Nate Stanley - 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report

This one is near and dear to my heart as I have watched every snap of Nate Stanley's career as the quarterback of my beloved Iowa Hawkeyes. There were ups, there were downs, and there were truly some inexplicable moments during his three years as a starter, but overall Nate Stanley had more positives than negatives as a college quarterback. Still, I wanted to rewatch some of his games from this past season to see how some of those talents will translate to the next level. Since I wanted to be happy as opposed to getting angry at a game that happened six months ago, I chose his games against USC, Minnesota, and Purdue. 

Before we get into the passing, let's talk about the athleticism. It's not good, as the combine showed, but this man is likely the next Tom Brady in one area.

He's a master of the quarterback sneak. 

Don't believe me? Try topping this.

He gained eight yards sneaking the ball. EIGHT YARDS. This could work as an entire offense.

The thing that is going to stand out most about Stanley is his arm strength.

This is really what scouts are going to love with Stanley. He has a big arm and can rifle the ball into small areas. 

The most frustrating thing about Stanley is that although he can make all the throws, he never put together the consistency you would want to see from a starting quarterback. This especially showed up when he is on the road and with his deep balls.

This has been the most painful part of the Nate Stanley experience. His first year as a starter, I think he completed like 1 of 25 deep balls. I would stand up in anticipation every time he let it rip, and every time I would quietly sit back down while cursing under my breath. It's gotten better since his sophomore season, but it's still not good.

His accuracy is inconsistent on all levels, including screen passes.

He completes the pass, but the tight end has no momentum to gain yards after the catch because of where the ball was placed. He has to stop his route, catch, and turn before heading up field to gain yardage. 

Stanley will also struggle under pressure.

Here, the pressure is not overwhelming, and he still has plenty of space. Despite that, he tries to fire the ball while falling backwards, and it is hilariously off target for such a short throw.

Another issue he has under duress is trying to escape out of the pocket instead of stepping up into it.

He's not athletic enough to ever make this strategy work, but it can fail horribly at times as seen here. His running back does let him down on this play, but he often fails to find pockets to throw in and will run himself into more pressure than he gets out of.

I know this wasn't the most positive evaluation, but Nate Stanley is a sports writer's dream. He isn't the most physically gifted guy, but he always gives it 100% and will grind away any way that he can. Sure, he struggles under pressure and seems to get demonstrably worse on the road, but he's always there grinding and will always do just enough to at least keep his team in the game. Unfortunately, with the step up in competition, a lot of that grit just won't translate without more skills. He throws some great balls in the intermediate game, but his accuracy at all levels is a tick below where you would like to see it, and he doesn't have the awareness or athleticism to make up for that. Nate Stanley was a good quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes, but his ceiling is probably just a good backup in the NFL.

2020 Quarterback Rankings:
1. Tua Tagavailoa - Alabama
2. Joe Burrow - LSU
3. Jordan Love - Utah State
4. Justin Herbert - Oregon
5. Nate Stanley - Iowa

Jordan Love - 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report

I know there has been a long hiatus since my last scouting breakdown, but there is potential for a lot more of these since Coronavirus locks me into my home where I will only subsist by eating tape of the top prospects. That could mean like ten more scouting reports before the draft, but things change rapidly, so it could mean like two scouting reports before the draft, but hey, at least I’m getting one done today. And to show how rusty I am, when I was looking for game film, I searched for Bryce Love, and then realized that the former Stanford running back who is already in the NFL is probably not the best player to break down at this time. Sorry, Jordan Love, but playing for Utah State means you’re not on my mind a ton during my day-to-day life. But I did find the time to break down his games against Wake Forest, LSU, and Fresno State. 

When you first look at Love, it’s easy to notice a very good arm along with easy athleticism. That athleticism showed up at the combine where he had impressive explosion numbers with his jump while doing well with a 4.74 40-yard dash. 

