2020 NFL Draft: Under-the-Radar Quarterbacks

With the NFL Combine just weeks away, now is a good time to take a look at the quarterbacks that may be flying under the radar at this point in the pre-draft process. This differs from an undervalued list which could feature multiple quarterbacks that are projected to go in the first round. This draft class features multiple potential starters, but not all of them are in the first-round mix or deserve to be. There are some quarterbacks who may be a little scheme-specific in terms of one day reaching their potential and may be better off redshirting their rookie season. The Shrine Bowl, Senior Bowl, and NFL Combine help to separate prospects from each other, but the major portion of evaluation comes from film review and analytic analysis.

While the combine can drastically change how the NFL and the public views a particular player, this is often not true for the quarterback position. Athletic testing is not make or break for pocket passers and only Bryce Perkins and Jalen Hurts should draw major interest in their athletic testing times. For the quarterbacks listed below, however, the NFL Combine and their respective pro days are going to be major correlative factors that help determine where they ultimately end up getting drafted and their potential role.

While I have still yet to publish a mock draft this season, I would have five quarterbacks going on day one, with five more gone by the end of day two, including the two we will discuss below. In order to qualify for this list, you cannot be in the first round conversation and cannot play for a big-time program. This disqualifies first-round talents like Jordan Love and Jacob Eason, two quarterbacks who have the upside to be the second-best quarterback in this draft class. While they may be undervalued per se, they are not under the radar in any respect. Jalen Hurts may be flying a bit under the radar and while I do not think he belongs anywhere near a first-round conversation (which is why he made the overvalued list instead), he does belong firmly in the day two mix.

Pinpointing which quarterbacks may be under the radar at this point of the pre-draft process comes down to where draft analysts and prognosticators view a certain prospect versus where the actual NFL teams may have them pegged. This is a much more talented class than what we saw last season with multiple potential day one talents and a handful of day two and even day three quarterbacks who are more exciting prospects than much of the 2019 class.

Complete early mock drafts using our free draft simulator

Anthony Gordon (Washington State)
Tape evaluated: UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Air Force, Senior Bowl

Anthony Gordon is a senior quarterback who shined in Mike Leach’s spread offense. He bested most of Gardner Minshew’s stats from 2018 as he posted 5,579 passing yards, 48 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. He also recorded a rock-solid 8.45 adjusted yards per attempt, a higher number than any top quarterback prospect not named Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Burrow, or Justin Herbert. While he easily led college football with 429.2 passing yards per game, his gaudy raw numbers can at least be partially attributed to the fact that at 52.8 passing attempts per game, Gordon threw the ball 10.7 more times per game than anyone else in the nation.

A lot has been made of the inability of Mike Leach’s quarterbacks to achieve success in the NFL. Tim Couch and Luke Falk were the notable busts (but were not much in the way of prospects to begin with), but the success of 2018 adjusted completion percentage leader Gardner Minshew has changed the narrative somewhat. While there are portions of Gordon’s game that look superior to Minshew’s, he simply does not share the intangibles of the Jacksonville Jaguars starter. While Minshew was ready immediately to be a spot starter in certain offensive schemes, Gordon has starter potential, but looks to be more of someone you would prefer to redshirt during his rookie season in the NFL. Gordon has the higher upside, but also has the lower ‘out-of-the-league’ floor.

Gordon has some up-and-down tape. Against UCLA (mandatory viewing) he looked like a future first-round pick. He dropped teardrop after teardrop in what turned into a wild shootout against the Bruins. He had a 300-yard, five-touchdown first half and finished the game with nine passing touchdowns.

He struggled against Washington. He showed off his warts as he continually missed reads and threw some absolute ducks that led to obvious interceptions. Overall, there is a lot to like about Gordon’s game. He has NFL arm talent and generally goes through his progressions well. He has proven capable of pushing the ball downfield and showed he can succeed when not in Leach’s system when he was at the Senior Bowl.

One thing that immediately jumps out at you when studying Gordon’s film is something I call baseball arm talent. All of the best passing quarterbacks in the NFL have had some sort of baseball background, and Gordon, a 36th-round pick of the New York Mets in 2015 has one too. This is not to say he is going to be one of the NFL’s best, but this accentuates the fact that he has some special arm talent. Like any baseball player, he can throw on the run with accuracy, he can drop over the shoulder throws into his receiver’s lap, and can throw with the sort of deep accuracy that appears to be second nature to baseball players. He has the sidearm talent we only see with former baseball playing quarterbacks and remains poised whether in the pocket or improvising.

Gordon shows an ability to throw his receivers open with anticipation throws, and due to the baseball background, is adept at moving the pocket and still being able to hit his receivers whether he has his feet set or not. Gordon can shine in a pass-heavy, west-coast type of offense and he, of course, can succeed in a spread-heavy, air-raid type of scheme as well.

It is not all sunshine and rainbows with Gordon though, as he has noteworthy fumbling issues, outright misses some of his reads, and sometimes throws the ball to spots that make little to no sense at all. He has a tendency to pat the ball one final time before his delivery which can lead to some mistakes. Throwing as soon as he makes the read would likely lead to fewer interceptions. These are all very correctable issues that an NFL quarterback coach can iron out, which is why Gordon may be sneaking his way into day two of the NFL Draft. His Senior Bowl week has at least made him an early day three pick. After lighting up the combine in the throwing drills later this month, he should be able to cement himself firmly in the Day Two mix.

2 plays back to back:
Sidearm td 👀
Then a dime on the fly route pic.twitter.com/KV0AEDfB6c

— CJP (@finstalk22) November 5, 2019

James Morgan (Florida International)
Tape evaluated: Shrine Bowl, Miami (2018), Tulane, Marshall, Miami, Arkansas State, Old Dominion, UTSA

James Morgan is an intriguing quarterback prospect from Florida International. He is one of the more difficult prospects in this class to evaluate as his surrounding talent was questionable at best. As such, grading his tape comes down to analyzing footwork, mechanics, and arm talent more so than the actual on-field production. He threw for just 2,560 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and five interceptions with 7.32 adjusted yards per attempt as a senior, but was much better as a junior when he threw for 2,727 passing yards and 26 touchdowns with seven interceptions and 8.99 adjusted yards per attempt.

James Morgan has a strong arm that allows him to be able to make all of the throws that will be required of him in the NFL. He may be best suited for a west-coast type of offense, but he has the arm talent to compete in any scheme. There are some accuracy issues on film, especially when he breaks the pocket and is unable to get his feet set. He opened some eyes in the Shrine Bowl as he proved he could still be effective against a higher caliber of competition than he saw on a regular basis with Florida International. He was one of the players who helped himself the most during Shrine Bowl week.

Morgan shines when he is given a clean pocket, but will need to learn to be more effective when he extends the pocket. Throwing the ball downfield when off-balance is not within his skill set and is something he should look to eliminate from his game until he becomes more comfortable with standing tall until he has his feet under him. He should continue his pre-draft process ascension and be comfortably in the day two mix by the time pro days wrap up. If he lands on the right depth chart, he could end up starting late in 2020.

.@FIUFootball gets on the board first with a perfectly timed throw from QB James Morgan to WR Tony Gaiter IV! 👏

📺: @ConferenceUSA on NFL Network pic.twitter.com/IqfV6HOTFU

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) October 26, 2019