Dawgs By Nature
Many of the top options were on display in some tough environments.
The Cleveland Browns players may be away licking their wounds from the early season disappointment of starting 2-7, enjoying their bye week. Their scouts get no break this time of year as college football ramps up and team needs become clearer.
The Browns could target several positions early in the draft, including the quarterback position. It appears the team is poised to move on from Deshaun Watson, who was the long-term answer at the most important position in all of pro sports.
With so many of the quarterbacks who are deemed to be the top options in next year’s draft playing, I decided to dedicate most of the day to watching them and getting a true first impression. I usually avoid paying much attention to college while the NFL is going on as I don’t like to be influenced heavily before watching some game tape.
That said, I am online and run across the narratives and highlights that get posted about them. The following are some early thoughts from the live watch and first impressions from some of the top options.
I did not see all of the snaps from each of these guys as I was flipping back and forth between games, however, it was enough to give some initial thoughts.
He has a live arm and has the ability to throw with anticipation. While he is able to avoid pressure in the pocket by making guys miss, his play style leads to too many sacks. Elite ability to make plays out of structure is normally a strength but after the Watson experience, it could be a red flag.
His accuracy is above average, and while he didn’t throw any interceptions in the game he did force throws that were risky. His body type stands out as a question mark. While there is no issue with height and weight, I do think his hand size and arm length may be shorter than average.
Ewers turned in an impressive performance and I was surprised based on the expectations I had coming in. It was the first time I saw him since last year’s playoffs.
He was accurate with his ball placement for the majority of the day despite leaving a few deep balls slightly under-thrown. I liked his mechanics overall and the throwing motion looked clean.
Has better than average size and looks to be a decent athlete to be mobile enough at the next level. I didn’t dig into situational stats after the game, but he seemed to fare well against the blitz.
Sanders and their offense got off to a slow start and looked out of rhythm for much of the first half. He was as accurate as what I perceived he’d be coming in. Receivers didn’t have to work hard for competitions and his overall mechanics are really smooth from pocket.
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