I was expecting those traits coming into this analysis, but what surprised me was his ability to scan the field and especially the touch he was able to put on his passes down the field.

That sort of touch really reminds me of Russell Wilson when he was in college in the way that he could seemingly drop the ball in from great distance. He also had some really nice touch and accuracy on flares and screens which are easy passes to complete but not always easy to complete and give your receiver the best possible chance of creating maximum yards after the catch.

This play probably won't be worthy of his highlight reels, but I love what Love (damnit, I'll try to stop doing that) does here.

He looks to the center of the field to keep anybody from jumping things, then works to the sideline and fires the ball right as the receiver is making his break. He puts great pace on the ball and hits his receiver right in the hands. It's not a huge play, but it is flawless.

But if you want highlights, Jordan Love has highlights.

He does a really nice job of feeling pressure and instead of retreating into trouble, he calmly steps up into the pocket, and throws the ball 30 yards down the field to hit his receiver for a big-time touchdown.

This pass is hilarious.

I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing that he threw into triple coverage or a great thing, because he literally dropped the ball in his receiver’s arms as if he was God dropping it down from Heaven. Seriously, look how stupid this is.

Even on the move, he showed an ability to drop the ball in from long distance.

Here's another example of him showing pocket presence.

He stays calm, steps up in the pocket and hits his receiver in stride across the middle of the field.

Here, Love does a nice job of not taking the bait.

You can only catch a glimpse of it at the bottom of the screen, but the defender is looking to undercut that out route, so Love pulls the ball down and hits his receiver on the opposite side of the field.

I know this evaluation has been very rosy, but it isn't all sunshine and butterflies.

He does a good job of scanning the field and finding an open receiver, but he doesn’t quite open up that front hit enough and throws it behind his receiver where it is picked off by the Tigers defender.

Here, under what is not overwhelming distress, Love's mechanics fall apart, and it leads to a bad result.

He's falling backwards as he tries to sling the ball towards the end zone, and the defender has no trouble undercutting the route and making the pick. This is a bad mistake anywhere, it's terrible from the five-yard-line, especially when you consider that he probably had to throw the ball about 35 yards to get it all the way out there.

Jordan Love went from a 32:6 touchdown to interception ratio to 20:17 this past year. I expected to see a guy with some raw talent, but one that got away with bad throws two years ago that he no longer got a way with during this past season. Instead, I didn't really see anything that overly worried me. Sure, he sometimes makes poor decisions, especially under pressure, but that's true with a lot of quarterbacks. Ultimately, I saw him make some jaw-dropping throws, and I saw a ton of positive traits. I know Justin Herbert is getting a lot of love, being mentioned as a top-six pick, but I feel like Love is the clear-cut third best quarterback in this draft and shows enough on tape that I wouldn't be surprised if he moves his way into becoming a top-ten pick. He has enough skills to even make that look like a steal.

2020 Quarterback Rankings:
1. Tua Tagavailoa - Alabama
2. Joe Burrow - LSU
3. Jordan Love - Utah State
4. Justin Herbert - Oregon

I Still Believe in Mitch Trubisky

I was in love with Mitch Trubisky coming out of college. Like way, way, way too much. I had him as my top quarterback as Watson’s inaccuracy worried me, and I had just been burned by a quarterback who makes plays and shines brightest in big games, because that also describes Johnny Manziel. When it came to Mahomes, I saw the talent but like nearly everyone else, I didn’t know how it would translate to the NFL level. This revisionist history on Mahomes is a little insane, because nobody thought that guy was a slam dunk. There were things to love about him but also a ton of uncertainty. Anyway, it turns out Mahomes talent did translate to the NFL level. You may have heard about it.

So now Mitch is the butt of so many jokes, and it hurts me each and every time, because I’m an insane person who still believes in him. Even I have fallen out of love, but I don’t see why he can’t be as good as Kirk Cousins, who is, and will always be, the 16th best quarterback in the NFL. Trubisky should still at least be able to get to that level.

