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One of my favorite sites to review, for the draft is THEDRAFTNETWORK. I like the fact that they give multiple views of analysis of players. Below is everything they had on Jordan Love.
THEDRAFTNETWORK:
MARINO:
PROS: Checks the boxes in terms of size and body composition. Good mobility and athleticism; capable of extending plays with his feet, hitting throws on the move and taking off with the ball in his hands. Sound mechanically and can hit throws from a variety of arm slots. Over the top release that is lighting quick. Does well to follow through and get his legs involved on throws. Love how he hangs in the pocket and keeps his eyes down the field. Willing to test leverage advantages in man coverage and slot throws between zones. Aware of his outlets. Has the arm talent to make any throw. Has some impressive moments of ball placement to all levels.
CONS: Needs to improve his field vision and awareness. Often fails to recognize or completely disregards coverage rotations and it doesn’t have a great enough impact on his decision making. He throws some careless, YOLO balls that need to be reduced. While there is a lot to like about his willingness to be patient and stay in the pocket, his internal clock is often tardy. Can be aggressive vertically to fault. Has to find more consistency with timing and progressions. Has general accuracy with plenty of misfires.
BEST TRAIT - Physical Gifts
WORST TRAIT - Decision Making
RED FLAGS - None
NFL COMP - Colin Kaepernick
Jordan Love isn’t without his warts but he possesses a high-level physical skill set and peaks on tape that reveal the ceiling of a potential dynamic NFL starting quarterback. His arm talent and mobility is perfect for the trends of today’s NFL and there is no limitations to what he can do on the field. The full playbook is open for Love and then some. With that said, he does need to make notable strides in several key areas including decision-making, timing and accuracy to achieve his ceiling. An early investment in Love is a bet on yourself to be able to develop his overall game but his upside is worth the calculated risk.
FINAL EVALUATION
SOLAK
Accuracy: Has some delightful flashes and is generally NFL-quality here. Biggest missed throws are a result of being on different pages with his receivers in regards to downfield adjustments, or just those throws where he forgets to look at where the defenders are. Touch throws, especially through intermediate and deep windows, and throwing players covered to uncovered, are unteachable and high-quality.
Decision-Making: Does not have an actionable process in the pocket and is extremely risk prone with the football. Attacks his first read without adjustment to potential outplays by the defense and often panics on the hoof, throwing into congested areas or to players he can't realistically reach. Extremely scattershot on late downs with a ton of panic.
Poise: Not so much poised as he is just unaware of the pocket collapsing. Willing to look in the face of pressure developing down the middle and still deliver downfield while being hit, but is risk-prone in this regard and will throw poorly-planned jump balls in response to pressure frequently. Not a desirable late game/red zone/late down QB at this stage as he has some panic to his game.
Arm Strength: It just comes easy to the kid. Has a flick-of-the-wrist release to short areas that gets the ball out in a hurry but doesn't sacrifice zip. Flexible frame with rubber band action through the wrist and elbow to whip intermediate throws on a line and hit receivers in stride. Ball jumps off the hand. Ability to take some zest off of it and feather it in there with touch and timing is really quite ridiculous. Best throws are arm talent throws.
Pocket Management: Has good movement skills, contact balance, and an active base in the pocket to escape the first pressure and retain his ability to work downfield. With that said, has a poor sense of spacing. Will climb into a pocket that is doesn't require it and accordingly force himself to launch hurriedly and from poor platforms. Feet will die at the top of his drop at times, putting him behind the eight-ball in terms of reacting to pressure.
Mobility: Natural mover with good athleticism throughout his frame. Can withstand glancing pressure or outrun sluggish defensive linemen in space to keep the play alive. Threat to pull it on read options and RPOs and rip off healthy gains, though not really a true tackle-breaker or homerun threat with the ball tucked. Has a quality throw-on-move profile that showcases his natural arm.
Progressions: He's not a progression thrower at this stage in his career. Reads a half-field deep to shallow and doesn't have to reset his feet in the pocket. Shows good eye manipulation in his drops when the defense is as he expected pre-snap, but cannot adjust his process to shifting safeties and loses his hot route regularly by the time he finishes his drop. Cannot manipulate layered zone coverages or put sail corners in conflict at this stage in his development.
Anticipation: Just couldn't tell you what he's looking at, at times. Has no respect for post-snap movement of underneath defenders and at times doesn't even correctly ID defenders pre-snap at times. Needs to see it before he throws it at most levels of the field and is often jumpy attacking seemingly open players in closing windows.
Mechanics: He's an extremely loose mover and it shows up in his throwing mechanics. Natural release with the ability to get hip rotation from a number of platforms and while he's in and out of timing. Able to adjust his arm slot as the situation demands it without a significant drop-off in accuracy. Isn't as rigorous and disciplined with his lower half as you'd like to see, but doesn't seem to suffer for it.
Round Grade: Early 3
Best Trait: Arm Strength
Worst Trait: Anticipation
Player Comparison: Jake Locker
Summary: Jordan Love is an incomplete passer who has understandably attracted the NFL eye with the ceiling offered by his natural talent. Love's natural release of the football, ability to throw receivers covered to uncovered with touch, and extension of plays all profile as a high-caliber playmaker in the NFL in the mold of a Mahomes, Wilson, or Rodgers. With that said, nothing about Love's play is yet normalized: he does not set his throwing base, get into his drop, identify his read, or place the football with anything resembling consistency. Love will be picked on by NFL defenders if forced to start early in his career, and I believe he is a strong candidate to sit for a season as he adjusts to the speed of NFL play and scripts for himself a better response to pressure packages and safety rotations. Love is a boom/bust prospect who will be overdrafted for his boom, and his stock is conditional on landing with a team willing to do the hard work of developing him.
HARRIS
Jordan aligns at QB for the Aggie spread offense, mostly from the gun. He has good overall athleticism for the position. He has a Carson Wentz like windup and delivery of the football and although he has a quick release, getting his operation more efficient will speed up his delivery even more. He is quick in his drop and shows good foot work in the pocket. Due to having an offensive line that struggled with protecting, he spends a lot of time retreating and throwing off his back foot. However, when he has a clean pocket he has shown the ability to deliver the ball with zip and accuracy. He was also forced to make quick decisions and was not a good decision maker in these instances. His mechanics began to suffer as the game progressed when faced with consistent pressure from the rush. He can change his arm angle on check-downs and other short area throws to fit in tight windows. He does a good job of helping the protection with his decisiveness and by getting the ball out quickly. He has good escapability and does a very good job of extending plays with his legs. His quick release, decisiveness and internal timer allow him to makes plays on schedule. His good athleticism, ability to improvise and his good mobility allow him to make plays off schedule, giving the offense another opportunity. He does a very good job of keeping his eyes downfield when escaping the pocket and has shown good accuracy and touch on the move. He has shown good accuracy and touch on intermediate to deep throws, putting the ball on the number away from the defender and allowing the receiver to catch and run. He needs to do a better job of throwing the ball away to avoid negative plays and not forcing the ball into tight windows. In the NFL, I believe this player develops into a starter by year 2. He will need to break some bad habits, learn to make better decisions under duress and trust his protection up front. He will also need time to develop other nuances of the position, like reading defenses from under center and manipulating safeties with his eyes. With that said, his skill set is a good fit for todays NFL. The arrow is definitely pointing up with this player and his best football is ahead of him.
Updated: 04/05/2020
THEDRAFTNETWORK:
MARINO:
PROS: Checks the boxes in terms of size and body composition. Good mobility and athleticism; capable of extending plays with his feet, hitting throws on the move and taking off with the ball in his hands. Sound mechanically and can hit throws from a variety of arm slots. Over the top release that is lighting quick. Does well to follow through and get his legs involved on throws. Love how he hangs in the pocket and keeps his eyes down the field. Willing to test leverage advantages in man coverage and slot throws between zones. Aware of his outlets. Has the arm talent to make any throw. Has some impressive moments of ball placement to all levels.
CONS: Needs to improve his field vision and awareness. Often fails to recognize or completely disregards coverage rotations and it doesn’t have a great enough impact on his decision making. He throws some careless, YOLO balls that need to be reduced. While there is a lot to like about his willingness to be patient and stay in the pocket, his internal clock is often tardy. Can be aggressive vertically to fault. Has to find more consistency with timing and progressions. Has general accuracy with plenty of misfires.
BEST TRAIT - Physical Gifts
WORST TRAIT - Decision Making
RED FLAGS - None
NFL COMP - Colin Kaepernick
Jordan Love isn’t without his warts but he possesses a high-level physical skill set and peaks on tape that reveal the ceiling of a potential dynamic NFL starting quarterback. His arm talent and mobility is perfect for the trends of today’s NFL and there is no limitations to what he can do on the field. The full playbook is open for Love and then some. With that said, he does need to make notable strides in several key areas including decision-making, timing and accuracy to achieve his ceiling. An early investment in Love is a bet on yourself to be able to develop his overall game but his upside is worth the calculated risk.
FINAL EVALUATION
SOLAK
Accuracy: Has some delightful flashes and is generally NFL-quality here. Biggest missed throws are a result of being on different pages with his receivers in regards to downfield adjustments, or just those throws where he forgets to look at where the defenders are. Touch throws, especially through intermediate and deep windows, and throwing players covered to uncovered, are unteachable and high-quality.
Decision-Making: Does not have an actionable process in the pocket and is extremely risk prone with the football. Attacks his first read without adjustment to potential outplays by the defense and often panics on the hoof, throwing into congested areas or to players he can't realistically reach. Extremely scattershot on late downs with a ton of panic.
