![]() ![]() Over the past few seasons, nearly every QB drafted in the top 10-including Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Kyler Murray-has showcased an ability to move around and make off-platform throws. Functional mobility and skill with off-schedule throws are no longer added bonuses for high-end prospects. Recently, though, that stance has softened.Īs playmaking QBs like Watson, Jackson, Russell Wilson, and Patrick Mahomes have taken over the sport, coaches and executives have been forced to revise the way they evaluate the position. Every so often, a fleet-footed QB like Steve Young or Michael Vick would come along and make waves, but coaches and evaluators still largely clamored for big pocket passers who worked within the confines of an offense. The ability to extend plays or pick up yards on the ground was a luxury, not a necessity. “I don’t think they understood that coming into the league, guys would really need that, and it was going to change the way that guys play.”įor decades, mobile, playmaking quarterbacks were considered a novelty in the NFL. “I don’t think they dug deep enough into it to understand truly how important it was,” Avery says. ![]() Even three years ago, NFL teams didn’t quite know what to make of Watson’s ability to conjure plays out of thin air and break defenses’ hearts in the process. Watson had a historic career at Clemson, but fell to the 12th pick-an oversight that Avery attributes to the glacial pace of NFL groupthink. Three years ago, he went through the draft gantlet with his most famous student, Deshaun Watson. Hurts is considered by most to be a Day 2 prospect in this year’s draft, and Avery believes he’d be projected even higher if he weren’t carrying the baggage from his stint at Alabama.Įverything you need to know about the top players in this year’s classīy now, Avery is familiar with tutoring sought-after NFL prospects. Last fall, he threw for 3,851 yards and rushed for another 1,298-joining Jackson and Johnny Manziel as the only players in college football history to rack up 3,000 yards through the air and 1,000 yards on the ground in a single season. After losing the Alabama starting job to Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, Hurts transferred to Oklahoma for his final year of eligibility. “I think it’s silly, but it might end up being helpful for Jalen.”Īvery is a respected quarterback trainer based in Atlanta, and Hurts is his latest protégé. “It’s interesting to me because they’re so different, but people in the evaluation process think they’re the same because they’re both athletic,” Avery says. As a quarterback expert who appreciates the subtleties of the position, Avery cringes each time someone crudely lumps his newest pupil and the reigning MVP together. Even if Quincy Avery doesn’t love the comparison between Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson, he’ll take it. ![]()
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