On Friday, former Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler finally held his Pro Day for NFL scouts. He elected not to workout at the NFL Scouting Combine or ASU's Pro Day two weeks ago as he was rehabbing a foot injury.
Osweiler's day consisted of two 40-yard dashes, body measurements by scouts, and a 75-pass throwing exhibition with fellow draft-eligible Sun Devils Gerell Robinson, Aaron Pflugrad, T.J. Simpson and Mike Wille. In attendance were representatives for 30 teams, including a promising Seattle trio of head coach Pete Carroll, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and General Manager John Schneider, as well as Miami General Manager Jeff Ireland.
Overall, the results were positive (head to House of Sparky for a complete breakdown). Osweiler displayed excellent footwork and pocket mobility, and his ability to throw on the run drew praise. He had reworked his delivery to be closer to the traditional over-the-top motion rather than the more 3/4 style he previously used. His throws on the short and intermediate routes was generally excellent, with very good accuracy and touch.
However, he had difficulty connecting with his receivers on the deep passes. In particular, he overthrew Pflugrad on several deep passes. While that shows a need for improved downfield accuracy, it also showcased his powerful arm. For the day, he completed 66 of his 75 passes, with two of those incompletions coming by drops.
So how does this performance change Osweiler's draft stock?
Likely, not very much.
In these very controlled and scripted school workout's it's difficult for a player, especially for a quarterback with over an extra month from the Combine to prepare, to put forth a bad effort. It would have been notable had Osweiler been anything but impressive today.
Coming into the Pro Day, Osweiler was projected as a second to fourth round prospect. Those who have him rated higher love his powerful arm, large frame, pocket awareness and good mobility. His critiques point to an unfinished product, a player that has but 15 college starts on his resume and is probably two to three years away from developing into a viable NFL-caliber starter.
Nothing today changed any of those notions. Osweiler's tool were impressive as ever, but watching him over the course of last season and into the draft process shows a raw talent that would be best served learning for a few seasons under an experienced veteran (which makes the Broncos interest in Osweiler all the more appealing for his long term good).
In the end, all it takes is one team to set your draft value. There have been many examples in the past of a player, especially a quarterback, being taken well before his projections because a team fell in love. That could happen with Osweiler.
But as of now, his target range seems to be the third round. With visits to the Chiefs, Broncos, Bill and Dolphins on the horizon, not to mention the Seattle contingent, there is plenty of interest in Osweiler now and knowing him, it will only increase in the coming weeks.
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