I forgot how good he was in college. I know he didn’t start until his junior year, but he saw time in his sophomore season and completed 85% of his passes. It was over 47 attempts, I get that, but that’s still pretty damn good. His senior year was 68%, and he did it without a lot of talent around him. Ryan Switzer is a nice little slot receiver, but it’s not like he had a big wide receiver or a top-notch running back while there. Also, they were 8-5 with Mitch and promptly went to 3-9, and then 2-9 after he left. Mitch Trubisky was an impressive prospect, and that can never be taken away.

Obviously, things have not gone as planned with the Bears. In 2017, he had to learn under John Fox, and that was a disaster, but he bounced back in 2018 and made the Pro Bowl. He was definitely streaky, but there were some really positive signs in 2018. The man was fourth in QBR in the NFL that season (Kirk Cousins was, unsurprisingly, 16th).

Mitch was a young quarterback who showed plenty of promise and enough production to think that 2019 would be another year of improvement, and instead, everything fell apart. Instead of having more confidence, he had less, way less, and he just wouldn’t pull the trigger on throws. It was so frustrating to watch. Part of this was probably due to Mitch taking way more sacks as the offensive line took a massive step backwards this season, and I also think Trubisky was hurt significantly by the Bears lack of a reliable tight end in the offense. He just didn’t have that safety valve to rely on, especially with Tarik Cohen really struggling early this season. I also think the Bears would have been helped by Jordan Howard who just bulldozes into things, and even if he’s not a great back, he is a reliable option that can churn out a few 100-yard games each season. Still, Mitch SUCKED this year. There’s no way to sugarcoat that. Even with some things working against him, he should have stepped up more than he did. He still showed flashes, but they were fewer and further in between this season.

The Bears need to get some help on the offensive line and they either need to have a healthy Trey Burton or add some help there as well. I think the receivers are good enough, especially since Allen Robinson is a true #1 wideout. I think David Montgomery will be better in year two, and will also benefit from a better offensive line. Also, if they give the damn ball to Cordarrelle Patterson on third or fourth and short, they owe me a brand new television, because I will break mine if I have to watch that plan fail yet again. 

But why can’t he bounce back? Mitch has the talent, and nobody can deny that he’s shown flashes of brilliance in the pros. He seemed to be at his best in the two-minute drill, because he stopped thinking and just fired the ball down the field. If he can get that mentality again, he will be plenty good enough to lead this team. They even brought in John DeFilippo as QB Coach when two years ago, he was being interviewed for the Bears head coaching position because of his strong work in Philadelphia. I think a shakeup for Mitch is good, and I think Mitch is going to shake things up in the NFC North next year. 

I can concede that Patrick Mahomes would have been a better selection than Trubisky, but I still think there’s a chance that he can get on Deshaun Watson’s level (I’m a tad delusional, I understand that), but either way, it’s too early to call Trubisky a bust, because he still has enough time where the next time you mention bust and Mitch Trubisky, you’re talking about his induction into the Hall of Fame. 

Justin Herbert - 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Justin Herbert, widely considered the third best quarterback in this draft is permanently right on the verge of breaking out. He was ready to break out after his sophomore season, and then he put up a pedestrian junior year. Still, he was big and had a strong arm so he was likely a first round pick, but he came back to school in order to have his big college breakout. And it paid off as Oregon won the Rose Bowl on the strength of their...defense. Herbert still didn't break out.

But then he went to the senior bowl, and against simplistic coverages and a total lack of defensive creativity, Herbert had his big breakout and became the Senior Bowl MVP. As great as that accomplishment is, I decided to watch real football games instead of an exhibition in order to make my evaluation. I watched his games against Auburn, Washington, and Utah. 

For the most part, I thought Herbert had good patience in the pocket. He also seemed to have a good feel for pressure as in the games I saw, he never seemed surprised by pressure.

Here, he takes his time, looks to the middle, then glances to the left before throwing right and hitting his receiver coming over to the ball.

