OK, State fans, what can you tell us about Finley?

[top dawg]

The reason I ask about Ryan Finley is because USA Today's Bill Ricette brought him up as an option during this draft.

 

"Finley has five years worth of games (46 total games) under his belt. He split his time between two schools, starting at Boise State in 2013, where he red-shirted his freshman season before transferring to North Carolina State in 2016. Finley will go down as one of the best quarterbacks North Carolina State has ever seen. And this is a school that has seen Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson, to name a few.

 

The biggest worries among draft analysts are Finley’s arm strength and his accuracy. He is a 64.2 percent passer, so take that for what it’s worth. Newton has also had his accuracy questioned and he has turned out just fine."

 

Yep, accuracy is kind of a premium with me (for some reason), but the part that really caught my eye was the mention of Finley being in the company of Rivers and Wilson as perhaps the school's best. 

Is he backup material, which would pretty much render him useless to us as far as I'm concerned, or does he have a true starter's upside?

https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/17/4-potential-qb-options-panthers-2019-nfl-draft/

 

 

[JARROD]

So is he a backup or could he be a Drew Brees or Tom Brady? 

If we only had a crystal ball,...

[Captain Morgan]

seems like he was talked about in the 2nd or even 1st at the start of the year, and has now taken a big drop down the big boards.  iirc

[thefuzz]

11 minutes ago, Captain Morgan said:

seems like he was talked about in the 2nd or even 1st at the start of the year, and has now taken a big drop down the big boards.  iirc

Lots of QB's do.  Then they rise back toward the draft.

 

Capable arm, decent placement, has had good talent around him for a while, OK to good runner, good pocket presence.

I think he can be a starter.

Nick Foles ish?

[Lemory]

He's a guy thats not going to make too many mistakes. He's had great WR during his time at State so some of his stats might be skewed due to this. Accuracy is good, has a tendency to lock on to a receiver and stare him down. Needs to work on moving safeties with his eyes. Deceptive speed for a guy as tall and lanky as he is. Arm strength is not his strong point but he has enough to get the job done. More times than not, puts the ball exactly where it needs to be. People call him an unathletic version of Alex Smith, i disagree. Finley is faster than Alex Smith but its hard to say whos better when one is playing NFL competition and the other college. I think Finley has the tools to be a solid starter or top 5 backup in the leauge. That said, he should be gone sometime in the 2nd round and we have too many holes to fill elsewhere. 

[4Corners]

Most state fans don’t know who he is. They are too busy watching UNC basketball games. 

[PantherBrew]

I am a State fan, I have watched Finley closely over the years.  

Pros:

• Anticipation - Finley was very good at timing and throwing his receivers open.  
• Pocket Mobility - I always thought he moved well in the pocket and he was very good at those quick subtle movements to avoid hits.  Also, he was really good at climbing in the pocket to get the ball down the field.  Not bad on roll outs either. 
• Getting to Playmakers - there is no question that Finley was surrounded by talent during his time at NCSU.  Whether it was Jaylen Samuels, Nyheim Hines, Kelvin Harmon, or Jakobi Myers.  But, he got the ball in their hands, and he would trust them to make a play. 
• Risk taker - This could also fit into the cons, but I believe he is good at taking calculated risks, such as throwing up 50/50 balls up to his best receivers.  
• Accuracy - I disagree with the previous assessment, I think Finley was very accurate thrower, if his completely percentage was a bit lower it was, imo because of his risk taking.  
• Leader - always had us lined up correctly and teammates responded to him. 

Cons: 

• Athleticism - He is very slow when he takes off running.  We tried a few zone read concepts and they were not very good. 
• Arm Strength - He is not a noodle arm, but I would say he probably has an average NFL arm.  He can probably make every throw except the deep out from the opposite hash, I mean not many NFL guys can. 
• Awareness - Sometimes he can lock onto to his guys and not go through progressions, again not all the time, but it has happened. 

Pro comparison: Nick Foles, Jake Delhomme, Jared Goff, Andy Dalton

I would think he would be a 1st round pick, but if he fell to the 2nd.  I would be tempted. 

I am available for additional questions. 

[SOJA]

Quote

The biggest worries among draft analysts are Finley’s arm strength and his accuracy.

Seems like a pretty big fault to me. don't know though. 

[Silent Majority]

Pack fan here. Hell no. Shrinks in big games/moments.

[JARROD]

Just now, Silent Majority said:

Pack fan here. Hell no. Shrinks in big games/moments.

I just watched highlight videos,.. so he throws big numbers but they still lose a lot? Folds in the 4th quarter? 

I noticed on the videos he had all day to throw most of the time.

thats why I say it’s hard to tell— a lot of quarterbacks deliver a great ball when they have all day— that’s why they play in the NFL.

 

 

[RumHam]

i've seen him play, while he looks like a specimen type for a qb, his arm is much to be desired. no from me dawg.

[SZ James (banned)]

he's p much glennon

[Anybodyhome]

I like the WRs coming from State.

Walter Football is showing Finley going in the 3rd, behind others such as Will Grier, Jarrett Stidham, Clayton Thorson....

Both times I watched State this year just to see what the talk about Finley was all about, they lost and Finley didn't play all that well, but the WRs balled out.

[unicar15]

Finley is difficult to evaluate. He throws a really accurate deep ball. He’s great with back shoulder stuff. His arm strength isn’t going to hit the quick slants with the same velocity that Cam hits it. I think he’s a capable backup that could develop into a starter.

Someone mentioned Foles as a comparison which I think is pretty appropriate. Foles may be a little more athletic. 

The negative for Finley are that he couldn’t deliver in big games. He played behind one of the best OL in the NCAA every year at State. There have been multiple 1000 yard rushers and this year he played with arguably one of the most talented WRs in football and another guy (Jakobi Myers) who could be a 2nd-4th round pick. 

 

However, it’s really difficult to say if Finley’s poor late game execution was him or a product of the coaching. Tough read...