Senior Bowl Notes: The Quarterbacks

While Joe Burrow is seen as the top quarterback and player in the 2020 NFL Draft but he’s not at the Senior Bowl so the show must go on. The first two days of the Senior bowl have truly separated the wheat from the chaff between Justin Herbert, (Oregon) Jordan Love, (Utah State) Jalen Hurts, (Alabama & Oklahoma) Anthony Gordon, (Washington State) Steven Montez, (Colorado) and Shea Patterson (Michigan). The Cincinnati Bengal and Detroit Lion staff have put these players through the fire and who these prospects are have come to light. The best way to classify these quarterbacks is the old-fashioned gold, silver and bronze star system. 

Gold (No real shock here.)

Justin Herbert

Jordan Love

Herbert looked every bit the best quarterback in Mobile based on his command of the huddle to his ball placement on throws. It helps that he won the academic version of the Heisman trophy with a 4.1 GPA. Not every ball was perfect but far and away Herbert has been the most accurate quarterback this week. There’s not a throw he can’t make and once he got in a groove during team periods he checked all the boxes.

Love had some mental mistakes, like a muffed handoff and a few bad throws but his arm talent and feet were great, especially during team periods and one-on-ones. According to the Senior Bowl Instagram story, Love won the North practice squad player of the week. It’s well known that Love has all the arm talent in the world to lead an offense but he has to be consistent with his accuracy. These two quarterbacks are first-round locks. The only thing left to play is the game itself. Herbert did win the best quarterback. 

Silver 

Jalen Hurts

Anthony Gordon

Hurts had a very inconsistent performance throughout. When he was on he was as good as Love or Herbert but when he threw some bad balls they were painfully off target. He still is very much a draftable quarterback but has to work on his feet, accuracy and ball placement. Some plays had it been in real-time, he would’ve broken off a huge run so there’s some credit he must be given for staying in the pocket as long as he did sometimes.

Gordon has simply put a smooth thrower of the football and had his fair share of great moments. Washington State knows how to prep quarterbacks for the NFL and Gordon is no different. He was by no means the best quarterback and he at times outdueled Hurts so it’s fair to put them on the same level. Hurts should follow the Dak Prescott route in his pocket presence and touch. Gordon has to have to fight the stigma of a slight frame and small hands but his accuracy is NFL ready on a bad day. His consistency and pocket presence will determine if he can stay on a roster. 

He and Hurts have the mobility in the pocket to buy themselves some benefit of the doubt. 

Bronze (Honestly, these two could be interchangeable) 

Shea Patterson

Steven Montez

These two showed why their careers were so frustrating to watch and why it’s not a good idea to draft them. When they made great throws, everyone would rejoice. However, when they made boneheaded mistakes it was collectively, quiet groans at times. If they could string together some consistency with their accuracy, feet, and decision-making then they might salvage a late-round draft pick but as they are right now, it would be a waste of a draft pick. These two need a litany of work on their game to even hear their names called.