The college football season has two months down and one month to go. Quarterbacks in the sport still have to show what they’re made of in the pressure of the home stretch, but to a considerable extent, the gifts and limitations of many quarterbacks are already evident. Based on what we’ve seen, here are the four best quarterbacks for draft purposes. Keep in mind that two of the best quarterbacks in the country, Lamar Jackson of Louisville and Jake Browning of Washington, are only sophomores and will therefore not be in the 2017 NFL Draft. They will not be included on this college football list.
Deshaun Watson, Clemson Tigers
The season has been an up and down one for Watson, who has committed more turnovers than he would have liked and has endured a few bad games Clemson was fortunate to win. However, Watson is also the man who responded in big games against Louisville and Florida State, leading the Tigers to wins in a couple of shootouts: 42-36 against Louisville and 37-34 against Florida State. Watson is fast. He’s strong. He can make every NFL throw scouts are looking for when they break down game tape. Watson is a leader and a winner, but he’s so much more than the college football stats or the results. He’s a physical specimen. He is almost certain to be a top-five draft pick.
Chad Kelly, Ole Miss Rebels
The worry with Kelly is that he commits too many turnovers within a context of volatility. He can be so good at times and then become so bad at others. He is inconsistent, and he doesn’t seem to maintain good patches of play for very long at the college football level. However, NFL teams will be sold on his potential and will be convinced that this relative of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly can be molded into a smarter signal caller. All the natural gifts and physical tools that people look for in a quarterback are there. Kelly has the machine-gun arm. He can run like the wind. He’s tall and can see the field. He owns a quick release. The toolbox is there. Someone just needs to develop it.
DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
It’s been a miserable season for Notre Dame, but Kizer did enough in several games, particularly a 50-47 loss to Texas and a 38-35 loss to Duke, to show that he will make an NFL team better one day. Kizer, like Watson and Kelly, has the complete physical makeup and assortment of capabilities to start at quarterback in the NFL. He generally makes better college football decisions than Kelly, and he is very tough to bring down for opposing defenders. He received very little help from Notre Dame teammates this season, so it’s important that he goes to an NFL team where he’s not going to have to carry the workload himself. He needs to be surrounded by good teammates.
Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina Tar Heels
This is the most questionable selection, but Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes plays in the Big 12, where quarterbacks and offenses flourish to an unnatural extent. Brad Kaaya of Miami is fragile and always seems to be hurt. On top of that, Miami has failed to take the next step under his watch, so his stock growth has been stunted.
Trubisky is a sturdier quarterback. He makes smart decisions on third downs. He is very accurate and throws very few interceptions. He can be a quarterback who does a great job for an NFL team with a strong running game. He can thrive in play action and take advantage of favorable down and distance situations. He won’t be spectacular, but he’ll be solid. A lot of people are worried that he’s merely a product of the system, which could be true. The Tar Heels have plenty of talent around him and Larry Fedora is a bright offensive mind. But we’ll learn more about Trubisky in individual drills in the combine and Pro Days. As of now, though, he deserves to be fourth on this list of college football prospects.
