RS Junior QB Carson Strong had a STRONG Week 1 performance leading the Nevada Wolfpack to a road victory on the road vs Cal. We evaluate three of his throws from the contest that speak to his advanced level of play.
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We Isolate a pair of throws from the Week 16 Colts game for evaluation.
Dwayne Haskins 6’3 3⁄8 230 Ohio State *Soph
Overview
In his lone year as the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, Haskins accumulated a stat line of 4,831 yards through the air while throwing for a jaw
dropping 50 touchdowns against only 8 interceptions. He completed over 70 percent of his throws & holds the Big Ten all time record for both yards and touchdown passes in a single season. Haskins was in a reserve role behind J.T Barrett in 2017. Enters the NFL draft after a breakout 2018 season that saw his stock as a player rise at a rapid rate not normally seen for a first year starter.
Trait Grades (Haskins)
Arm Talent (B+) Toughness (B-)
Arm Strength (A-) Pocket Presence (C)
Ball Placement/Accuracy (B-) Intangibles/Off Field (B)
Delivery/Mechanics (B) Running Ability/Athleticism (C) Throw on Run (A-)
Strengths
Big play ability, throwing deep MOF, intermediate Game, decision making, football IQ, deep arm power/placement
Weaknesses
Upper body mechanics, Trying to be perfect (aim thrower) at times, athleticism, staying calm under duress, slow/awkward feet at times, anticipation, touch underneath
Anticipation (B) Football IQ (A-) Touch (B-)
Trait Grades (Haskins)Arm Talent (B+) Toughness (B-)
Arm Strength (A-) Pocket Presence (C)
Ball Placement/Accuracy (B-) Intangibles/Off Field (B)
Delivery/Mechanics (B) Running Ability/Athleticism (C) Throw on Run (A-)
Tape Analysis (Haskins)
Demonstrates ability to place the ball exactly where he wants to when he wants to while operating from pocket when facing zone undercoverage particularly on MOF in breaking intermediate routes. Deftly places passes over the outstretched arms of 2nd level defenders. Natural thrower on the move who is fairly fluid & coordinated delivering the ball while still running towards the sideline. High football IQ & stays away from making egregious errors with the ball. Efficient but not outstanding from a footwork standpoint. Throws with solid pace. Does not naturally throw with touch ingrained into his DNA as a passer specifically within short/intermediate game which results in misfires to targets that are dropped in the short/intermediate range. Does not naturally place the ball away from man defenders which proved to be problematic at times for him. Deep game is hit or miss for Haskins. Multiple throws deep that ended up being perfectly placed with elite velocity but there were other times where Haskins timing and placement on deep throws was off as he has a tendency to wait a beat long before letting the ball go.
Can become frantic when dealing with pressure in which his mechanics break down resulting in ball placement issues. A beneficiary at times of elite schematic design where receivers were running wide open. Does a great job at re-positioning his feet instinctively when adjusting the angle of his initial set in the pocket which allows him to open his hips and still be accurate. Average overall athleticism. Made multiple big time throws in what proved to be a showcase game for him in the Big Ten Championship game that featured Haskins moving deep defenders with his eyes and placing the ball deep down the field with relative ease. Natural enough thrower on the move. Great at throwing on time down the field between the hashes and has enough arm to make most if not all throws. Balls can get away from Haskins when he is not in a rhythm and the issue can be compounded over multiple series. His confidence can become rattled when things are not going as expected for him which may speak to inexperience. At times his release can become too elongated/choppy which has a negative effect on ball placement. Additionally, his elbow placement at times will remain low during his throwing motion which causes Haskins to spray the ball inaccurately.
Projection
Haskins meteoric rise to be included in the QB 1 conversation for the 2019 NFL Draft has thrown him into the spotlight and there are many positives surrounding his potential at the next level. However, he is a young, inexperienced player who will need to sit during year 1. He has the potential to develop into a viable starter at the next level but there are issues that will need to be ironed out first. Learning on the job would not be the best medicine for him right away. We have Haskins graded out as a 2nd round prospect but due to demand will most likely be selected in mid-late Round 1. We believe Haskins will end up having a chance to be a starter at some point but are not sold on his ability to be a team’s long term solution as a franchise quarterback.
We isolate a pair of throws from the Chicago game
Justin Herbert 6’6”1⁄4 236 Oregon
Overview
Justin Herbert capped off his college career as he probably envisioned he would when he made the decision to return to Eugene for his Senior year. In 2019, Herbert had his best season statistically (3,471 yards 32 TD’s 6 INT’s) through the air as he led Oregon to a Rose Bowl victory. Herbert essentially comes into the NFL as a four year starter and his career stat line playing in a pistol spread attack went (10,541 passing yards – 95 touchdowns – 23 interceptions – 64%) Herbert is the most intelligent quarterback (and player for that matter) entering the draft from a general mental processing & academic accomplishment perspective. He graduated from Oregon with a Biology degree and finished his coursework with a 4.01 GPA.
