Ellis Williams. Char observer on top 4 QBs Note, This is not in depth

[kungfoodude]

4 minutes ago, Kentucky Panther said:

You can chalk it up to me being salty because I definitely am. I don’t think Levis is getting a fair evaluation this year. But context is important. Levis shot up draft boards last year with his ability to make plays with his legs as well as throw it anywhere on the field. He lost his OC to the NFL (our new one is trash) and you can’t run on a bum ankle. Not to mention our line is pretty bad. The Panthers, on the other hand, don’t have that issue. 
 

Don’t get me wrong. I would take Young or Stroud any day over these two. But I just do not get the Richardson love at all. He has all the physical tools but I haven’t seen a lot of players get in their own heads the way this kid does. It’s bad. 

Most of the UF fans I know personally seem rather unimpressed by Richardson.

[Martin]

27 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Pretty much.

Here's the problem: The average fan sees three or four "highlight reel" plays and they're ready to fit a guy for his gold jacket.

Scouts don't have that kind of luxury. They have to watch every single play of every game to get an idea of whether a guy can consistently play well rather than just flashing once in a while.

Hell, the worst quarterbacks / biggest draft busts in NFL history all have amazing college highlight reels that convinced people they were going to be phenomenal in the pros.

The additional problem with a portion of the Panthers fanbase is, even after all this time, they're still pining for Newton. So whenever they see an athletic quarterback they either think "Oh it's Cam, he's come back to us" or "Okay he's not Cam, but maybe we can coach him into being Cam".

In reality, the best thing you can do is stop looking for "the next Cam" (or the next anyone else, for that matter) and just start scouting quarterbacks on their own merits.

And to be clear, those merits start with their quarterback skills, not their athleticism.

To add to this, many of the biggest busts relied only on their athletic abilities and weren’t working on the other aspects of the game. Work habits and ability to process on top of athletic ability gives you high upside. Might still bust, but at least they will give you their best. Richardson is said to do all the right things, being a good leader, working hard etc. Right now he’s very inexperienced, so we don’t know what he can’t do, hence who knows how he will turn out? But he doesn’t sound like a Ryan Leaf/Jamarcus Russel type at all.

[Varking]

4 minutes ago, Kentucky Panther said:

You can chalk it up to me being salty because I definitely am. I don’t think Levis is getting a fair evaluation this year. But context is important. Levis shot up draft boards last year with his ability to make plays with his legs as well as throw it anywhere on the field. He lost his OC to the NFL (our new one is trash) and you can’t run on a bum ankle. Not to mention our line is pretty bad. The Panthers, on the other hand, don’t have that issue. 
 

Don’t get me wrong. I would take Young or Stroud any day over these two. But I just do not get the Richardson love at all. He has all the physical tools but I haven’t seen a lot of players get in their own heads the way this kid does. It’s bad. 

Maybe early on he was in his own head but again… last 5 games is 13 touchdowns for Richardson to just 1 INT. And he is playing regularly without his top 3, and now the past two weeks and this one, his top 5 WRs. He settled in and he’s not turning the ball over. That is active progress you are looking to see. Not regression. He’s made adjustments. 

[LinvilleGorge]

21 minutes ago, Kentucky Panther said:

When Levis is healthy he’s the better QB.  It’s painful being a UK football fan most years but I watch every game.  I have seen a lot of Richardsons games, too. You won’t see many scouts with Richardson ahead of Levis. But sure, those four games with zero context are appealing. 

Levis is literally a man playing against boys. He'll be 24 before he ever puts on an NFL uniform. I think some folks are way overshooting his ceiling overlooking that he should be considerably further along in his development than most other prospects.

[Varking]

Just now, Martin said:

To add to this, many of the biggest busts relied only on their athletic abilities and weren’t working on the other aspects of the game. Work habits and ability to process on top of athletic ability gives you high upside. Might still bust, but at least they will give you their best. Richardson is said to do all the right things, being a good leader, working hard etc. Right now he’s very inexperienced, so we don’t know what he can’t do, hence who knows how he will turn out? But he doesn’t sound like a Ryan Leaf/Jamarcus Russel type at all.

Richardson is a great kid and a good leader. It’s why his teammates have been actively campaigning for him to come back next year. 

[chbright]

To me, it's more about the mental game and consistency game than the physical aspect at QB. The top all time guys are not the best athletes to play the position. Far from it.

Hell what transformed Allen from being awful to elite was hitting small windows, using his eyes to move the D around, and shaping his throws instead of all darts. Yes it's great he can still bully the D in the run game, but that didn't really make him elite. 

If you think stroud or young or anyone else in the draft has the ability to manipulate D via eyes, read a D pre and post snap, and put the right touch on every throw, get that guy. Really that's the magic to the top guys. That's really hard to find and usually takes years in the pros to grasp it all.

Having the extra athletic tools but having to lock on to a receiver to figure when they come open, and having 1 speed when you throw is pointless even if you are the best runner at the position (hey MV7). Will you win games yes, win a SB, so far not close. those skills will win a few games, get streaky and make highlight reals for years. This is not to say an superb athlete can't be a QB, but is to say, that's not the top things to look for. captin obvious here at the huddle, yes ideally, get both, that's super rare. Don't see anyone in this class like that atm. Could a few be that rare guy, sure.

If it's a guy that makes few post snap reads but has the touch to make it work vs the better athlete that's the hard call. Cause at the NFL level the pre snap mismatches are still there but not nearly the same level (hey Mike leach, lane kiffen and osu). The pre snap system guys are a really hard read. Herbert, Mahomes and Hurts broke that mold that you can play a spread and still get it done in the NFL. The list of spread flops is miles long. 

 

[Pazhoosier89]

Add another QB to this list. Michael Penix. The only issue with him is injury history and he has stayed healthy this year.  I would suggest watching a Washington game.  He has a big arm (left handed) and is very accurate.  Athletic enough to scramble  but not a big runner.

[Icege]

8 minutes ago, Kentucky Panther said:

You can chalk it up to me being salty because I definitely am. I don’t think Levis is getting a fair evaluation this year. But context is important. Levis shot up draft boards last year with his ability to make plays with his legs as well as throw it anywhere on the field. He lost his OC to the NFL (our new one is trash) and you can’t run on a bum ankle. Not to mention our line is pretty bad. The Panthers, on the other hand, don’t have that issue. 
 

Don’t get me wrong. I would take Young or Stroud any day over these two. But I just do not get the Richardson love at all. He has all the physical tools but I haven’t seen a lot of players get in their own heads the way this kid does. It’s bad. 

Y'alls right tackle is atrocious. I swear every game he's gotten Levis sacked and put on his own ass at least twice.

[Kentucky Panther]

6 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Most of the UF fans I know personally seem rather unimpressed by Richardson.

This is kinda what I thought. One of my good friends is a Florida fan and he can’t stand AR. 

[chbright]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Levis is literally a man playing against boys. He'll be 24 before he ever puts on an NFL uniform. I think some folks are way overshooting his ceiling overlooking that he should be considerably further along in his development than most other prospects.

There are a few this year in that boat via transfer/grad degree/ covid rules. Penix, Hooker, Levis....

That said for Levis, he doesn't have the cast of say hooker or the powderpuff D in the Pac12. The arm tallent is real and up there with Wilson and Darnold. It's all between the ears imo on which way he breaks.

[Kentucky Panther]

2 minutes ago, Icege said:

Y'alls right tackle is atrocious. I swear every game he's gotten Levis sacked and put on his own ass at least twice.

Yea, it’s bad. Worst line we’ve had in years

[Varking]

Just now, chbright said:

There are a few this year in that boat via transfer/grad degree/ covid rules. Penix, Hooker, Levis....

That said for Levis, he doesn't have the cast of say hooker or the powderpuff D in the Pac12. The arm tallent is real and up there with Wilson and Darnold. It's all between the ears imo on which way he breaks.

He has made a bunch of bad decisions this year. And I think if folks didn’t have Levis in that top 3 going into this season, and they just took this season for what it is, he would be rapidly falling. Teams are going to have to love the arm and hope they can fix the mental side for him. 

[Kentucky Panther]

5 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Levis is literally a man playing against boys. He'll be 24 before he ever puts on an NFL uniform. I think some folks are way overshooting his ceiling overlooking that he should be considerably further along in his development than most other prospects.

This really shouldn’t be a big deal at all considering this is Will’s second season starting. Let’s not act like he’s been doing this four or five years.  That’s just not correct. He was a backup at Penn State before transferring to UK. He still has a ton of upside and room to get better. 

[PNW_PantherMan]

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Go back and watch Josh Allen in college. You're gonna be shocked.

 

 

When I say he was wildly inaccurate I'm not exaggerating. Dude couldn't hit water from a fuging boat.

Josh Allen is the exception, not the rule.  I wouldn’t bet on that repeating itself.  At least not with a 1st round pick.