- Friday, May 03, 2024
By: Eastern Eye Staff
The National Football League (NFL) Draft has seven rounds. As a baseline, every 32 teams will get one pick in each round. But between the third and last rounds, the NFL may give out up to 32 compensatory picks, all of which can be traded.
The question is: how do scouts evaluate players?
That depends on what position they play. Let’s start with the quarterback, the most important player in football. In this post, we’ve put together seven things you should look at while evaluating quarterback draft picks for the 2023 NFL season.
This means a player’s ability to consistently deliver a pass to a target location with great accuracy. Although it’s a given that every quarterback should have it, it’s an innate trait that a coach can’t ground into each of them.
In other words, most quarterbacks that don’t have this natural ability are likely unable to pan out. It’s why a quarterback’s accuracy is one of the top determining factors of being scouted in football and other sports like hockey. In fact, it’s one of the skills to watch out for NFL draft.
Moreover, NFL scouts assess accuracy through a quarterback’s completion percentage and charting passes.
Another characteristic scouts tend to assess in a quarterback is his reading coverage, also called as “vision.” Research revealed that in addition to ball skills, a quarterback’s ability to scan and read the game improves their awareness and decision-making and the speed and quality of their technical actions.
Hence, apart from accuracy and ball skills, football vision plays a crucial role in a quarterback’s success. With it, a quarterback can be quick-witted to choose the best actions and routes with impeccable timing and adjust his offense to cow the defense even under pressure.
While most quarterbacks want to train or are trained to be able to throw deep down the field, many wouldn’t or can’t do this during a game realistically. There are several reasons for this, but among them is the strong defense of the opposing team.
Of course, distance or a quarterback’s ability to throw a ball more than 70 yards in the air is essential. However, velocity or making timely and accurate passes to the intermediate and downfield areas is more important. That’s why scouts specifically look for quarterbacks that can thread throws between traffic and, at the same time, fit passes into unyielding windows in the center.
“Golden Arm” Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Ravens (1956-1972) and “Comeback Kid” Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers (1979-1992) are globally renowned players who showed the world that quarterbacks carry the torch in football.
However, it’s not just about their ball skills—their leadership played a crucial role in their successes as well. Despite being under pressure, Unitas and Montana led their team well, making the all-time well-respected quarterbacks and leaders in the NFL.
Most scouts would also look for a quarterback who can confidently lead his team. How does the quarterback lead the team? The answer should be the old saying, “someone can carry every player’s hopes.”
During the NFL Scouting Combine, many quarterbacks are questioned if they can run the ball outside the pocket. When a quarterback has a good “pocket presence,” he can tell when the defense is closing in on him and seek receivers who are open at the same time. It’s basically about mobility, which is made up of three parts: see, feel, and move under pressure.
Let’s use “the Sheriff” Peyton Manning and “California Cool” Tom Brady as examples. Manning could easily dodge pass-rushers and keep the game going with his great sense of pocket presence. His skill is well complemented by Brady’s escapability, allowing him to respond to pressure from the back.
There’s always a size that’s the baseline for NFL quarterback hopefuls. Scouts would often search for a player who’s around 6’2” tall and weighs 220 pounds. Having a bigger, taller body, however, doesn’t immediately guarantee a player’s selection.
One good example of this is the Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. He’s only 6” tall, which is on the short side. However, compared to other big quarterbacks, he has all that it takes—great footwork, arm strength, high-level accuracy, vision, and not to mention leadership—to be one of the bests.
Last but not least, it should go without saying that a quarterback must be adept at making mechanics or the proper throwing motion. He has to know the fundamentals, such as throwing motion and follow-through.
As of the moment, only the NFL 2023’s first preseason game has been finalized, which is on Friday, August 4. This Hall of Fame Game is slated to be faced by the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. The full schedule isn’t yet out until mid-May.
