STRENGTHS
Bryce is a sneaky-good, athletic quarterback. Every time I watch Bryce play he does something in the game that shocks me, either mentally or athletically that I never thought he would be able to do. He has good to excellent arm strength and throws the ball with the needed velocity and excellent accuracy in the red zone to make the unique play. Bryce has surprising athletic talent to make a first down, manipulate the pocket, extend plays, and make difficult throws on the run with accuracy. He has a high football IQ and the overall talent to make the players around him better. Bryce is one of the best quarterbacks in this draft and his play on the field reminds me a lot of former Saints Drew Brees because of his ability to keep reinventing himself from game to game.
CONCERNS
For those teams that overthink the draft process this quarterback’s size and lack of bulk will deter them from thinking about Bryce as a potential franchise quarterback. It will be Bryce’s lack of bulk and possible ability to increase that bulk, to take the pounding at the next level. They are not wrong because this year alone (as of this writing) there have been over 55 quarterbacks who have started for 32 teams because of injuries. Trust me when I say weight and bulk-wise, all of those 55 quarterbacks are bigger than Bryce is.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.81
There is no doubt in my mind that Bryce has the potential to be a starting and franchise quarterback for the team that selects him. The question is, can he stay on the field? I think Bryce is smart enough to adjust but the facts are, he will get hit and get hit as he has never gotten hit before. So, the big question is, how many times will he be on the sidelines trying to recover? Bryce always seems to make a play with his legs or arm which surprises me and makes me realize that we haven’t seen all of this guy’s football talent. He will make a throw I didn’t think he had the arm strength to make or a throw from a different angle I never thought he had that type of arm talent to do. Then when he is flushed from the pocket he shocks me with speed, that I never saw, or a throw on the run that I didn’t know he could do. He doesn’t ever seem to force his talents into the game plan until it is absolutely needed and I think that’s what makes his play surprising and uniquely different from game to game. Bryce is listed as 6’0” and 194lbs. But he has small shoulders and a small chest. It doesn’t look like his body type will handle becoming bigger. That being said there always are exceptions to the “you have to have a big QB rule”. Drew Brees was 6’0” 209. Russel Wilson is 5’11” 215. Both played in many games and won Super Bowls and very rarely missed games. Think about that when the “experts,” tell you Bryce is too small.
