2020 NFL Draft Prospects: Quarterbacks

By: Cole Negen

Now that the Super Bowl is over, the casual football fans will begin make way for football geeks such as myself. The NFL draft is in about 2 ½ months. Until then, I get to look at each player individually, and project where I see them ending up, and how good of an NFL prospect they will end up. I plan on taking a look at each position for this upcoming draft, starting with quarterbacks.

Joe Burrow

Starting at the top, Burrow is the clear favorite to go first overall. The Bengals are looking to move on at the QB position and Burrow is an Ohio native, it’s just too perfect a fit. There’s no doubt he’s the best QB in the draft. He is extremely accurate, as he set the NCAA record for completion percentage this last year. His arm strength is good, but not great. An ideal situation for Burrow would be a West Coast offense, where he can let his quick decision making and accuracy be the feature of his game. Unlike some West Coast QBs, however, who get stuck being a “game-manager”, Burrow has decent mobility and an ability to extend plays that really make him stand out in that department. He is like a more athletic Tom Brady, and he should be starting for Cincinnati on week 1.

Tua Tagovailoa

Another Hawaiian QB! Hopefully Tua is in for a much better NFL experience than Marcus Mariota is though. Tagovailoa is a slicer. He moves the ball down the field in big chunks, whether it’s with his feet, extending the play, or throwing the ball down the field. He makes really quick decisions, not usually spending a lot of time sitting in the pocket. His mechanics are very polished for someone with not very much experience. He has great accuracy. Very rarely do you see one of his receivers have to make a wild catch to make up for him being off the mark. His throwing ability doesn’t have a ton of upside. In fact, I don’t see how he can much more he can improve his game in that area. His arm doesn’t have a ton of juice, and I could see a really good defense frustrating him by making him throw the ball into spaces that good secondaries will eat him alive in. Nevertheless, Tua is a very good pick for a team looking to reestablish who they are.

Justin Herbert

Unlike the 2 above him, Herbert still has a little ways to go.