NEW College QB Rankings
A lot has changed in the last month. NFL scouts are probably just as torn on some of these guys as I am.
I build these rankings based on who I think will be able to be the most efficient NFL Draft prospect. For example, drafting Trey Lance at #3 to play in later years is not as efficient as drafting Trevor Lawrence #1 to start Week 1 of his rookie year. Trevor Lawrence is a rare case.
I believe it is foolish to throw any rookie QB to the wolves right away. Some of the best QBs in history were able to learn from a veteran before they started their first game. An entire season is ideal, in my opinion - at least until the playoff picture is clear. Once disqualified from the playoffs, rookies should get their shot (if not needed beforehand).
So with all of that understood, I think this is a deep QB class, but with all of the performances and injuries in the last month - the efficiency of these prospects is difficult to assess.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
I went pretty hard against Will Levis in last month's article. I think he really proved me right in November. He led Kentucky to only score 21 points against both Missouri and Vanderbilt (the two worst teams in the SEC East) while losing to Vanderbilt. In November, he took another 13 sacks, bringing his total to 37 on the year. Only 6 players have been sacked more in all of college football. His TD-INT ratio is now 19-10. I agree that his release is quick and that will help in the NFL, but does it matter if you don't use it well?
He only has two...two...rushes of 10 yards or more and only...two...rushing touchdowns. Any article you can find that talks about Levis being a rushing threat in the NFL...am I missing something? You won't find a single one of my high school or college teammates that would say I was a mobile QB, but I had more than two rushing scores every year. His greatest attributes are his size and tangibles. I get it. He's going to look like a monster compared to the other guys at the combine. But I have not been impressed with any performance that he's put on tape. I do think he is worth getting drafted, but I still do not look at him as an efficient first round prospect.
Austin Reed from Western Kentucky has caught my attention. He is in a one-year starter situation like Bailey Zappe was last year. We have seen that Zappe can handle the NFL adjustment. I think he is very special, so I was interested in what the next guy would do at WKU. Reed only has this season to put on tape, but the sample size is significant with 546 attempts. He's thrown 36 TDs (#3 in the country) to only 10 INTs. My favorite part about Austin Reed is that he has only been sacked 11 times with 546 attempts. That's what caught my attention. He's 6'2" 230 with some running ability. He has 8 rushing touchdowns and has at least seven rushes for 12+ yards each this season.
I am not sure if I could make a case that he should be drafted ahead of other guys on other honorable mention lists, but I haven't seen anyone else talking about him, so I figured I would throw him into the mix - he's earned it.
So remember how I started this article talking about efficiency of draft prospects? Ranking the next 6 becomes tricky when you consider the fact that there are multiple teams in the NFL who have a vacancy at QB right now. The Texans, Colts, Commanders, Panthers, and Saints are all in the market to have a different QB1 ne