Here’s what I thought of 12 of the top prospects on Saturday.
Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
The FCS star performed as expected. He was solid across the board, just like he was at the Senior Bowl. He showed a strong arm, and made all the throws. He’s a big, strong, athletic kid and teams really seem to like him.
Jared Goff, California
Goff is polished. He had good depth on his drops, and he threw the ball very well, with a very quick release. The thing that has teams worried is he does look smaller and thinner than the other quarterbacks. He needs to put a little meat on those bones.
Paxton Lynch, Memphis
I thought he looked lackadaisical on his drops. He didn’t explode back from center the way I thought he should to show the great athlete that he is. That’s understandable. He was a basically a running back in a Wing-T in high school, and didn’t work from under center in college. So he’s raw and he has some mechanical issues to work through with his footwork. But he’s got great size, he’s very athletic, he showed a lot of arm strength, and everybody knows he moves really well in and out of the pocket. Teams found some issues in his shoulder during the medical checks that have some of them concerned, but this is a kid who’s gaining momentum.
Connor Cook, Michigan State
Connor had the best drops and transitions of anyone in the QB group here at the Combine. In fact, I would say they were almost impeccable. That makes sense because of this whole group, he probably has the most experience in a pro-style offense. He’s a natural thrower, but he didn’t really let it rip in terms of showing his arm strength in my opinion. I think he’s still recovering from his shoulder injury, so it was probably a smart move, but his arm is stronger than he showed on Saturday.
Brandon Allen, Arkansas
Here’s what I think. Allen is just a baller. He competes and plays hard. People don’t like his size, they complain he has small hands, but he’s got a smooth delivery, he has really good footwork on his drops, and he’s got good arm strength. I thought he had one of the best performances of the day.
Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky
Doughty is another player I like who had a good day on Saturday. He’s an accurate passer, and he ripped the in-cuts in his workout. He also threw a nice deep ball, and his drops were good as well. He helped himself on Saturday.
Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
I thought Prescott looked better at the Senior Bowl. The depth of his drops were off and didn’t match up with the routes he was throwing. But scouts understand he’s more of an athletic guy who will need some time to develop in the pro game. He has some unique skills and will get better. His Combine workout won’t hurt him overall.
Christian Hackenberg, Penn State
The former Penn Stater confirmed his arm strength. He’s a little too erect at the top of his drop for my liking. He hesitates, then transitions before delivering the ball, creating a little hitch. He looked a little sloppy and will have to clean up those mechanics, but I was pleasantly surprised by his arm strength. I think he solidified a spot in the 2nd Round.
Jacoby Brissett, North Carolina State
He looked a little tight and was trying to be too perfect, guiding the ball. He tends to overanalyze things too much. He’s a big, strong, physical guy. He needed to just go out there and let it rip.
Nate Sudfeld, Indiana
Sudfeld is a big guy at 6-6, 240, so his drops should have been longer and smoother. He looked real choppy and was short on his marks. I like his motion, and I like his arm.
Kevin Hogan, Stanford
Hogan really struggled with the deep throws. It takes every ounce of energy in him to get it out there, and when he tried to muscle throws like the post-corner route, it affected his follow through.
Jeff Driskell, Louisiana Tech
The Florida transfer had a terrible day. I’ve watched film on him, and he’s a good athlete, but he didn’t throw well at all.
https://realfootballnetwork.com/2016/02/28/the-miller-report-qbs-at-the-combine/
