With the 2018 college football season completed the talk has now shifted to the many different collegiate players that could be potential NFL Draft picks. Many of these college football stars have begun to generate noise among draft analyst. It’s no secret that several teams around the National Football league will be in the market for a quarterback that can take their team to the next level.
Teams will do there due diligence to evaluate up and coming prospects and this year the 2019 Senior Bowl has some intriguing QBs. With that being said, let’s examine three that you should get to know before the 70th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl.
1. Daniel Jones, Duke, 6’5″ 220lbs
Jones may be a quarterback prospect that isn’t talked about much but he’s one of the more interesting draft candidates out there. The Former Duke walk-on has great size that helps him stand tall in the pocket in the face of pressure. He has the vision to make smart decisions with the football doing a great job throwing with good anticipation.
Jones has quick feet in the pocket allowing him to buy time to either find the open receiver or use his mobility to run and make some plays with his legs. Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe who had success with Peyton Manning makes Jones a guy to keep an eye on in this game.
Jones had a solid performance in the Independence Bowl, finishing the game 30-of-41 for 423 yards passing with six total touchdowns (five passing) and two interceptions. Jones finished his junior season 237of 392 for 2,674 yards passing (60.5% completions), with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
2. Will Grier, West Virginia, 6’4″ 223lbs
Grier isn’t as tall and doesn’t have the ideal quarterback body type as he is a little smaller in size. Most importantly, however, he makes terrific decisions when processing actions by the defense before the snap and does a solid job of dispersing the football in rhythm. Grier will need to improve on his ability to read the field in its entirety, avoiding predetermined decisions with the football.
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The former WVU star possesses the necessary arm strength to fit the ball through tight windows in the defense. His athleticism can offer an additional dynamic in the passing game especially when plays break down. Grier finished his senior year 266 of 397 passing for 3,864 yards passing ( 67% completions) with 37 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
3. Drew Lock, Missouri, 6’4″ 225lbs
Lock has good size and arm strength to make all the throws. He possesses a controlled gunslinger mentality with good decision-making skills. In 2018, he tied the lowest interception total of his college career by only throwing eight interceptions on the year. Lock isn’t a freakishly athletic quarterback but is Good enough athlete to avoid pressure and extend plays.
However, the biggest knock against Lock is his accuracy. In 2017, Lock completed 57.8% of his passes which was better than his first two seasons but still fairly low. In 2018, Lock improved his accuracy even further by completing 62.9 % of his passes. It will be important for him to continue to display improved accuracy especially in a setting such as the Senior Bowl.
Lock finished his 2018 senior year 275 of 437 for 3,498 passing yards and 28 touchdowns.