NFL Draft 2023: Projecting the QB Stars and Busts
Zac Robinson spent a few years helping quarterback prospects prepare for the NFL scouting combine and the draft before working with Matthew Stafford as the Rams’ quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator.
Robinson prioritized drops from underneath the center, footwork off play-action passing, college film reviews and prepped quarterbacks as much as he could for life in the NFL. But Robinson often stopped for questions and created time for comprehension during a chaotic period in which QB prospects often overwhelm themselves by feeling the need to be perfect to impress teams.
“Telling them it’s O.K. to ask questions,” says Robinson, a former backup quarterback with the Patriots, Seahawks, Lions and Bengals. “[NFL] coaches will find out if you’re making something up. The biggest thing was just be authentically yourself and that goes a long way.”
NFL teams allocate countless resources in search of the next star quarterback through the draft, and that involves learning about the respective prospect as a person and player, a process that created the need to be perfect. But there’s no such thing as the perfect prospect and there’s no perfect model for projecting whether a QB prospect will be a star or a bust.
You can, however, create a list of must-haves for on- and off-the-field qualities, which varies from team to team. Once a player with those qualities is identified and there’s an opportunity to draft him, it’s then on the team to ensure the surroundings are set up for success, another area of uncertainty in this guessing game for landing the next star quarterback.
Sports Illustrated spoke to coaches for a better understanding of how NFL teams evaluate quarterbacks and how this draft’s top prospects fit into what teams deem paramount, while providing scouting reports on Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.
The responses were similar, but the priority level for certain QB traits were often different. For Robinson, he has three buckets for traits when it comes to scouting quarterbacks in the draft.
The arm: “Are they a natural thrower of the football? That’s something, along with your release, can be tweaked throughout time, but if you’re a natural thrower, you’re a natural thrower.”
The field vision: “How well they see the game. How well they process.”
The feel for the game: “You just love to see what types of instincts they have in the pocket. Are they willing to hang in there? Are they suddenly sliding and moving while they’re maintaining their eyes down the field? … A feel for the pocket, being able to remain a passer at all times.”
Here’s a scouting report on each of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft: