Now that a majority of free agency has passed, there is one more big event before football fans can start gearing up for the NFL season. That event? The NFL Draft.
With every draft, there are the players that are rated high, meaning they have the potential to live up to the hype. There are players that are rated too high, meaning they likely will not live up to their hype. Then you have the upcoming rookies that are rated too low, those would be known as the “dark horses”.
Yet with so many players eligible every year, who can be the true dark horse of the draft? This year, it just happens to be a quarterback by the name of Joshua Dobbs.
After the end of the 2016 college football season, Dobbs was the least of anyones concerns. He was quickly written off as a 7th round pick or undrafted, and while that late projection hasn’t changed, Dobbs has been gaining respect from the scouting community.
This is largely in part of not only the weak QB class, but also his praise from Jon Gruden. As many people know, Gruden has a Quarterback Camp, in which he takes prospects and runs them through drills, film, etc to see where they could shape up on an NFL level.
Surprising to many, Dobbs was praised for his extensive knowledge of being able to read a play and his increased accuracy, which proved to be a problem last season, and quite frankly, his whole college career.
Yet, even with those upgrades, Dobbs still has problems that concern NFL scouts. Some of his biggest problems are his reckless ball placement, questionable decision-making when deciding to scramble from the pocket, and the physical thinness of his legs.
If you watch all his film, it’ll become apparent very quickly that Dobbs tends to leave the pocket, and has every right to do so. He is a strong runner who was hard to bring down throughout his college career.
However, in the NFL, he won’t be able to cut it by relying on scrambling from the pocket. As far as his reckless ball placement, that is a skill that can be taught, and he can always muscle up his legs in an extensive workout program, which are easily accessible in the NFL.
His strengths are what are slept on. He can obviously run the ball well, but his willingness and ability to find the second and third receivers on the field is outstanding.
It’s evident through his film that he could find a different target if his pre-snap target is covered with ease. He has the ability to hit a TE easily and showed incredible accuracy on post and cross routes. His most groundbreaking skill is how he can fit a ball perfectly away from a defender, but precisely to where the receiver needs it on deep-outs, a required pass in every NFL offense.
When it comes out? A tight spiral that looks like it has the power to it of Favre. He also has the mental toughness, and it was shown when he could calmly enter a huddle that proceeded to rally his teams, which he did in multiples games last season, specifically Georgia and Florida.
Am I saying Dobbs is the best QB in this draft? Not by any means. Am I saying he’s worth taking anywhere below the 6th round? Not necessarily. What I am saying is that with the proper system he can be a good NFL player
Image Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
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