The South Florida Sun Sentinel begins its 10-part series looking at the top prospects in the upcoming NFL draft (April 28-30) with the quarterbacks. This year’s class of quarterbacks isn’t as top-heavy as other recent drafts, but given the Dolphins’ commitment to Tua Tagovailoa heading into his third season and having Teddy Bridgewater as his backup, Miami is unlikely to draft a quarterback but may add one as an undrafted free agent.
Liberty’s Malik Willis
Willis has the combination of arm and legs to be a future star in the NFL. He might have the most potential of any quarterback in the draft, but he would likely benefit from sitting behind an experienced starter to begin his professional career as he sometimes shows signs of being raw and didn’t consistently face top college competition at Liberty.
Willis, while throwing 27 touchdowns and rushing for another 13 last season, did have three three-interception games, so he’ll have to prove he can limit things from unraveling at the next level. He possesses the tangible tools, though, with athleticism combined with the rocket arm he flashed at his pro day, finishing his session with a well-placed 65-yard deep ball after rolling out to his left.
Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett
It’s a debate at the top between Willis and Pickett. Pickett, too, has the arm you’re looking for in a franchise quarterback as he shattered Dan Marino’s college records at Pitt. Pickett, who stands 6-foot-3 in the pocket, can also run with 241 rushing yards and five touchdowns, and he has some creativity in his game, exhibited by his fake slide to fool a defender and run past him for a touchdown in the ACC Championship Game.
The major concern revolving around Pickett is his historically small hands for a QB. His hands measured in at 8 1/2 inches, the smallest for any quarterback. A big deal was also made of this with Joe Burrow, and he ended up in the Super Bowl in his second NFL season, but even Burrow’s hands (nine inches) had an extra half an inch on Pickett.
North Carolina’s Sam Howell
Howell was destined to be one of the headline quarterbacks in this draft since he first burst onto the scene in the ACC as a standout freshman in 2019. The three-year starter heads to the NFL first chance he gets.
Howell’s 3,056 yards passing and 24 touchdowns in 2021 can actually be considered a down year after he threw for 3,500 or more yards and 30-plus touchdowns each of his first two seasons. That was a byproduct of losing to receiver Dyami Brown and the big running game he had with backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter.
Ole Miss’ Matt Corral
Corral got to showcase his abilities in coach Lane Kiffin’s offense, and he was able to show his quick release and how proficient he is at throwing accurately while moving in the pocket. He can still work on throwing with anticipation.
Corral’s ankle injury in the Sugar Bowl didn’t allow him to throw at the scouting combine, which could hurt his stock some.
Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder
Ridder is a proven winner at Cincinnati in his four years as a starter, consistently keeping the Bearcats atop of the American Athletic Conference and leading the team to a College Football Playoff berth last season.
His accuracy and ball placement need work to be considered a viable NFL passer, but he also possesses tremendous athleticism behind center, running a 4.52-second 40-yard dash.
Best of the rest
Nevada quarterback Carson Strong’s name says it all when it comes to his best trait, his arm strength. He can flick it 60 yards with ease, but he also has had injury concerns from a bad knee throughout his career.
Strong, Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy and Western Michigan’s Kaleb Eleby will be among others that teams will look at deeper into Day 2 and through Day 3 of the draft as young backups and developmental projects.
Class grade: D
It’s not a particularly strong quarterback class, and we’re possibly going to be waiting a while before a signal-caller is taken, with maybe one team falling in love with one of the quarterbacks and trading up to get first dibs. It won’t be like the last draft when quarterbacks went with the first three picks — Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance — and then Justin Fields and Mac Jones were selected within the first half of the first round.
That said, there is upside in this crop of quarterbacks. We may not see the returns right away, but Willis and Pickett could hold up this class years down the road, along with maybe a surprise from the next few tiers that develops and outshines the rest.
Teams in need
The Pittsburgh Steelers had their Ben Roethlisberger era come to an end, and they added Mitchell Trubisky to be a stopgap for the transition to the QB of the future. They pick at 20, and a team targeting a quarterback could view them as a team to trade up in front of, possibly leading Pittsburgh to counter by trading up itself.
A pair of NFC South teams in the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons missed out on striking a deal with the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson, who instead went to the Cleveland Browns. Both of them and the Seattle Seahawks, who traded franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, sit in the top 10 of the draft. They will have decisions to make on whether to take a passer where they stand, make a more certain pick addressing another position or trade down to a point where they can still land the quarterback they want.
Dolphins’ focus
With a commitment to Tagovailoa as the team’s starter heading into his third NFL season and already acquiring Teddy Bridgewater as the veteran, serviceable-when-needed backup, the Dolphins will likely sit this draft out at quarterback. Miami has just four 2022 draft picks anyway, at the moment, with the first coming at No. 102, followed by a fourth-round selection and two seventh-rounders. Also with Chris Streveler on the roster, Miami could add an undrafted free agent for another arm in training camp and competition for No. 3 quarterback and practice squad duties.
One thing to watch, if Tagovailoa doesn’t buoy himself with the offensive improvements around him, is the flexibility the Dolphins possess with draft capital in 2023. If Tagovailoa proves he’s the answer in the fall, great. If he doesn’t, the Dolphins have five picks in the first three rounds next year, including two in the first, that will allow the team to either trade for a proven elite starting quarterback or trade up for someone they want in the draft.
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