Overview
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 235 pounds
School: Iowa Hawkeyes
Nate Stanley 2020 NFL Draft Profile
While Nate Stanley will not be one of the hot quarterback names when the 2020 NFL draft rolls around, he will surely draw the interest of teams on days two and three. The Menomonie, WI native didn’t take long to crack his varsity high school lineup as he was the team’s punter as a freshman. He did more than just take up a roster spot as he averaged 44 yards per punt. He took over as the team’s quarterback during his sophomore campaign while playing defensive back as well through the rest of his high school career. This culminated with him passing for 1,728 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior and adding 213 yards and three scores on the ground. Despite playing offense and defense, he still punted for the team as a senior, averaging 44.9 yards per punt.
As a three-star recruit, Stanley joined the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2016, seeing minimal action during his freshman season. Beginning in 2017, though, Stanley became the full-time starting quarterback and never missed a start the rest of his college career. As a senior, Stanley was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. He went 27-12 in his career as a starter and became only the second Hawkeyes quarterback to go 3-0 in bowl games. His 68 career passing touchdowns and 8,302 yards in the air both ranked second in school history. To cap his career, he threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns as Iowa dismantled the USC Trojans in the 2020 Holiday Bowl 49-24.
Strengths
- played in a pro-style offense his entire college career;
- understands how to throw a touch pass under duress;
- with a clean pocket can throw dimes under 30 yards;
- sells play-action fakes;
- despite not being overly-mobile, he has ability to maneuver a collapsing pocket;
- isn’t Patrick Mahomes when improvising but understands situations and getting the ball to outlets to keep plays alive in crucial situations;
- when he breaks the pocket, he keeps his eyes downfield and doesn’t panic;
- ideal build of an NFL quarterback.
Weaknesses
- was never a 60-percent completion passer in college;
- very erratic accuracy; despite having ability to make every pass, he makes some passes in one game but will miss the same passes routinely in another game;
- deep ball is almost always off-target even when receivers are wide-open;
- lack of mobility will become even more apparent in NFL;
- has a tendency to not put everything into passes, leading to receivers having to go to the ground on open passes;
- inconsistent and streaky; when things begin poorly, they tend to stay poor during games.
NFL Comparison: An older Ben Roethlisberger
Teams With Need at Position: Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and any team that runs heavy play-action and wants to groom a solid backup
Projection: Fourth/fifth round
Bottom Line
While Nate Stanley will likely never achieve any Roethlisberger-like success in his career, his build and ability to keep plays alive despite physical limitations is similar. With the pro-style offense experience and a good build, Stanley will be sought after as teams look for a developmental prospect in the third day of the draft. At his ceiling, Stanley could be in and out of the starting lineup over the course of his career. Most likely he will be a backup in a play-action heavy scheme that will maximize his strengths and mask his weaknesses.
