ehlinger to improve as a passer. Which for one helps Sam as a NFL Draft prospect and helps future recruiting.
When I started my scouting deep dive this summer, I didn’t expect Ehlinger to be among my top five draft-eligible quarterbacks. However, his film swayed me because of his control of the offense and competitive toughness.
Ehlinger could have a similar rise up the draft boards to what Jalen Hurts was a season ago. With a big year for Ehlinger, he could be a top 100 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft as Brugler stated in his column. Ehlinger comes in as the number two senior quarterback on his list. Former teammate Shane Buechele checked in at number five of the senior passers.