2020 NFL Combine Winners and Losers: Quarterbacks
The first initial wave of players at the NFL combine have gone through their workouts and testing.
Quarterbacks, tight ends and wide receivers all have been measured and interviewed.
Let's take a look more closely at the quarterback position now and some of the winners and losers at the position.
Winners
Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama: Yes, Tua did not partake in any drills due to the gruesome hip dislocation he suffered this past season. The biggest question mark that teams have on Tagovailoa is his health. According to all reports, he passed his medicals with flying colors. He is right where he should be in the recovery process. That's big news for the potential top-3 pick, as well as the Detroit Lions. Having often been labeled as the consensus top pick before his injury, the Lions will likely be the benefactor of a team wanting to trade up to select the quarterback.
Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon: Herbert was the top-ranked college passer to throw at the combine. Both Tagovailoa and potential No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow unsurprisingly chose to not participate. On top of some great ball velocity, touch and accuracy in the throwing drills, Herbert demonstrated plus-athletic ability. In the 40-yard dash, the 6-foot-6 quarterback ran an impressive 4.68. With the way the NFL is trending towards high-end athletes at the position, Herbert has the traits of a pocket quarterback with the added ability to run.
Jordan Love, QB, Utah State: Yet again, another "winner" who was projected to be a first-round pick. I guess that shouldn't be much of a surprise. Love has been placed all over mock drafts, but his combine performance is garnering him plenty of top-10 buzz as well as a few calling Love a better prospect than Herbert. Not that the combine should be the sole factor in determining his worth, but he definitely helped his stock on Thursday night. During the passing portion, Love made plenty of the more difficult passes look easy. The ball really jumped out of his hand. At 6-foot-4, Love tested very well overall in the athletic drills as well.
Losers
Jake Fromm, QB, Georgia: At one point, Fromm was mentioned as a possible first-round pick. Those days seem to be long gone. There were documented flaws is Fromm's game and they all reared their ugly head at the combine. His arm strength was average and didn't necessarily throw a pretty ball when he tried to put some zip on it. It's doesn't help his case when there are other strong-armed quarterbacks to directly compare to him in the passing drills. Again, not the 40 times for quarterbacks are overly important, but Fromm was the slowest quarterback of the group.
At this point, Fromm does a lot of things well, but nothing great -- which limits his ceiling. The combine did nothing to ease any of those concerns. That's not to say Fromm can't be a serviceable NFL quarterback, but his performance doesn't likely land him in the late first-round like he probably had hoped.
Jacob Eason, QB, Washington: Eason is probably the quarterback with the strongest arm in the draft. He stands at 6-foot-6 and looks the part. Eason isn't a great athlete but overall tested in the average range. Maybe it's a little nit picky at this point, but anticipation and ball placement are two of his biggest knocks. During the passing drills, both of those negative traits were on display -- which is discouraging because it's against air. In all likelihood, Eason did not strongly propel himself into round one -- unless a quarterback-needy team completely falls in love with his potential.
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