Poise: Not so much poised as he is just unaware of the pocket collapsing. Willing to look in the face of pressure developing down the middle and still deliver downfield while being hit, but is risk-prone in this regard and will throw poorly-planned jump balls in response to pressure frequently. Not a desirable late game/red zone/late down QB at this stage as he has some panic to his game.
Arm Strength: It just comes easy to the kid. Has a flick-of-the-wrist release to short areas that gets the ball out in a hurry but doesn't sacrifice zip. Flexible frame with rubber band action through the wrist and elbow to whip intermediate throws on a line and hit receivers in stride. Ball jumps off the hand. Ability to take some zest off of it and feather it in there with touch and timing is really quite ridiculous. Best throws are arm talent throws.
Pocket Management: Has good movement skills, contact balance, and an active base in the pocket to escape the first pressure and retain his ability to work downfield. With that said, has a poor sense of spacing. Will climb into a pocket that is doesn't require it and accordingly force himself to launch hurriedly and from poor platforms. Feet will die at the top of his drop at times, putting him behind the eight-ball in terms of reacting to pressure.
Mobility: Natural mover with good athleticism throughout his frame. Can withstand glancing pressure or outrun sluggish defensive linemen in space to keep the play alive. Threat to pull it on read options and RPOs and rip off healthy gains, though not really a true tackle-breaker or homerun threat with the ball tucked. Has a quality throw-on-move profile that showcases his natural arm.
Progressions: He's not a progression thrower at this stage in his career. Reads a half-field deep to shallow and doesn't have to reset his feet in the pocket. Shows good eye manipulation in his drops when the defense is as he expected pre-snap, but cannot adjust his process to shifting safeties and loses his hot route regularly by the time he finishes his drop. Cannot manipulate layered zone coverages or put sail corners in conflict at this stage in his development.
Anticipation: Just couldn't tell you what he's looking at, at times. Has no respect for post-snap movement of underneath defenders and at times doesn't even correctly ID defenders pre-snap at times. Needs to see it before he throws it at most levels of the field and is often jumpy attacking seemingly open players in closing windows.
Mechanics: He's an extremely loose mover and it shows up in his throwing mechanics. Natural release with the ability to get hip rotation from a number of platforms and while he's in and out of timing. Able to adjust his arm slot as the situation demands it without a significant drop-off in accuracy. Isn't as rigorous and disciplined with his lower half as you'd like to see, but doesn't seem to suffer for it.
Round Grade: Early 3
Best Trait: Arm Strength
Worst Trait: Anticipation
Player Comparison: Jake Locker
Summary: Jordan Love is an incomplete passer who has understandably attracted the NFL eye with the ceiling offered by his natural talent. Love's natural release of the football, ability to throw receivers covered to uncovered with touch, and extension of plays all profile as a high-caliber playmaker in the NFL in the mold of a Mahomes, Wilson, or Rodgers. With that said, nothing about Love's play is yet normalized: he does not set his throwing base, get into his drop, identify his read, or place the football with anything resembling consistency. Love will be picked on by NFL defenders if forced to start early in his career, and I believe he is a strong candidate to sit for a season as he adjusts to the speed of NFL play and scripts for himself a better response to pressure packages and safety rotations. Love is a boom/bust prospect who will be overdrafted for his boom, and his stock is conditional on landing with a team willing to do the hard work of developing him.
HARRIS
Jordan aligns at QB for the Aggie spread offense, mostly from the gun. He has good overall athleticism for the position. He has a Carson Wentz like windup and delivery of the football and although he has a quick release, getting his operation more efficient will speed up his delivery even more. He is quick in his drop and shows good foot work in the pocket. Due to having an offensive line that struggled with protecting, he spends a lot of time retreating and throwing off his back foot. However, when he has a clean pocket he has shown the ability to deliver the ball with zip and accuracy. He was also forced to make quick decisions and was not a good decision maker in these instances. His mechanics began to suffer as the game progressed when faced with consistent pressure from the rush. He can change his arm angle on check-downs and other short area throws to fit in tight windows. He does a good job of helping the protection with his decisiveness and by getting the ball out quickly. He has good escapability and does a very good job of extending plays with his legs. His quick release, decisiveness and internal timer allow him to makes plays on schedule. His good athleticism, ability to improvise and his good mobility allow him to make plays off schedule, giving the offense another opportunity. He does a very good job of keeping his eyes downfield when escaping the pocket and has shown good accuracy and touch on the move. He has shown good accuracy and touch on intermediate to deep throws, putting the ball on the number away from the defender and allowing the receiver to catch and run. He needs to do a better job of throwing the ball away to avoid negative plays and not forcing the ball into tight windows. In the NFL, I believe this player develops into a starter by year 2. He will need to break some bad habits, learn to make better decisions under duress and trust his protection up front. He will also need time to develop other nuances of the position, like reading defenses from under center and manipulating safeties with his eyes. With that said, his skill set is a good fit for todays NFL. The arrow is definitely pointing up with this player and his best football is ahead of him.
Updated: 04/05/2020
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