2018 Senior Bowl: Notes from the Film Room, including Quarterback Charting

At the Senior Bowl, XOS Digital records each and every rep during practices from multiple coach’s film angles. I watched close to every snap of meaningful drills during the week of practice. And while I have added notes on players that looked better on film than I initially thought they did live, the quarterbacks were my focus.

Since 2012, I’ve charted each quarterback in three categories: Progressions made, Decision Making in those progressions, and overall accuracy. These results are from all three days of practice, focusing only on throws where 

Notes on the Senior Bowl Quarterback Charting

• Only 7-on-7 and Team reps were considered. This included Third Down, Redzone, and Two Minute Drill reps.
• “Progression Average” is an admitted subjective tool for evaluation. It’s based on attempting to step into the minds of quarterbacks and consider their evaluation process on the field into how many progressions they’re working towards. “Decision Making Percentage” evaluates how often the quarterback made the correct read and decision as a passer. Decision Making Percentage is less subjective, and it’s important to tie them together in looking at the data.
• The sample size for many of these quadrants isn’t ideally large enough based upon the limited 7-on-7 and team drill reps. But that especially holds true for all of Brandon Silvers.
• Added notes from this data
  -Baker Mayfield had one drop, in the 7-15 quadrant
  -Josh Allen had one interception (15+) and one drop (15+)
  -Tanner Lee threw three interceptions, two of which in the 7-15 quadrant
  -Brandon Silvers had one drop in the 7-15 quadrant
  -Kyle Lauletta had two "running plays" on the week. Mike White and Baker Mayfield had one each. These were not counted.
• Josh Allen was 1/8 with a drop and an interception on throws attempted 15 yards or more.  The most important takeaway: he doesn’t appear to have good velocity control or feel for ball placement. On vertical throws, he’s able to have tight ball spin and make up great distances quickly, but has little feel for actual placement. This holds true for much of his accuracy: he’s a region thrower, not an accurate passer.
• Kurt Benkert was 0-for-4 on vertical passes this week, including a tipped ball near interception. Tanner Lee had a 15+ yard interception throw. Luke Falk was 1-for-3 from that distance. The North roster ran a lot of “Four vertical vs. Cover 3” in practice. The South roster attempted far few vertical throws for their quarterbacks, and had more concepts vs. Cover 2 for their quarterbacks
• Brandon Silvers had by far the fewest 7-on-7/team reps this week. His passive nature had been mentioned as a potential cause for this disparity.
• The best decision maker was Mike White (after excluding Brandon Silvers data).
• Baker Mayfield needs to continue to get more efficient as a pocket passer with his feet. Gather steps, over-striding, and positioning were all (minor) issues this week to improve upon.
• Tanner Lee routinely stared down his receivers. He had three interceptions this week and the fewest progressions made. 
• Luke Falk had four throws were he was late getting the ball out for seemingly no apparent reason. Route design was executed by the receiver well, opening was clear immediately after snap and as he saw the opening, and yet was still delayed. It lead to three completions but greatly reduced yards after catch opportunities. Whether it’s overly cautious decisions or a slower reactionary clock, it’s certainly noticeable.
• Mike White’s main issue this week was footwork. It wasn’t a major issue, but keeping his upper and lower half in-sync, especially on day one, and staying on balanced as he steps upfield are two areas that he can improve upon. Overall, he had a very strong week as a thrower, especially in quick decision making on mid-range throws.
• Kyle Lauletta had a strong overall week, but his accuracy in the short-area took a hit. A handful of lackluster hitch and quick slant routes made his 34% accuracy number look far worse than his week actually was. He has the best footwork of any quarterback in Mobile, and just needs to clean up his pocket positioning.

Senior Bowl Quarterbacks Ranked Based PURELY on 7-on-7 and Team Drills

1. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma

2. Kyle Lauletta, Richmond

3. Mike White, Western Kentucky

4. Luke Falk, Washington State

5. Josh Allen, Wyoming

6. Brandon Silvers, Troy

7. Kurt Benkert, Virginia

8. Tanner Lee, Nebraska

Non-Quarterback Film Notes

• Dubuque cornerback Michael Joseph was surprisingly really impressive this week. Hailing from a Division III school, Joseph’s college film is ridiculously impressive, but that translation rarely works. Joseph was great this week in press coverage and overall physicality, positive signs that he can make the enormous jump.
• Iowa State’s Allen Lazard and New Mexico State’s Jaleel Scott may simply be too heavy-footed to reach their awesome ball skill potential in the NFL. I came into the week with high expectations for Lazard, and while he had a handful of good one-on-one reps, he was simply unable to gain separation on non-vertical or hitch routes.
• One play in particular for Allen Lazard stands out. Quarterback Tanner Lee ran a play action boot to his right. Lazard’s route (on the right side) was a 15 yard comeback. Despite Lee executing the play action and having 2-3 added rollout steps, Lazard had not yet reached the apex of his route to execute a very common play action route in the NFL. Lee had to hesitate and throw across his body to DaeSean Hamilton on a deep crosser. Lazard’s slow-footed route would’ve led to, at best, an incomplete pass in the NFL, and at worse a huge sack or an interception.
• Penn State receiver DaeSean Hamilton had arguably the best week of practice at the position. He may not have great top-end speed, but his nuanced route running as a slot receiver is remarkable. He’s different than Cooper Kupp as a slot receiver prospect, but could have similar Top-100 interest.
• James Washington of Oklahoma State and Michael Gallup of Colorado State both thoroughly impressed as well. Gallup developed the best (only?) rapport with Josh Allen. If both test well at the Combine, both could rise to late 1^st round prospects.
• Penn receiver Justin Watson and Miami (FL) receiver Braxton Berrios had two of the best catches of the week, and both have great late-breaking separation. Watson actually looked quite proficient on the perimeter, while Berrios had some concern with his route precision. Both helped themselves this week.
• On the offensive line, Brian O’Neill showed he’s a bit further away as a prospect than initially hoped. I compared him to Lane Johnson before the week, but his lack of hand timing and overall comfort as a pass blocker, especially on the right side, is a work in progress. He still will likely be a first-round prospect. Oregon’s Tyrell Crosby looked good this week, and his only issue is protecting inside leverage as a pass protector. His inside foot (especially his right when working at left tackle) needs to improve, as multiple inside counter rushes beat him this week. Virginia Tech’s Wyatt Teller improved greatly over the week.
• The best cornerback all week was Boston College’s Isaac Yiadom, and it wasn’t really close in my opinion. He lost two or three reps in one-on-ones all week, and his mirroring, turn and run balance, and timing in air was outstanding. If he tests well in Indianapolis, there’s no telling how high he can go.
• BYU’s Fred Warner,  North Dakota State’s Nick DeLuca, and Vanderbilt’s Orrin Burks looked the most comfortable in coverage this week, getting to their drops quickly and on balanced. It wasn’t a great linebacker crew this week, but they’re work in space and in getting to their drops was notable.