Re: TNET: Former Clemson QB declares for 2025 NFL Draft

I don't see it. I do agree that college and NFL are entirely different animals. It's extremely rare for a college superstar to really pan out in the pros. Burrow and Jackson are kind of the only ones to be statistically great at both levels (Mayfield has been up and down and Stafford was a very good, but I don't know if I'd say great college QB).

That said, DJ's problems are ones that can't easily be fixed and are very problematic in the pros. In the pros, physical strength really isn't as important as people act. The important things are (1) intelligence and being able to quickly read a defense (both blitzes and coverages) and look at all your routes, (2) a quick release, and (3) accuracy/touch, in that order. DJ throws a very hard ball, but he lacks touch. He stares down receivers and has never shown he can read a defense. And he has a pretty slow release.

And off topic, the reason CFB QBs often can't make the jump is because of that first one. You don't have to be super smart to be a college quarterback. If you're a physical freak, you can just overwhelm your opponents. And college coaches aren't as good as NFL coaches, so schemes are less complicated (more checkers than chess). And there's a bigger gap in talent so you get more guys running free. In the NFL, all that changes, and so it really comes down to the mind of a QB. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner, Eli Manning. All Hall of Famers with very little physical talent, but they were far smarter than their competition.

TigerPride97

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Re: "...it's rare for a college star to pan out in nfl..." You must be 10 years old.***

Dec 17, 2024, 1:59 PM

Look at Heisman level QBs this century. Here are the Heisman QBs since 1990, with their NFL results.

Ty Detmer - career backup, became a high school coach

Gino Torretta - career backup

Charlie Ward - Played in the NBA (was going to be drafted very late)

Danny Wuerffel - career backup, played in NFL Europe and was fired

Chris Weinke - Backup for 90% of career, played 2 seasons, has the record for longest losing streak as a QB

Eric Crouch - Never played a down and refused to move to wide receiver

Jason White - Undrafted, received 1 tryout and didn't make the team

Matt Leinart - Got the start but was benched for poor performance, spent the rest of his career on bench

Troy Smith - Considered among the biggest busts in history, only started a couple games

Tim Tebow - You already know this story

Sam Bradford - Our first real starter. He had a great rookie season and then fell off, typically in the last 10 QBs statistically and ended up fired

Cam Newton - Our first success story. 4 great seasons. He fell off, but you have to call an MVP a success.

RGIII - He had a decent rookie season. Then he spent the rest of his career injured or trying out different positions.

Johnny Manziel - Obviously huge bust

Jameis Winston - Good rookie season, then broke the record for most picks and most pick-sixes and never played again

Marcus Mariota - We could debate if he's a success or not. For three seasons, he was serviceable, but was very middle of the road for QBs and never made a pro bowl or anything else

Lamar Jackson - Success Story

Baker Mayfield - The jury is still out, but he's been horribly inconsistent

Joe Burrow - Success story

Bryce Young - Started first season, had a 2-14 record and horrible stats, benched second game of second season

Caleb Young - currently one of the worst in the NFL, but he's young and on a bad team.

You could do the same if we added in Heisman favorites. That's 35 years of heisman winners. 3 success stories and mostly career backups. It's rare for a great QB in college to pan out in the NFL, because they have different skillsets. But tell me more about my being 10 years old.

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TNET: Former Clemson QB declares for 2025 NFL Draft