QB Prospect 2015 NFL Draft

By Chad Stapley
Chad Stapley

 QB Rankings – 2015 NFL Draft Class


1-      Marcus Mariota – Oregon Ducks

Mariota threw for over 10,000 yards while at Oregon to go along with 105 TD passes to just 14 INTs in his career. Those numbers are outstanding and it shows how well he can really pick apart a defense. I have Mariota ranked as my number one QB in this draft class because he possesses the athleticism and speed to work with pretty much any offense that the NFL can throw at him. He can run the spread, the option, the pro-style, and pretty much any other offensive scheme you can think of. He is an accurate passer with a strong enough arm to make the big throws down field and he comes with zero off field issues. Mariota is going to be a great NFL QB.

2-      Jameis Winston – Florida State

There are many pre-draft lists that have Winston rated above Mariota and I was inclined myself to bump him ahead of Mariota after I saw him throwing passes at the NFL Combine. Winston has the best arm of the draft, he can make any throw necessary and he seems to do it with ease. The concern I have is the simple fact that he seems to crack under pressure and tends to play quite frantically when the opposing defense has a good pass rush. This leads to Winston trying to do too much and making mistakes. His career numbers are not nearly as eye popping as Mariota’s (Mariota played one more year than Winston) as Winston threw for just under 8,000 yards with 65 TD passes and 28 INTs. He also has had his fair share of off field issues so there are some major character concerns.

3-      Sean Mannion – Oregon State

This could end up being too high for Mannion as he is not really an NFL caliber athlete. He has to go to the right offense which is a traditional pro-style offense where he can drop back and utilize his arm strength and accuracy. Mannion has a plethora of Oregon State passing records as he can really sling the rock. Mannion stands 6’6 and weighs around 230 lbs. so he has NFL size and he has no character flaws so he can be a good QB in the NFL with some grooming under the right veteran QB.

4-      Bryce Petty – Baylor

Petty was a guy that was a Heisman hopeful coming into the season and still had one of the better seasons in Baylor history. Petty has great size for an NFL QB and he has put up pretty insane numbers in his last two years at Baylor. The thing he will have to prove to NFL teams is that he is not a product of the Baylor system, a quick one read system that doesn’t take a lot of reading of defenses. If he is drafted to a team where he can sit and wait behind a solid veteran for a few years Petty could make some noise in the NFL.

5-      Brett Hundley – UCLA

Hundley was yet another Heisman hopeful entering the season, his team was also supposed to compete for a national championship. The season didn’t turn out that way for Hundley and he didn’t have a Heisman type season but he has had a solid career at UCLA and he has perfect size and athleticism to succeed in the NFL in the right system. He needs to prove that he can be an accurate pocket passer before he can have any type of on-field success in the NFL. He spent a lot of his time at UCLA running from pass rushers and throwing on the run which he can do pretty well. He is fast enough to beat defenders to the outside if there is not an open WR downfield. Hundley like the two QBs on this list before him will need a few years to sit back and learn the NFL offense before he is capable of being a winning QB in the league.

 

DARK HORSE QB CANDIDATES TO WATCH:

Jerry Lovelocke – Prairie View A&M

Lovelocke is one of those small school QBs that has the athleticism to compete with the best of them. Lovelocke is big standing 6’4 and weighing 248 lbs. and he can really move for a big QB as he ran a 4.99 40-yard dash. When he was throwing the ball in drills he seemed to really have some zing on his passes. Look for a team to take a late round flyer on him.

Brandon Bridge – South Alabama

Bridge has really good size for an NFL QB as he stands 6’4 weighing 229 lbs. with plenty of room to add 15-20 lbs. of muscle. He throws the ball pretty well although he needs to fine tune his mechanics. He is another big QB prospect that some team may take a late round flyer on.

Nick Marshall – Auburn

Honestly there is a really good chance that Marshall never takes a snap at QB in the NFL. He played QB at Auburn although he was originally recruited out of HS to play DB. He could end up on the defensive side of the ball but I really think an NFL team might try and make him a slot WR and utilize him sort of like Percy Harvin & Julian Edelman are used. They don’t just catch passes, they run the ball, they return punts and kick offs, they really do a little bit of everything. The added fact that he can also jump over and help on defense if the need is that dire is an added benefit.