He's also a guy that, despite being a big guy, can easily throw on the move.

Here, Oregon basically runs a double screen where it is more of a decoy on the left side, and then Herbert shifts his body and throws to the slot receiver on the right for nearly a 15-yard gain.

The easiest thing to enjoy about Herbert is he has very easy velocity on his throws.

Here, he does a nice job of scanning the field and getting the ball to his receiver between two defenders.

Here's another one where he shows very impressive arm strength while under heavy pressure.

Even though he's about to take a hit, he still steps through and delivers a nice ball.

Usually, he shows good mobility, but he did consistently struggle to make plays off schedule.

This is a super weird play as the inside receiver gets held up, so there are two receivers about five feet from each other.

On the following play, poor mechanics leads to an ugly throw.

Despite good blocking around him, he leans way back and doesn't get his legs underneath hi on the throw which leads to him sailing the pass beyond his receiver's grasp.

Here are back-to-back bad throws in the red zone.

Now, the first play, the right tackle gets badly beaten, but even before Herbert had any way of knowing that, he had already dropped eleven yards behind the line of scrimmage which makes things exponentially harder with the shortened field. He has to just throw it up and hope a miracle happens. The second play is just a bad throw behind the wide receiver in double coverage, and he's lucky neither of these was intercepted.

Here is my least favorite completion from Herbert.

3rd and 14 when a first down ices the game, and he throws it seven yards short. I don't know if it was scheme or what, but I just didn't see Herbert pushing the ball down the field. He has plenty of arm strength to do it, but the confidence didn't seem there to actually pull the trigger.

Here is his worst incompletion

Throwing a hail mary eight yards out of the end zone is inexcusable, especially since he was only throwing it from 39 yards away. He could have thrown it anywhere from 39-49 yards. Instead, he threw it 57. That is incredibly bad.

I feel like Herbert is a mixed bag. He has a good arm, he throws some accurate balls, and is athletic. But he does struggle making throws off schedule as he isn't always the best decision maker when his first read isn't there. My biggest issue is that I was just never wowed by him through three games. There were impressive plays here and there, but I was left edging when all I wanted to do was climax. Maybe that was because of how impressed I was with Tua, and I had to watch Herbert after that evaluation. Still, I'm left with a feeling that this guy's ceiling is a middle-of-the-pack quarterback, and reaching a ceiling is never guaranteed. I could see him being a late first rounder, but when it comes to quarterbacks being trucks or trailers, this guy is going to be a trailer who needs to be carried by the other pieces of the team if he's going to guide you to glory in the NFL.

2020 Quarterback Rankings:
1. Tua Tagavailoa - Alabama
2. Joe Burrow - LSU
3. Justin Herbert - Oregon

Tua Tagavailoa - 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report

You know how good Tua Tagavailoa is? I can spell his name without looking it up. He has become such an institution of football that Tagavailoa is like Smith to me. I’m still going to refer to him as Tua for most of the rest of this report, but that is just for convenience of three letters vs. 123456789...10 letters. 

Going into this season, Tua was the presumptive number one pick for the 2020 draft. He again had a marvelous season that was sadly cut short due to a serious hip injury. The medical stuff is scary, especially because he has constantly been nicked up with different injuries. I couldn’t think of another top selection that had this much issue with injuries, and unfortunately, Tua and his team likely won’t be sharing his medical records with me (it wouldn’t actually help, even if they did), so I’m going to base my evaluation on the tape. I will say that if things do look like they are progressing on schedule, I don’t think he’ll drop out of the top five from the overall thoughts on his talent. Still, I wanted to do my own research and check out his games against LSU, South Carolina and the National Championship game against Clemson from his sophomore season.

Here's a very nice throw from Tua, but what is more important is the patience he shows. He sees that his offensive line has the pass rush handled, and he waits. He doesn't rush anything, and eventually he sees his receiver pulling open, and hits him 20 yards down the field.

