Top NFL Draft Quarterback Prospects

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 11, 2013

Top NFL Draft Quarterback Prospects

Geno Smith

Smith shined in West Virginia's spread offense, throwing for 4,205 yards and an NCAA-best 42 touchdowns with just six interceptions as a senior. His accuracy greatly improved in 2012, reflected by his 71.2-percent completion percentage, 5.4 percentage points better than in his junior year. His one knock is his lack of experience under center as he played nearly exclusively from the shotgun with the Mountaineers.

Mike Glennon

A 6-feet, 7-inches, Glennon certainly has the height to sit in the pocket and find open receivers over the middle. He showed great improvement in his second season as a starter, throwing for 4,031 yards and 31 touchdowns, although his NCAA-worst 17 interceptions will certainly be a concern. NFL teams will hope they get more of what they saw in the end of the season, when he averaged 274 yards per game with 3.66 touchdowns and .667 interceptions to lead the Wolfpack to wins over Clemson, Maryland and Louisville.

Matt Barkley

At one time considered a possible No. 1 overall pick, Barkley's draft stock fell with his declining efficiency and increased interceptions. Barkley's passing yards fell by 255 yards from his junior year, and he threw for three fewer touchdowns, while his interceptions ballooned from seven to 15. Still he has experience running a pro-style offense and a demonstrated ability to make adjustments at the line of scrimmage.

Tyler Wilson

Wilson possesses solid arm strength and toughness and threw for more than 7,000 yards in two seasons as the starter for the Razorbacks. Like Barkley, his numbers declined in his senior year, likely due to the firing of head coach Bobby Petrino and the departure of his top two receivers after 2011.

E.J. Manuel

Manuel possesses good touch and velocity on his throws, which helped him rack up 3,397 passing yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior. He can also beat defenses with his feet somewhat, gaining 310 yards on the ground in 2012. However, the 6-5, 237-pound quarterback's accuracy is a concern as is his decision-making under pressure.

Tyler Bray

Bray's arm strength gives the impression of a top pick, but his decision-making and accuracy give major pauses. Still, he threw for 3,612 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2012, both among the best in the SEC.

Ryan Nassib

When Nassib feels comfortable in the pocket and steps into his throws, he can deliver a solid ball using his great velocity to hit narrow windows. This ability allowed him to throw for 3,749 yards and 26 touchdowns for Syracuse in 2012. However, the quarterback is prone to getting happy feet and relying to much on his arm rather than stepping into throws. This can get him into trouble and lead to dangerous passes.

Zac Dysert

Dysert broke Ben Roethlisberger's records for completions and passing yards at Miami (Ohio), so teams will naturally compare the two quarterbacks. Dysert threw for roughly 3,500 yards each of the past two seasons with 25 touchdowns in 2012. He has a tendency to hone in on one target and only one target and may be a little to reliant on his feet rather than allowing other receivers to get open.

Landry Jones

Jones' career numbers are superb. In four seasons, he has thrown for 16,646 yards and 123 touchdowns. He threw for over 4,000 yards in each of the past three seasons and cut his interceptions down from 15 in 2011 to 11 in 2012. On the downside, he's slow, making him vulnerable to sacks, and hasn't demonstrated elite touch on his passes or accuracy on throws downfield. He can also get rattled by past mistakes.

Matt Scott

An athletic quarterback, Scott can evade pressure in the pocket and scramble when needed. He also has the arm strength to stretch defenses or throw across the field. However, it is his accuracy that drags down his draft stock as Scott has demonstrated an unfortunate tendency to either sail passes over his receivers' heads or fail to step into passes, leading to underthrows. He threw for 3,620 yards and 27 touchdowns with 506 yards on the ground in 2012.

Nathan Stanley

Not a widely known name, Stanley spent his first two years at Ole Miss before finishing up at Southeastern Louisiana. He threw for 1,952 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2012. The numbers and quality of the opponents may not say much, but Stanley has the physical tools that a team may hope it can develop down the line.

Alex Carder

A broken hand limited Carder to six games in his senior year, his third year as the starting quarterback for Western Michigan's prolific offense. Carder threw for 1,652 yards in those six games after throwing for 3,873 yards in 2011. His accuracy declined before he was injured. He tossed 10 interceptions in 2012 after throwing 14 in a full season the year before.

Collin Klein

Klein's athleticism is unquestioned. A gifted runner, he racked up more than 2,000 yards on the ground in the past two seasons as well as 50 rushing touchdowns. Klein's ability to pass at the next level is what holds him back in the draft as his inaccuracy could be costly in the NFL. He could switch to running back or be used in wildcat packages.

Tino Sunseri

Sunseri came out of nowhere in 2012, reinventing himself as an accurate, smart passer. Sunseri threw more interceptions than touchdowns in 2011, but then threw just three picks in 2012, finishing the season with nine-plus games without an interception. He completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 3,288 yards and 21 touchdowns. At just 6-feet, he does not have the ideal physical build for an NFL quarterback, but he wouldn't be the first to overcome that knock.

Jordan Rodgers

Let's just get it out of the way. Rodgers is not as good as his famous older brother. That said, he delivered a nice senior season, throwing for 2,539 yards and 15 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Rodgers has a quality arm, but like Sunseri ? he's 6-feet, one-inch ? he lacks the height scouts are looking for in a quarterback.