Top Quarterback Prospects

1. Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville: Bridgewater has declared himself eligible for this years draft. Bridgewater is a very good big game quarterback who showed great poise in both his major bowls games (Florida, Miami). Bridgewater was mainly asked to throw underneath routes in the short pass game but showed accuracy in medium level throws as well. He struggles driving into his throws downfield and lacks the accuracy to be in an aggressive downfield attacking offense. My biggest knock on Bridgewater is his size. He has the height deemed necessary to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, but I am concerned with his weight. Louisville has him listed at under 200 pounds but some reports have him listed at 215. If Bridgewater comes in light to the combine than his stock will surely drop.

2. Derek Carr, Fresno St.: Carr comes from football pedigree as his brother was the #1 draft pick to the Texans in 2002. Derek had character issues early in his career but after having his newborn child he turned his career around. He has an extremely strong arm and can make all of the throws. He lacks the new level of mobility that many teams seem to be after these last few years. When under pressure his mechanics tend to break down which can lead to mistakes. He isn't afraid to fit the ball into tight windows, there are other quarterbacks with higher potential but Carr has the most NFL ready ability in this draft.

3. A.J. McCarron, Alabama: A.J. McCarron is your typical game manager but had a poor showing in his bowl game against Oklahoma. McCarron is an accurate passer that can assess what a defense is doing quickly. He tends to throw with his upper body which makes his passes lose velocity and die out at the end of deeper routes. He still throws an accurate deep ball but when having to put zip on a ball and fit it into tight windows he struggles. McCarron can be good for a team that has a solid nucleus but needs a QB who can distribute and take care of the ball. Quarterbacks don't have to be able to make all of the throws but they do need to take care of the ball and McCarron will do that. 

4. Blake Bortles, Central Florida: Bortles was a late addition to the top 5 as not many thought he would turn into the quarterback he turned into this season. Bortles at 6'3 230 has great size and was originally recruited at every college (other than UCF) as a tight end. He showed his mobility in his bowl game against Baylor rushing for almost 100 yards. Bortles relies heavily on timing routes and most of his passes are based on anticipation over arm strength. His deep ball tends to lack a bit of power but that can be taught through proper fundamentals. Each player in this draft has one thing they do really well and many things to work on Bortles does everything well but isn't great at anything yet.

5. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M: I am not high on Manziel and personally I'd leave him out of my top 5 and as I begin to evaluate more quarterbacks outside this type 5 I believe he will end up dropping out. Manziel lacks the arm strength to make major NFL throws but what he does provide is the elusiveness of a Russell Wilson who can create plays and extend plays that most can not. A lot of big plays that happened for the A&M pass game were created by Manziel escaping pressure and finding a receiver breaking off of his route. He doesn't do the best job going through his progressions because he tends to look to run first and escape then pass. Someone will take a shot at Johnny Football but I am just not so sure he will be the best fit for a NFL program.