This is maybe the worst example of his skill with pocket presence, and even on this sack and fumble, you can see him compact his body before the contact as he does still recognize it at the last second. Unfortunately, it was a little too late, but for the most part, he does a great job of feeling pressure while keeping his eyes downfield.

I love how when Tua escapes pressure, it’s not to wildly scramble, his first goal is to climb the pocket so he can still make a play with his arm. He’s a very good athlete so he can run, but his first thought is pass. And even though it’s incomplete, it’s a catchable ball because of how well he moves and sets his feet, he basically had to throw it behind the receiver to avoid the coverage.

This is a very ugly pass, but he does a beautiful job of avoiding the pass rush in order to get the ball off. Again, he not only avoids pressure but keeps his eyes down the field in order to make a play.

Does Tua have small hands? Before that play, he had a bad fumble on the simple act of switching the ball to his outside hand. This is about as minor of a concern as a concern can get, but it is something that could cause more fumbles than you would like at the next level. On the other hand, everything Tua does looks like how you would ideally want it done. His footwork is always precise, his body is in sync, and he always seems aware of his surroundings. That should probably be weighed more heavily than possible small hands.

This is both too easy and beautiful. I have nothing else to add.

Okay, okay, if he's going to keep doing this, I guess I need to say something. I have NEVER seen a quarterback consistently throw a better deep ball than Tagavailoa. It's incredible.

He had so many plays that made me say expletives out loud.

Seriously? Seriously.

Here, not only does he do a great job of stepping up in the opening in the pocket, but he perfectly leads his receiver crossing the field so he can not only catch the ball in stride but also pick up a first down on 3rd and 19.

This pass doesn’t look like much, but it’s incredibly hard to find the right angle to lead a receiver properly on this swing pass, and Tua does it perfectly. 

Here, he looks to the right side of the field which gets the deep safety to drift over that way. Then he quickly sets his feet and nails his receiver crossing over the middle. It's textbook.

On talent alone, Tua Tagavailoa is BY FAR the best quarterback in this draft, and that’s not a knock on Joe Burrow, who is worthy of being a number one overall pick. But Tua isn’t just great for this draft, he may be the best quarterback prospect I have ever seen. I was head over heels in love with Andrew Luck, but on quarterback skills alone, I think I would put Tua ahead of him.

But then there’s the injuries. And not just the hip injury, but the issue he’s had with his ankle and all of these nicks here and there. It’s obviously a big concern, but I can only go off what I see, and if this guy is healthy, he’s a generational talent. I think he should be in consideration for the first overall pick, and I really cannot see a scenario where he drops out of the top five if the hip is making progress. Too often, people try to be too smart and nitpick a guy who has been good for many years in college. There’s no need to overthink this one, Tua is incredible, and if healthy, he will make any team that passes on him regret it.

Joe Burrow - 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Before I get started breaking down Joe Burrow, I first want to make everyone in Louisiana immediately hate me and think that I’m a total piece of shit and compare him to Mitch Trubisky. Both were Mr. Football in Ohio, both went away from Ohio State to pursue their football dreams with Trubisky enrolling at North Carolina and Burrow transferring to LSU, and they both have one year of production that everyone wants to judge them on. Athletically, Burrow is incredibly similar to Mitch Trubisky. They’re not running quarterbacks, but they are quarterbacks who can run so you need to respect their legs since they have enough juice to get first downs if left unattended.

Now for Trubisky, his one year was his only year as a full-time starter, while Burrow has one incredible year after putting up pedestrian numbers in his first year at LSU. It makes me wonder why it is better to be unimpressive one year as opposed to just not playing that much. I would tend to favor the guy that never played before, because everything I have seen from him has been good, and the big thing that people are asking themselves about Burrow is whether he made massive improvements or whether this year is an outlier that will not translate to the NFL level. 

To break down Burrow, I took a look at his 2018 game against Florida, and his 2019 games against Alabama and Texas. 

