Which incoming QB has the best mechanics? This is from The Athletic.
“Some of the most uninformed conversations every
NFL Draft season center around quarterback mechanics. Many NFL quarterback coaches will even concede they aren’t experts in mechanics; their job is more centered on installing the offense and game plan.
Mechanics are important because they affect how well and consistently a quarterback throws. Every quarterback should continue to refine their mechanics throughout their careers, and some must make major changes early in theirs. Naturally, mechanics will be a major talking point every year when evaluating quarterback prospects.
Even if you’re not a coach or scout, if you have watched football for a long time, you have an ingrained idea of how mechanics should look. Sometimes a prospect’s mechanics look different, but it doesn’t mean they have to be corrected. But mechanics are difficult. The science behind throwing a football hasn’t been developed and researched as much as the science behind a golf swing or pitching in baseball.
A lot of old-time assumptions are passed off as truths. To work on their mechanics, quarterbacks will go to private coaches who are committed to the science of throwing the ball and how to teach it.
To add some informed opinions about the mechanics of this year’s top quarterback prospects, I got some of the top private quarterback coaches in the country to rate and comment on how Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix and Spencer Rattler throw the ball. They will remain anonymous because they have worked with some of the discussed prospects in some capacity and could in the future.
They graded efficiency, speed, adaptability and overall mechanics on a scale of 1-5. I averaged their overall grades for a final grade. Efficiency is the ability to transfer force from their hips, speed is how quick their release is, and adaptability is how well they can adjust their mechanics to overcome external factors. The overall grade isn’t a cumulative score of the other three categories but just a grade on the quarterback’s overall mechanics that could include factors outside of the listed categories.
These grades are strictly for mechanics, which doesn’t correlate with an overall grade for a quarterback. Playing quarterback involves many factors other than mechanics. This article focuses on only one element of quarterback play, one often rife with conjecture.
• 1 – Problematic
• 2 – Will take a lot of work to fix
• 3 – Fixable
• 4 – Good
• 5 – Excellent
Caleb Williams
Efficiency: 4.8
Adaptability: 5
Speed: 4.25
Overall: 4.9
Williams is hailed for his off-script highlights, but his mechanics make him special. The overwhelming consensus is that Williams is a uniquely efficient thrower. One coach compared his mechanics to Aaron Rodgers’. Another said he’s one of the most efficient back-hip rotators he’s seen, which is the speed at which his hips rotate into the throw combined with his ability to quickly stabilize his front to create a great amount of force into his throw.
“Regarding
NFL readiness, no prospect has a foundation for throwing and movement efficiency like Caleb,” one coach said. “Although his arm strength is the first percentile, he can throttle and adapt his throw at a similar level to (Patrick) Mahomes.”
“You’ll see guys like Caleb and Mahomes; they have crazy external rotation,” another coach said. “So what I mean by that is when they start their throw motion from the horizontal L. When they get to this vertical point and start going forward, their arm is able to go so far past 90 degrees that it allows them to change arm angles with their spine angle. If you notice,
C.J. Stroud, who’s a great thrower of course, doesn’t have that same external rotation.”
This comment wasn’t meant to be a dig at Stroud but rather to differentiate and highlight Williams’ special ability to change his arm angles and still throw accurately. One criticism of Williams’ mechanics is that he tends to slow his arm too much when he’s trying to layer throws, which can affect ball placement, but that can be fixed.
Unsurprisingly, Williams’ mechanics were rated by far the highest, but don’t let that skew how the others are graded. No other quarterback finished with an overall grade above 4.0, which is more realistic for young quarterbacks entering the league.
Drake Maye
Efficiency: 3.6
Adaptability: 3.5
Speed: 3.3
Overall: 3.75
Maye’s mechanics have been the subject of much debate among analysts. There seem to be wide-ranging opinions about his release, accuracy and footwork. Maye will miss layup passes occasionally, but most of the coaches who participated in the article agree it’s mostly because of correctable footwork issues.
“However his accuracy diminishes as he moves through progressions, (it’s) a very fixable issue,” a coach said. “However, in a non-developmental league, it needs to be fixed immediately, and this can only be done through on-field reps.”
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Which of the NFL Draft's top passers has the best mechanics? QB gurus grade them