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http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nfl-draft/post?id=3635
Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater held his pro day Monday and, with UCF QB Blake Bortlesworking out Wednesday, there is plenty of buzz this week among the 2014 quarterback class.
Bridgewater failed to take advantage of the moment Monday in front of a heavy contingent of coaches and front-office personnel who left with some of the same questions they had hoped to have answered. For a full review check out Monday’s draft blog by my colleague Todd McShay, who was in attendance at Louisville.
Although there will be plenty of talk about Bridgewater, Bortles and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel within the next few weeks (Manziel works out March 27), there are a pair of developmental quarterbacks in Pitt’s Tom Savage and Georgia’s Aaron Murray who are creating buzz among NFL personnel. These two QBs also have caught my eye on recent film study.
In my opinion, Savage is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in this class. A highly touted recruit out of high school, Savage was a double transfer who started his career at Rutgers before transferring to Arizona and then to Pitt once Arizona hired Rich Rodriguez, who didn't see Savage as a fit in his spread zone-read offense.
I had a chance to see Savage live twice this fall: once against Duke and once against Miami late in the season. In addition, after working through six more coaches' tapes, the things that jump out about Savage are his stature, his arm strength and his polished mechanics. At nearly 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds, Savage has a sturdy build and, along with Logan Thomas, might have one of the strongest arms in the class. He is an effortless thrower of the football, which means the ball comes clean off his hands with plenty of rpm and finishes with a lot of energy without having to overcompensate with his mechanics, particularly in his lower body.
Savage also has experience in a pro-style system, and it shows with his ability to get to his second and third reads. Although he still has developing to do in terms of touch and accuracy as a deep-ball thrower, he is steady in the short to intermediate part of the field and frequently provided his receivers the opportunity to run after the catch.
It's obvious Savage lacks ideal athleticism for the position and will never be a running threat at the next level. However, he has above-average pocket instincts and functional mobility moving within the pocket to buy time. In addition, he stands strong in the pocket, rarely blinks in the face of pressure and will stare down the gun barrel to deliver an accurate throw while taking a hit.
There are plenty of variables that need to go into Savage’s evaluation. First, being a double transfer, he was unable to gain any type of stability learning and gaining experience within one system. Second, and most important, in my opinion, was the lack of a supporting cast. Up front, the Panthers' offensive line was a nightmare in protection -- particularly on the right side of the line -- surrendering 43 sacks, which ranked 118th out of 123 FBS teams (a handful were on Savage for holding the ball too long). In addition, aside from freshman WR Tyler Boyd, the Panthers' perimeter was plagued by critical drops throughout the year.
This leads to the toughness Savage displayed this year both physically and mentally. I don’t know whether I’ve seen a quarterback take more physical punishment than Savage did this past fall. He was constantly being knocked to the ground throughout each tape I watched: against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Syracuse, Florida State and North Carolina.
When I spoke with a defensive assistant coach during pregame of the Panthers' regular-season finale against Miami, he praised Savage’s toughness and leadership skills throughout the season. The coach claimed that it would have been easy for Savage to go into the tank but that he continued to battle and to compete while maintaining a positive attitude with his teammates.
Savage is far from a finished product. However, he displays a physical skill set that translates well to the next level. In addition, he is built for the inclement weather, and teams such as the Jets, Bears, Bills, Packers and Bengals looking to add a developmental backup to their roster could find strong value for Savage early in the Day 3 range.
As for Murray, it has been well documented that he lacks prototypical measurables, checking in at 6-0½ and 207 pounds, and comes with some durability issues after tearing the ACL in his right knee late in November against Kentucky. However, there are a lot of positive qualities that help Murray overcome his physical deficiencies.
First, and foremost, Murray showed tremendous improvement in terms of composure in big moments as a senior. I was on hand for the LSU and Tennessee games in which he led his teams to consecutive fourth-quarter comebacks with a short-handed offense that was battered by injuries at the skill positions. Murray’s decision-making and poise in several high-pressure situations in these contests was hard to ignore. He carried a strong field presence and showed the competitive edge that can’t be overlooked when it comes to evaluating the position.
Murray also has improved his accuracy and ball placement, particularly in the intermediate part of the field. In addition, it is clear Murray sees the field well. Not only is he able to make the necessary pre-snap checks and reads but he also shows the ability to work the entire field post-snap and get deep into his progressions. Adding to it, scouts and coaches I have spoken with coming out of the combine were extremely impressed with his advanced knowledge on the whiteboard in the interview process.
On the negative side, Murray's lack of size will give him problems when attempting to throw from a muddied pocket. In particular, his accuracy will suffer when color flashes late from the interior. Murray also has average arm strength at best. This is magnified when he is forced to push the ball down the field into tight windows. His ball can hang and appears to lose energy at the tail end at times.
Unlike Savage, he won’t be a great fit for teams that play in the AFC East, AFC North and NFC North, where weather conditions can get ugly late in the season. Murray’s best chance at developing and maximizing his skill set will come if he is able to team up with a creative offensive mind, like a Asshole Face in New Orleans, who relies on quick decision-making and getting the ball out in a timely manner.
Reports are that Murray’s recovery from his knee injury is going well. Murray is hopeful he will be able to work out for NFL personnel at Georgia’s pro day, which, fortunately for him, will be held later than usual on April 16, thanks in large part to the draft being pushed into May this year.
Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater held his pro day Monday and, with UCF QB Blake Bortlesworking out Wednesday, there is plenty of buzz this week among the 2014 quarterback class.
Bridgewater failed to take advantage of the moment Monday in front of a heavy contingent of coaches and front-office personnel who left with some of the same questions they had hoped to have answered. For a full review check out Monday’s draft blog by my colleague Todd McShay, who was in attendance at Louisville.
Although there will be plenty of talk about Bridgewater, Bortles and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel within the next few weeks (Manziel works out March 27), there are a pair of developmental quarterbacks in Pitt’s Tom Savage and Georgia’s Aaron Murray who are creating buzz among NFL personnel. These two QBs also have caught my eye on recent film study.
In my opinion, Savage is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in this class. A highly touted recruit out of high school, Savage was a double transfer who started his career at Rutgers before transferring to Arizona and then to Pitt once Arizona hired Rich Rodriguez, who didn't see Savage as a fit in his spread zone-read offense.
I had a chance to see Savage live twice this fall: once against Duke and once against Miami late in the season. In addition, after working through six more coaches' tapes, the things that jump out about Savage are his stature, his arm strength and his polished mechanics. At nearly 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds, Savage has a sturdy build and, along with Logan Thomas, might have one of the strongest arms in the class. He is an effortless thrower of the football, which means the ball comes clean off his hands with plenty of rpm and finishes with a lot of energy without having to overcompensate with his mechanics, particularly in his lower body.
Savage also has experience in a pro-style system, and it shows with his ability to get to his second and third reads. Although he still has developing to do in terms of touch and accuracy as a deep-ball thrower, he is steady in the short to intermediate part of the field and frequently provided his receivers the opportunity to run after the catch.
It's obvious Savage lacks ideal athleticism for the position and will never be a running threat at the next level. However, he has above-average pocket instincts and functional mobility moving within the pocket to buy time. In addition, he stands strong in the pocket, rarely blinks in the face of pressure and will stare down the gun barrel to deliver an accurate throw while taking a hit.
There are plenty of variables that need to go into Savage’s evaluation. First, being a double transfer, he was unable to gain any type of stability learning and gaining experience within one system. Second, and most important, in my opinion, was the lack of a supporting cast. Up front, the Panthers' offensive line was a nightmare in protection -- particularly on the right side of the line -- surrendering 43 sacks, which ranked 118th out of 123 FBS teams (a handful were on Savage for holding the ball too long). In addition, aside from freshman WR Tyler Boyd, the Panthers' perimeter was plagued by critical drops throughout the year.
This leads to the toughness Savage displayed this year both physically and mentally. I don’t know whether I’ve seen a quarterback take more physical punishment than Savage did this past fall. He was constantly being knocked to the ground throughout each tape I watched: against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Syracuse, Florida State and North Carolina.
When I spoke with a defensive assistant coach during pregame of the Panthers' regular-season finale against Miami, he praised Savage’s toughness and leadership skills throughout the season. The coach claimed that it would have been easy for Savage to go into the tank but that he continued to battle and to compete while maintaining a positive attitude with his teammates.
Savage is far from a finished product. However, he displays a physical skill set that translates well to the next level. In addition, he is built for the inclement weather, and teams such as the Jets, Bears, Bills, Packers and Bengals looking to add a developmental backup to their roster could find strong value for Savage early in the Day 3 range.
As for Murray, it has been well documented that he lacks prototypical measurables, checking in at 6-0½ and 207 pounds, and comes with some durability issues after tearing the ACL in his right knee late in November against Kentucky. However, there are a lot of positive qualities that help Murray overcome his physical deficiencies.
First, and foremost, Murray showed tremendous improvement in terms of composure in big moments as a senior. I was on hand for the LSU and Tennessee games in which he led his teams to consecutive fourth-quarter comebacks with a short-handed offense that was battered by injuries at the skill positions. Murray’s decision-making and poise in several high-pressure situations in these contests was hard to ignore. He carried a strong field presence and showed the competitive edge that can’t be overlooked when it comes to evaluating the position.
Murray also has improved his accuracy and ball placement, particularly in the intermediate part of the field. In addition, it is clear Murray sees the field well. Not only is he able to make the necessary pre-snap checks and reads but he also shows the ability to work the entire field post-snap and get deep into his progressions. Adding to it, scouts and coaches I have spoken with coming out of the combine were extremely impressed with his advanced knowledge on the whiteboard in the interview process.
On the negative side, Murray's lack of size will give him problems when attempting to throw from a muddied pocket. In particular, his accuracy will suffer when color flashes late from the interior. Murray also has average arm strength at best. This is magnified when he is forced to push the ball down the field into tight windows. His ball can hang and appears to lose energy at the tail end at times.
Unlike Savage, he won’t be a great fit for teams that play in the AFC East, AFC North and NFC North, where weather conditions can get ugly late in the season. Murray’s best chance at developing and maximizing his skill set will come if he is able to team up with a creative offensive mind, like a Asshole Face in New Orleans, who relies on quick decision-making and getting the ball out in a timely manner.
Reports are that Murray’s recovery from his knee injury is going well. Murray is hopeful he will be able to work out for NFL personnel at Georgia’s pro day, which, fortunately for him, will be held later than usual on April 16, thanks in large part to the draft being pushed into May this year.