Let's get those Louisianans back on my side with a beautiful back shoulder fade from Burrow. I have to say that I was a lot more impressed than I expected to be with Burrow's 2018 performance.

Here, he starts looking down the middle before shifting to the outside and sets his feet and makes a really nice throw on the slant to pick up a first down. The thing that I really liked about this throw is that Burrow not only throws it between two converging defenders, but he also throws it low so his receiver can avoid taking a big hit.

The biggest issue that I had while watching Burrow is how he handled pressure. He just doesn't have great feel in the pocket and even though he starts scrambling, he is doing it to make a play and does not know that there is a blitzer on his backside.

Two other things that I noticed in 2018 that did not seem to be as much of a problem this past season is that he would often throw short of the first down on third downs despite not facing any pressure. He's firing the ball all over the place this year so that is definitely not an issue.

The other thing is that he wasn’t real comfortable scanning the field when his first read was covered. There were a few times where he did some checkdowns, but rarely was he able to look at more than half the field. As for 2019, it was amazing to see him scan the field with no issues. He was looking left to right, checking down and finding open receivers. 

It's night and day. He’s very quick in his decision making. Here, he is looking down the field, nothing opens up, and he sets and fires to his running back while barely looking because he knows there is nobody over there to cover him. 

Burrow baits the defense on this play as he’s looking to his left the whole way, just waiting for the receivers to cross the field where there is no safety on the right side. It’s about as easy of a touchdown as you’re going to see. 

This is such a great play by Burrow as he stays calm in his pocket. His first option is covered, his second option is covered, his third option is covered, there’s nothing to the right side of the field, so he pivots, sees his receiver on the drag has some space and makes the easy completion. 

Unfortunately, his issues with pressure continued to pop up in 2019. He just doesn't have great pocket awareness or movement. Most of the time, he just doesn't show great feel for pressure, but he can also get moving and make poor decisions.

Here is a case where Burrow tries to force something that simply isn't there and nearly gets it intercepted on second down.

Even with occasional struggles against pressure, he is still willing to step up in the pocket and make big time throws. 

I love how he steps up in the pocket to make this throw. Burrow can fit it in tight windows but was also clearly helped by some very impressive wide receivers.

Overall, there is a lot to be excited about with Burrow. He's very accurate with his throws, shows the ability to scan the entire field and even though it's not a big arm, it's plenty big enough to get the job done. As for the National Title game tonight, Clemson has the studs on defense to pressure Burrow, and tonight may be the most important game to watch if I'm an NFL Scout, because if Clemson is able to pressure him, it will be interesting to see whether Burrow can raise his game and still lead his Tigers to victory.

I personally think that Clemson's defense will provide enough stops for their offense to carry them, but this certainly wouldn't be the first time someone underestimated Joe Burrow and was proven wrong.

XFAlpha Podcast Notes - Episode 1

Jonah and I have started a podcast that takes a deep dive into the XFL, fittingly called the XFAlpha Podcast. You can follow along with everything XFAlpha @XFAlphaPod on twitter or email us at xfalphapod@gmail.com. The audio for the first episode is not the greatest, but the content makes up for it. Spoiler alert, we did get the audio fixed for future episodes. I'll be posting my raw show notes for each episode here, but make sure that you download the episode, and rate and review us if possible.

DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE HERE

The XFL Draft was such a disappointment, because it was just an awful viewing experience. Vince McMahon doesn’t know anything about football, but he does know about showmanship, and it was so cheap looking that 

They took a damn lunch break.

The big issue is that they could have given an inside look. 

I would have liked to see them have a draft, but then do an inside the draft process where they highlight discussions in the individual draft rooms so you get an idea of what they are thinking. It was such a missed opportunity.

Also, line up some player interviews. They are all about building personalities, so let these guys talk. 