Trait Grades (Herbert)
Arm Talent (A-) Toughness (A) Anticipation (B+)
Arm Strength (A) Pocket Presence (B+) Football IQ (A-)
Ball Placement (B) Delivery/Mechanics (A-) Intangibles/Off Field (A-)
Touch (B) Running/Athleticism (A) Throw on Run (A-)
Tape Analysis (Herbert)
Herbert plays with great control from within the pocket & is comfortable surveying late into this down trusting his arm & ability to make tight window throws. Herbert has an absolute hose of arm but he doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to throw with touch, particularly deep. However, this part of his game is erratic
& he is unable to rely on throwing with touch consistently, it appears in spades. (deep corner & fade) There are countless examples throughout his tape of him placing the ball with pin-point precision down the field against tight coverage. Very athletic & brings great size to the position. He played in an offense at Oregon that does not fully project (conceptually) to the NFL, however his ability to operate under center & master the footwork element required of a pro-style system was on display during Senior Bowl week. Herbert’s feet looked quick, efficient & smooth from the beginning of the week all the way through the game. In this regard he is similar to Josh Allen (2018) in terms of the naturally quick & fluid feet he is able to exhibit despite both being 6’5” plus. Again, the offense at Oregon did not fully allow him to display this element of his game. Essentially, Herbert would have no issue adjusting to a pro-style drop back & play-action game.
When Herbert moves out of the pocket either by design or off-script he shows great ability to shorten his stride & quickly is able to get his body in a position to deliver the football on time. This cannot be understated enough because when doing so he still shows great accuracy & everything looks natural for him on the move which speaks to his great overall footwork. The ball
comes out quick with steam for him on the move as well. As an executor of the play-action game, Herbert is both capable & comfortable. At Oregon many of their down-field passing concepts incorporated elements of fly sweep or pistol action fakes & as stated earlier to earlier he has no issue with drop-back play action as he shows the ability to sell run hard with his back turned to the defense from under center and then quickly get his head turned around afterwards while setting up at the launch point.
Oregon’s offense featured many quick hitting bubble screens & option routes that saw Herbert quickly spray the ball to stationary targets. Herbert struggled the most with intermediate throws from the pocket where he due to the coverage he needed to level the ball over defenders & improvement in this area will be vital. I do believe that playing in an NFL system will only help Herbert develop faster in this regard by implementing quarterback friendly spacing & action through high level play design. He has already shown he has the arm & feet to make these throws, he will however need to throw with better anticipation at times on these types of throws.
Anticipation is an area of growth for him moving forward. He is not weak in this regard but he needs to really over focus on throwing with better anticipation once he arrives to his new team with the hope it becomes more habitual during live action.
A dangerous rusher of the football. Is not afraid of contact & possesses both high level agility, instincts as well as straight line speed. He also seems to take off as a last resort off-script or when identifying (quickly) through play design/flow of defense where green grass to run will be. When Herbert decides to run, he does so in short order & takes off to green grass.
Herbert has the ability to make any throw on the field. There was a play against Washington from 2019 where he fit a seam ball between the both the field safety & the undercoverage trailer defender that demonstrated his ability to stand firm in the pocket against a free blitzer (look down the gun-barrel) & deliver with velocity, accuracy & a quick release. This is a trait that will serve to his benefit at the next level. Despite Herbert being 6’6” he is not a long strider. He has a rare ability to get the ball off quickly in the face of incoming pressure. He can operate well working within the proverbial phone booth.
Projection
On the surface, evaluating Herbert can be frustrating at times. There are macro-level variables that can blur the true evaluation of the player. Some of those variables are the offensive system at Oregon, the emergence of Joe Burrow as a one year phenom, the physical & mental traits of Herbert that at times become hidden or downplayed. Simply put, you really need to roll back the layers of Herbert’s game & closely evaluate the player & person. After doing this it has become apparent to me he deserves serious consideration to be the first quarterback selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. We believe Herbert is going to be selected by the Cincinnati Bengals at the #1 spot. If the Bengals do go with the national media consensus and take Joe Burrow, he will be selected by the
Dolphins at four unless a team like Jacksonville trades up to select him at 2 or 3. We believe Herbert has a chance to become a great player at the next level because of his physical traits, mental makeup & maturity. When we look back at this draft class in five years, Herbert will be viewed as the best quarterback from this class.
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Andy Dalton found himself in an emergency situation against the New York Giants as his name was called when Dak Prescott unfortunately went down due to injury during the 3rd quarter. Dalton did his part, showing minimal rust as he guided the Cowboys to a 4th quarter comeback victory as catalyst during the 2 minute drill. Dalton finished the game 9 of 11 for 111 yards.
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We take a look at a throw from the Detroit game where Brees demonstrated elite touch throwing the football.
