Pro-day Top 5 Recap
Unless you can interview a QB and work with them on a whiteboard, the pomp and circumstance placed on pro day scripted throwing sessions is a rather pointless endeavor. Yet, Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks and company will get on your TV screens to fill a void in air time and speak as if QBs are proving their worth in shorts. It’s absolutely absurd. What’s worse is that they missed the only things you should have noticed which are actually worth talking about.
First the two non-impactful pro-days:
Daniel Jones Pro Day (nadda still top 20)
Par for the course. Nothing to see here. Just another usual day on the field for Jones. He drove his throwing shoulder at his WRs so he was accurate. The loop in his throwing motion is still as horrendous as ever and it’s very visible in the pro day angles. I wish he made a slight improvement there but it doesn’t appear they even tinkered with it. Progressions, progressions, progressions will decide his fate. He is smart enough to be capable but he has to do it.
Kyler Murray Pro Day (Still Kliff Kingsbury’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.You’re my only hope.)
I didn’t want to watch it because there is no reason to watch it. The only thing Kyler needs to work on is his claustrophobic nature in a condensing pocket and you won’t learn about that in his throwing session. Ok, I’ll admit it. I actually did watch it and I need to give props to Daniel Jeremiah. I don’t do this often so drink it in. He stated that, “There’s nothing that is more over-rated than how a QB’s going to take a drop that’s been in a shotgun. It’s like we make this out to be rocket-science and its 5 steps. It’s not that hard.” Thanks DJ. “Gurus” made my ears bleed every time they used that critique on Deshaun Watson and it’s good to hear that stupid line of thought is finally dead. It was actually quite refreshing to hear their crew ramble on about new age evaluation yet troubling that they still have Haskins rated ahead of Murray, Lock over Jones and Finley in their top 5. Their getting a clue, but they don’t know how to use said clue.
Then these start to heat up a bit.
Dwayne Haskins Pro Day(moved from early 3rd to late-2nd grade) Two things of note from the throwing session jump out immediately. First, I’ve complained about Haskins long load in his throwing motion. Specifically, Haskins pulls the ball back to his load point with his hand upside down, then he flips the ball into its proper load point. This is wasted motion and puts a hitch in his load. This isn’t as bad as a loop but it slows his release. Haskins opened the throwing session with this issue resolved. However, bad habits die hard and as he tired through the session the ball started drift from the proper load to a sideways load. His body is used to the upside down load and the old habit was creeping back in as the session progressed. I’ll give him credit for the attempted fix and it’s good to see he’s trying to sort it out. It’s not behind him though. Secondly, he’s done a lot of work on strengthening the flick of his wrist. The ball is holding a tighter shape and it’s a very promising sign. Despite having a strong arm, his nose to tail ball wobble was greatly effecting his accuracy and velocity. Haskins, like Watson, showed up with slower ball velocity on the radar gun than the eye test would expect. The wobble was the culprit. He’s made progress on his path to fix that and due to that I’ll give him a bump in his draft grade. I had him in the early 3rd and I’ll move him to the late 2nd. The only thing you should look for in throwing sessions is how the QB has improved their basic mechanics. Haskins has, so there’s a brighter glimmer of hope.
If you watched the pro day did anyone point this out? No. Great work guys!
Drew Lock Pro Day (moved from late-2nd to early 2nd grade)
Turn back the clocks its 2017 again! Thank goodness! Drew Lock has scrapped the over-stride he showed in 2018 and went back to a rock-step motion with his lower body. The mechanics synced back up and all is well with the world again. Well he’s not throwing piss-rod laser beams as often but he’s got some accuracy and touch back. This is what I asked for on the QB board and it was received. This greatly increases his chances as a game manager starter and bumps him back up a bit because we don’t have to worry about him being Osweiler. Matt Hasselbeck ahoy!
If you watched the pro-day did anyone point this out? No. Great work guys!
And now what you’ve all been waiting for…
Will MuthaF%##$@# “Dark Magic” Grier Pro Day (Top 15 and RISING!!!)
Yup, I’m still here. Out on my limb. The one where I say Will Grier is the 2nd best QB in this draft. I’m walking out further onto that limb and 3rd place is fading off in the rearview mirror. As you can tell from the title, I’m even more excited than ever. Why? Will Grier had (past tense) two traits that were negatives. One, his pure athletic mobility which will never be a plus. Two, his below average arm strength which could be fixed to a degree. Easily, and I saw it as a very likely outcome, but it hadn’t happened yet. Now that fix has been made. Will Grier operated (past tense) in a very wide base with a small step into his throw. He came out in his throwing session in a narrower base and a step that landed in the same spot. He slimmed down his base, which made his drive step longer adding torque. However, wide based QBs stunt their hip rotation because it’s harder to twist with a wide base. The narrower base also increased his hip rotation. More torque. Will Grier has added 3 mph to his velocity in this subtle and easy fix. His arm is now NFL average. His arm is now better than Drew Brees. This is the QB you want from this draft class if you cannot get Murray. Any doubt left is gone. Reports out of his pro day were quiet because of the lack of media coverage. Still the whispers were that he “wowed” and will be “rising up the boards.” Adding 3 mph to your velocity when that is your biggest weakness will do that.
These are the aspects of the Pro-day that should have been talked about. They weren’t. Contact your local representative and demand improvement from NFL Network’s draft coverage.