1. DC Defenders - Cardale Jones and Tyree Jackson
1. Cardale Jones didn’t come to play school. He came to play football. And he led Ohio State to a National Championship. He has a big arm and is fairly accurate so there’s a lot to like about him. 
2. Tyree Jackson is legit. Big arm, threw some beautiful deep balls. I didn’t think he looked that athletic on the field, but he did test out ridiculously well. Shocked he couldn’t make a roster.
2. Tampa Vipers - Aaron Murray and Taylor Cornelius
1. He’s from a family of winners as his brother won The Bachelorette. He was a four-year starter at Georgia but just never had an impressive enough arm to actually make anything happen at the next level. 
2. Taylor Cornelius was a guy that I saw over the week at the East-West Shrine Game last year, and I thought he was the most impressive quarterback there. Now, it wasn’t the stiffest competition, but I thought he had some good tools and a nice arm, so he’s my pick to be starting for this team. He also played his biggest in big games as he balled out against Oklahoma and West Virginia, coming close to two upsets, but still getting one done against the Mountaineers.
3. Vincent Testaverde
3. New York Guardians - Matt McGloin and Marquise Williams
1. Matt McGloin is an overachiever who went from walk on to starting quarterback for Penn State and then went undrafted to starting six games for the Raiders. Now he was bestowed as one of the Great 8, so I’m guessing that he is a disappointment in his first opportunity where he is not seen as an underdog. 
2. Stopped Trubisky from starting earlier in his career. He did fairly well in relief for San Antonio of the AAF, but unless they run the option, he probably won’t beat out McGloin.
3. Garrett Fugate
4. Houston Roughnecks - Phillip Walker and Connor Cook
1. Walker played under Matt Rhule at Temple, so definitely some good coaching before sticking around the practice squad of the Colts. Interceptions were an issue.
2. Connor Cook just seems like a turd. I will admit that I have an unnatural hatred for Michigan State quarterbacks. I mean, I don’t hate Cousins, but I feel like the guy has been shoved down my throat because one time he said YOU LIKE THAT. But I just remembered Cook started a playoff game. Not sure if you remember, but it did not go well.
5. Dallas Renegades - Landry Jones and Philip Nelson
1. Landry Jones started four years for a super talented Oklahoma team, but the guy just never got better and continually threw too many interceptions. He actually started five games in the NFL, and the best thing he has going for him is his old college coach, Bob Stoops, bringing him aboard.
2. Philip Nelson gave a teammate brain damage, so not exactly a guy I’m going to be rooting for.
6. Los Angeles Wildcats - Luis Perez 
1. Luis Perez, after dominating Southwestern College, could no longer be overlooked by his dream school of Texas A+M....Commerce. He hit 70% of his throws and throwing for over 5,000 yards while leading his team to a National Title and winning the Heisman of Division 2, the Harlon Hill Trophy. His time with the Birmingham Iron left a little to be desired as he had more picks than TDs and barely completed 50% of his passes.
7. Seattle Dragons - Brandon Silvers and Joe Callahan
1. Silvers was nearly an AAF hero and completed 64% of his passes in that league which is a fairly good sign of how he might perform. Same percentage he had while throwing for over 10,000 yards at Troy.  Still, he wasn’t good enough to make a training camp even after that performance which shows he probably doesn’t have that high of a ceiling. 
2. Joe Callahan was 5-7 for 11 yards in an actual NFL game. That’s not great, but he did play in an NFL game. He’s had seven stints in the NFL, including the Packers twice. There’s a good chance Aaron Rodgers forced him out. 
8. St. Louis Battlehawks - Jordan Ta’amu and Brogan Roback
1. Jordan Ta’amu wasn’t good enough to beat out Shea Patterson and as someone who has watched more Michigan than I would like to admit, that is not a great sign. There’s just nothing that stands out about Ta’amu, so I can’t really add much more than that.
2. Brogan Roback is benefiting greatly from being on Hard Knocks. Good for him. He has a better chance of making it as a punter which he did some at Eastern Michigan than he does as a quarterback.