Arizona @ San Francisco 9/13/20
Player – #1 Kyler Murray (QB)
Full Game Analysis
Kyler Murray came out of the gates throwing quick game throws that helped him get comfortable. Kingsbury had Murray distributing the ball to DeAndre Hopkins & Larry Fitzgerald early. Murray did a good job of playing from the pocket all game long as he would be both on time & decisive with his throws. He hit a deep comeback to the opposite hash during the 2nd quarter where he looked like a ten year vet. Murray was able to limit big hits from the 49ers front four (he took a few on the day) but was able to protect himself for the most part both in the pocket & when he ran the football. Murray was mechanically sound all day in terms of his feet, torque & release which allowed him to play with timing & throw with anticipation down the field. He was the best QB on the field during this game & was a big reason the Cardinals were able to upset the 49ers on the road. Murray ran for 91 yards on the day & delivered a dagger of a 25 yard electric TD run where he made the 49er secondary look silly due to his burst & agility.
Player Stats (Murray) 26 of 40 for 230 yards 1 TD, 1 INT
Player – #10 Jimmy Garoppolo (QB)
Full Game Analysis
Garoppolo started out on fire from an efficiency standpoint, as he was tasked with making quick short throws, one of which went 76 yards for a TD to RB Raheem Mostert. Jimmy G however began to struggle later on in the game once the Cardinals offense began to sustain drives, the pressure onSF to do the same was there & this seemed to fluster Jimmy a bit. Jimmy was behind his target on a 3rd & 5 to the flat mid first quarter and it was the beginning of a somewhat erratic day for him. He was generally uncomfortable in the pocket once any semblance of pressure arrived which
resulted in Jimmy dropping his eyes & panicking. He also did not properly ID coverage on a 3rd & 3 where it was clear man to man would open a specific route over the ball, but Jimmy panicked and threw up a prayer to his wheel route.
The 4th quarter came along and Jimmy G shrunk during the 49ers final opportunity late. The drive started with 5:03 left and SF down by 4 points at their own 25. Jimmy G did enough to get the offense in a position to take the lead by way of his quick passing & legs picking up a key first down near midfield. The offense stalled however once they got to the red zone as Garoppolo was trying to aim throws & not trust either what he was seeing pre-snap or just flat out mis reading coverages. The drive ended with a Garoppolo incompletion on 4th down where he hesitated on a 9-10 yard out route to his right side. As Garoppolo became more uncomfortable in the pocket, his lower body mechanics began to break down & he was not getting enough depth in his drop backs & also was short striding his throws.
Player Stats (Garoppolo) 19 of 33 for 259 yards & 2 TD
An overview each team’s quarterback depth in the NFC West heading into the 2020 season.
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Photo courtesy (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool)
Cam Newton, 10th Year (NE) Newton missed the majority of 2019 due to injury, but he has attacked his rehab like a true pro & is motivated to return to his earlier form in 2020. The Patriots added him to a QB room that includes Brian Hoyer & Jarrett Stidham, both players who have more experience & understanding in the Patriots system but have nowhere near Newton’s physical skill set as players. Newton can do things that those two simply cannot replicate on a football field. We believe Newton ends up starting for the team opening week. Getting Newton to play with more discipline & consistency in the passing game while still allowing him to be creative out of structure will be a major point of emphasis for the staff, something they will work to perfect as the season progresses.
Tyrod Taylor, 10th Year (LAC) Taylor will be the Week 1 starter for HC Anthony Lynn & the leash will not be a short one. Taylor has proven to be a coveted commodity in this league & may have an opportunity to play the entire year out as the team’s starting quarterback which would allow Herbert to develop more without being forced to play & give the team the best chance of success in 2020 due to Taylor’s experience. A versatile athlete who can throw with great power, touch & placement deep. Throwing with anticipation & accuracy within the quick & intermediate game is where Taylor struggles.
Daniel Jones, 2nd Year (NYG) Jones showed great promise as a rookie taking over for Eli Manning, making his first NFL start during Week 3. Jones threw for 3,024 yards, 24 TDs & 12 INT across 12 starts, going 3-9 in the W-L column. Jones has elite tools (release, athleticism, mechanics) but he needs to become a better all-around anticipation passer. New offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will look to get Jones playing to his maximum potential in the Big Apple. Hopefully the Princeton grad (Garrett) can connect with the Duke grad (Jones) & get this offense rolling
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We take a look at the Week 1 matchup vs the Dolphins where Ravens QB Lamar Jackson played a near perfect game in South Florida. The game was a homecoming of sorts for Jackson as he grew up in Pompano Beach, just 41 miles up the coast from Miami. Jackson finished 17-20 for 324 yards & five touchdown passes.
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We take a look at each player
Marcus Mariota turned in his best performance of 2018 against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. We isolate a handful of Mariota throws from the contest for evaluation.
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We Provide You With All-22 Cut-Ups of Blake Bortles Performance against the Steelers in the Divisional Round
For An In-Depth Report on Bortles, Check Out Our 2017 Pro QB Almanac
We isolate two big time throws from the Divisional contest
Year end player review of Drew Brees (2016)
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