By: Jeremy Trottier
The Washington Football Team decided that this season they would abstain from drafting a quarterback. However, they did bring in Ryan Fitzpatrick on a one year deal to be their transition QB until likely next season. With that in mind, they definitely need to find their heir apparent with Alex Smith retiring and Dwayne Haskins not turning out.
In this article, I will be going over the three QBs that the WFT should consider from the 2022 class, factoring in their draft pick. As of now the WFT has the 19th best odds at getting the Super Bowl, which in this instance means they would have the 13th pick next year. Since that is the case, the three QB prospects considered will be more mid-first round prospects to keep realism.
Malik Willis ”“ Liberty University
Malik Willis is one of the highest potential risers coming up in the 2022 class, as his potential is astronomical to become the next dual threat QB. After spending two years as a backup to Bo Nix in Auburn, he decided to transfer, in which he ended up at Liberty University. 2020 being his first season there, he was absolutely phenomenal in his first starting season. He put up the following statline throughout the season:
- 10 games played
- 170 completions on 265 attempts (64.2% completion rate)
- 2,250 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 155.8 passer rating
- 141 rushing attempts for 944 yards and 14 touchdowns
It is pretty clear by now that Willis is an exceptional rusher as a QB, and has the capabilities to be a dual threat player with his ability to pass. His two knocks as of right now are his lack of starting time so far (which he will gain more of this season) as well as his decision making at times being somewhat off, which is expected from his first year starting. Overall, if he can pull off this type of season one more time in 2021, he will definitely be one of the better QB prospects to keep an eye out for.
Carson Strong ”“ Nevada
Carson Strong is another prospect who could either make or break his draft stock in 2021, however is a very different type of player. The 6’4” 215 pound QB has a great frame and is the model for a pocket passing QB with phenomenal arm strength. He has one more season’s worth of experience than Willis, however does not have nearly the same amount of outside the pocket capabilities. Despite this, his statline looks phenomenal from 2020:
- 9 games played
- 249 completions on 355 attempts (70.1% completion rate)
- 2,858 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions
- 160.6 passer rating, 8.1 yards per attempt
Carson has issues at times with overthrowing his receivers, which he needs to work on and develop out of his game with time. However if he continues on the path he had forged for himself in 2019 and 2020, he would definitely be a great developmental QB for Washington.
Phil Jurkovec ”“ Boston College
An outlier of sorts compared to the other two prospects I have listed, we have Phil Jurkovec out of BC. This is somewhat of a projection as there has not been a BC quarterback drafted to the NFL for over a decade, but Jurkovec has impressed. After spending his first two seasons in Notre Dame behind Ian Book, he decided to transfer to Boston to get a true chance at being a starter. In his first season (2020), his statline looked as such:
- 10 games played
- 205 completions on 336 attempts (61.0% completion rate)
- 2,558 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 138.7 passer rating
- 77 rush attempts for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns
One of the better parts about Jurkovec is he has a lot of the tangible parts of being a QB, at 6’5” 226 pounds he is exactly the right type of build for a pocket passer. He should look to improve his overall accuracy as well as his production before getting a shot in next years draft.
Leave a comment