We come now to the penultimate part of our journey down the NFL draft rabbit hole. As I said in parts one and two, maybe not since 2007 have draft analysts and I been so far apart on the quarterbacks we like.
To reiterate. I think a good quarterback should be a leader, be smart, have heart, throw an accurate pass downfield and be clutch in big games and deliver consistently on third downs. I want him to be able to read a defense pre and post-snap and not get flustered in third down situations. He should throw a catchable ball and hit his receivers in the hands. I want a playmaker who can throw from the pocket, but isn’t afraid to move out of it either.
Here’s what I don’t care about; height, weight, 40-time, how long he can jump, how high he can jump, if he can complete passes against air in drills and what draft scouts think of him.
4. Vernon Adams Jr., Oregon
2015: 64.9 completion percentage, 2,643 yards, 26 touchdowns, six interceptions, 147 yards rushing, two touchdowns, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds
How many regular season and playoff games does Russell Wilson have to win before people start looking for players like him in the NFL draft? I’m asking for Vernon Adams Jr. because he’s that guy this year to the point of comparing him to any other player is ridiculous. If a guy was coming out in this draft that was the second-coming of Andrew Luck or Carson Palmer or Matt Stafford they’d be snapped up in the first round without question. Yet none of them have ever even been to a Super Bowl. Wilson has been to two and won one.
Here’s what Adams did at Oregon. Transferred in right before work on the 2015 season started, learned the entire offense in like two weeks then beat out every single other player, four and five-star recruits mind you, the Ducks had to be their quarterback this season. That’s what he did. Oregon lost only one game that Adams played all the way through and it was a three-point nailbiter to Michigan State that came down to the final minute. Adams played that entire game with a broken finger on his throwing hand that would ultimately get him pulled from the Utah game and held out three more until it healed. If Adams hadn’t been hurt, Oregon would have been in the college football playoff mix. They never lost again in the regular season once Adams returned, notching big clutch wins over USC, Stanford, California and Oregon State.
Adams was on his way to a triumphant victory in the Alamo Bowl until TCU knocked him out of the game with the Ducks leading 31-0. Adams is projected as a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent. Somebody is about to win the lottery with this kid. Oregon sure as hell did. His best fit are teams already geared to his strengths. Seattle is an obvious choice. He can learn for a while as Russel Wilson’s back up and step in if Wilson gets injured. The Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers would also make a lot of sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWmXBFtiGpk
3. Paxton Lynch, Memphis
2015: 66.8 completion percentage, 3,778 yards, 28 touchdowns, four interceptions, 6-foot-6, 230 pounds
Lynch has pulled a Teddy Bridgewater as the draft has approached. Back in December he was the consensus No. 1 quarterback in this draft class and the No. 2 player overall. Now he’s been passed up on pundit lists by Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, which should be ridiculous. Lynch is one of only three quarterbacks that can be day one starters in the NFL and unless you’ve not been paying attention, Goff and and Wentz aren’t those guys.
Lynch has a cannon arm, doesn’t turn the ball over and is as athletic as you need him to be. He can throw it with touch and accuracy and lives on that back-shoulder sideline fade. He can read the field and has made a living controlling the opposing team’s safety with a pump-fake or look-off and he does it more often and better than any other quarterback on this list.
Lynch reminds me of Ben Roethlisberger and don’t be surprised if Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers feel the same way. Lynch’s poor bowl performance hurt him, but you can’t put that all on him. He pulled a Memphis team that has all of maybe one other player that will make an NFL roster. Lynch is the only Memphis Tiger even invited to the NFL combine.
Lynch, regardless of where these pundits and scouts will put him, won’t drop far. He’ll likely be picked by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bills, the New York Jets or Houston Texans.
Next: 2-1
