He's looking like a lock for the Heisman, and possibly the first overall pick. It's also looking like it will be a 4-way race for him between Tampa Bay, the Rams, the Jets and possibly even the Skins. The other bad teams have already hitched their wagons to other QBs very recently (Vikings, Jags, Raiders). If he doesn't go in the first few, you could also see Tennessee, Houston or Buffalo.
He's a great dual threat QB with excellent mobility and decent (not great) pocket presence. Also seems like a likable, humble, laid back kid who stayed out of trouble and has good character.
He could end up a Russell Wilson-type guy and have success, but I think it's more likely that he struggles at the next level. I guess the "problem" with the draft is that the top picks are often these great athletes who come from situations where their team is WAY better than all the other teams, and they get picked by the worst teams in the NFL to come in and often play with slightly inferior players, schemes and coaches. After all, it's not an accident that bad teams are bad.
For (most) of his career at Oregon, he's had the best coaches, the best facilities, the best team doctors and extraneous staff, great OL, elite receivers and backs. He will next go to a place like DC where suddenly all those advantages are gone and he's running for his life against the best in the business. Hard to hone your pocket presence as a mediocre pocket QB when you're running for your life and throwing to maybe a single #1 receiver, and your defense can't get you back on the field. His entire career he's had backs and receivers running wild with no defenders in sight; that ends about 9 months from now.
I think if he survives his first couple of years on a bad team he will succeed, but the graveyard of great college QBs whose careers fizzled on a bad team is a vast one.
As I write, a possible sign of things to come: he's on a goal-and-short situation, he's had to move around in the pocket, he fakes a pass and two defenders jump... instead of seeing his opening and barreling forward for the score he collapses on the ground untouched like an omega dog rolling over and asking the alpha to spare its life.
He's a great dual threat QB with excellent mobility and decent (not great) pocket presence. Also seems like a likable, humble, laid back kid who stayed out of trouble and has good character.
He could end up a Russell Wilson-type guy and have success, but I think it's more likely that he struggles at the next level. I guess the "problem" with the draft is that the top picks are often these great athletes who come from situations where their team is WAY better than all the other teams, and they get picked by the worst teams in the NFL to come in and often play with slightly inferior players, schemes and coaches. After all, it's not an accident that bad teams are bad.
For (most) of his career at Oregon, he's had the best coaches, the best facilities, the best team doctors and extraneous staff, great OL, elite receivers and backs. He will next go to a place like DC where suddenly all those advantages are gone and he's running for his life against the best in the business. Hard to hone your pocket presence as a mediocre pocket QB when you're running for your life and throwing to maybe a single #1 receiver, and your defense can't get you back on the field. His entire career he's had backs and receivers running wild with no defenders in sight; that ends about 9 months from now.
I think if he survives his first couple of years on a bad team he will succeed, but the graveyard of great college QBs whose careers fizzled on a bad team is a vast one.
As I write, a possible sign of things to come: he's on a goal-and-short situation, he's had to move around in the pocket, he fakes a pass and two defenders jump... instead of seeing his opening and barreling forward for the score he collapses on the ground untouched like an omega dog rolling over and asking the alpha to spare its life.
