I remember he was a 57% passer at MSU and not beloved by team mates. I remember I was glad he didnt land here, and no I wouldnt kick the tires.
Amen. Football Outsiders has a projection system for evaluating college QBs in the draft. It's mostly based on stats, though it does factor in the round they're projected to be drafted in. Here's what it had to say before the 2016 draft:
Connor Cook
Cook projects as a below-replacement-level NFL quarterback. His basic stats in 2015 (56.1 percent completion rate, 7.7 YPA, 24 TD, 7 INT), in an era when college quarterbacks routinely complete more than 60 percent of their passes, recall other NFL flops such as
Jake Locker.
Cook did not even face a particularly strong set of opposing defenses. The defenses Michigan State faced ranked No. 51 in our estimates. Moreover, Cook had the benefit of playing with the most NFL-caliber teammates of any prospect in this year's class. Those teammates include All-America left tackle Jack Conklin, likely a first-round pick in the draft this year. That Cook failed to do better in college despite favorable circumstances makes him a long shot to succeed in the NFL despite going in the second round in many mock drafts.
Dak Prescott
The projection rates Prescott far ahead of Lynch and Cook, prospects currently expected to go earlier in the draft. Often compared to
Tim Tebow earlier in his college career, Prescott did not have as much NFL-caliber talent surrounding him, even with projected 2017 first-round wide receiver Fred Ross. Prescott's projection here accounts for that, as well as his performance against the toughest set of opposing defenses (No. 14 in FBS last season) of any quarterback prospect in this year's draft.
QBASE does not predict Prescott to be a likely NFL success. But his 45 percent chance of being at least an adequate starter gives him enough upside to make him very much worth a Day 2 draft pick.