The NFL Combine has finished and now come the weeks of preparation for the NFL Draft. Prospects, coaches, scouts, and even TV analysts are evaluating and preparing for the 2019 NFL Draft that starts on April 25th. This is a great time to be a top quarterback prospect. In a quarterback-driven league, their value skyrockets and they are usually the most talked about position group all across the media.
But what about the quarterback prospects that are not talked about often. Every year, there are a handful of college quarterbacks that are either too small, too inaccurate, ran the ball too much or sometimes just flat out not good enough to be an NFL quarterback. Typically these quarterbacks stick around on team’s practices squads, pursue a career in another football league or just give up on their professional football career entirely. However, up and coming athletic college quarterbacks have a new fourth option thanks to a pioneer by the name of Taysom Hill.
How Taysom Hill Gave Overlooked Athletic College Quarterbacks a New Chance at the NFL
The Swiss-Army Knife
Hill was a productive dual-threat quarterback for BYU during his tenure at the school. In 37 career games, he passed for 6,929 yards, rushed for 2,815 yards and scored 75 touchdowns. However, at 6’2″ and 221 pounds, Hill did not have the most ideal size to play quarterback and the style of offense the Cougars ran did not help his draft stock either. Hill went undrafted in 2017 and eventually signed with the Green Bay Packers. The Packers decided they did not have a spot for him and the New Orleans Saints wound up claiming the quarterback off waivers.
Hill saw almost no playing time in 2017 but that narrative changed in 2018. Head coach Sean Payton opened up the playbook and incorporated Hill in the offense in a ton of gadget plays to throw the defense off balance. Hill lined up at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end and did a little bit of everything for the Saints. He finished the year with 196 rushing yards, three receptions and completed three passes for 64 yards while totaling two touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown in the postseason. Hill also contributed a lot on the special teams for the Saints and recorded six tackles in 2018.
Hill’s versatility is what makes him so dangerous and keeps defenses on their toes whenever he lines up on the field. If he’s lined up at quarterback, he can both run and throw the ball. If he’s out wide, not only can he catch a pass but you have to be wary of any double-pass plays. Hill can lineup with or without Drew Brees on the field and still be equally as dangerous.
The Evolving NFL Offense
A typical NFL offense in 2019 is very different from the offense that was run 10-15 years ago. Gadget plays and misdirections are being used at an all-time high and the offensive minds of Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt Nagy, and others are taking the league by storm. While the New England Patriots might argue otherwise, not every team has a quarterback as special as Tom Brady and not every team can have a top-five defense.
Even older coaches like Payton, Andy Reid, and Norv Turner are adapting their offensive playcalling and are adding gadget plays. Young coaches like Kliff Kingsbury and Zac Taylor are getting hired with very little coaching experience but they offer their teams the new ‘wave’ of offensive minds. Sooner or later every team will be looking for the next Hill to incorporate into their offense.
This Year’s ‘Taysom Hill’ Candidates
Outside of the top five quarterback prospects this year, there isn’t a whole lot of great pocket passing guys. But this class does offer a lot of versatility and one name that jumps out is Nick Fitzgerald out of Mississippi State. Fitzgerald was extremely productive as a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and finished his career with 6,207 passing yards, 3,607 rushing yards, and 101 total touchdowns. His career completion percentage of 54.2 percent worries a lot of NFL scouts and odds are he won’t make it as a traditional starter in the league. But he displayed great athleticism running the fourth fastest 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine and with his 6’5″ frame, could be a versatile piece to an offense that you lineup at tight end, wide receiver or quarterback.
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Way.@HailStateFB‘s Nick Fitzgerald TO THE HOUSE! pic.twitter.com/C5BsyErxIe— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 21, 2017
Trace McSorley out of Penn State is another guy to keep an eye on. At 6’0″ and 200 pounds, his size is what is causing him to be overlooked. Of the quarterbacks, he ran the fastest 40-yard dash and had the third fastest 20-yard shuttle time at the NFL Combine. He rushed for 1,697 yards during his career at Penn State and would be a great gadget player for an NFL offense.
Prospects such as Jake Browning, Tyree Jackson, and Jordan Ta’amu have better pocket passing abilities than the other two but are long shots to make the NFL as a traditional quarterback. Given their athletic skillsets, all could develop into some sort of gadget player at the next level. With the exception of maybe Jackson, all the names listed will probably be drafted on day three of the NFL Draft. The teams that draft these quarterbacks are important along with the prospects’ willingness to learn new positions. But if it’s a perfect fit, you could see either one of these names have a similar role in the league to Hill’s.
