Pro Football Focus’ Draft Daily will hit on a number of NFL Draft-related topics including recent news, scouting reports, PFF draft takes, and much more on a frequent basis.
Yesterday’s PFF Draft Daily examined the question: how early is too early to draft a QB? Be sure to join the conversation and leave us your thoughts.
What did we miss on Dak?
It’s a question not just for PFF, but for the entire NFL. After Dak Prescott’s outstanding rookie season, it’s a fair question to ask why he was drafted in the fourth round at No. 135 overall. When evaluating his 2015 Mississippi State film compared to his 2016 Dallas tape, it's clear that Prescott made great strides with his footwork, pocket presence, decision-making and accuracy, so credit needs to go to both Prescott and the Cowboys’ coaching staff. However, when looking back at our unique PFF data, there may have been a couple pieces of data in our advanced accuracy charting that should have received more attention from our team.
Our analysts charted 20 quarterbacks from last year’s draft class, and while Prescott’s overall numbers were solid, a deeper look showed a few areas in which he excelled. Prescott had the best accuracy (defined as a perfectly-thrown pass “in-stride,” or one that hits the receiver between the numbers; passes that are “catchable,” but off-target, do not count as accurate for this study) in the draft class on passes where his receivers had a step of separation. He also led the way on passes with a step of separation at both the 6-10-yard range and the 11-20-yard range.
If that’s the case, why didn’t Prescott lead in overall accuracy? The answer: His accuracy on throws into “tight” coverage was among the worst in the class (16th), and he also threw a higher percentage of tighter-window throws into tight coverage (7 percent higher than the class average). Whether that was Prescott taking more chances, not having the receivers to separate, or not having the system that set up easier throws, the overall numbers were pushed down by his high percentage of throws into tight coverage.
Here are a few more takeaways from Prescott’s accuracy numbers last season:
- 72.5 percent of Prescott’s throws went to “open” receivers, defined as having at least one step of separation, including screens and passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage. The draft class average was 80.0 percent, meaning Prescott had 7.5 percentage points fewer “easy” throws than his peers.
- The draft class average for accuracy on passes to open receivers was 58.1 percent. Prescott bested that by 8.8 percent, at 66.9 percent.
- The draft class average for accuracy on passes to receivers with a step of separation was 49.8 percent. Prescott was 12.9 percent better, at 62.7 percent.
It’s all starting to make sense now, of course, with the benefit of hindsight. The Cowboys’ scheme did a fantastic job of creating open receivers, and Prescott did an equally-fine job finding them. Our numbers backed up that Prescott would excel in the right situation with open windows to throw to, and Dallas gave him that opportunity. The tight-window throws are still a concern, and we will have Prescott’s Year 1 data in the near future. For now, Prescott’s breakout doesn’t look all that crazy when analyzing the area in which he excelled in college and the offense that he found himself in as a rookie.
Scouting report for running back Leonard Fournette
Just how good is the former LSU running back? PFF analyst Matt Claassen is a former college running back, and he does a lot of our work in evaluating the running backs in the draft class. Matt sees the positives to Fournette’s game, but there is at least one weakness for zone-heavy teams, and there are still questions about Fournette’s future contributions in the passing game.
PFF scouting report for LSU RB Leonard Fournettehttps://t.co/RDVNT2spKe
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 20, 2017
PFF analyst draft takes
Our analysts are hard at work analyzing the 2017 draft class and adding their spin on what they’re seeing. The beauty here is that we’re not always in lockstep with each take, and it shows the unique interpretation each of our analysts can have when watching film and analyzing PFF grades and stats. Here are a few of the more interesting takes of the week:
"No need to get creative for Curtis Samuel to be productive. Hand him the ball, throw it to him. He's going to win matchups."@PFF_Matt pic.twitter.com/O0dNEB5M1C
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 19, 2017
Samuel did it all for the Buckeyes, ranking second only to Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon with a receiving grade of 87.1 last season, lining up at receiver on 441 of his snaps. Samuel lined up in the backfield on 202 snaps.
"OSU's Marshon Lattimore is the best CB in this class. Allowed an NFL passer rating of just 2.8 against slant routes in 2016"
– @PFF_Gordon pic.twitter.com/sIvEpvdY7s— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 15, 2017
Gordon McGuinness goes bold with his declaration that Lattimore is the best corner in the class. There aren’t many six-foot corners with Lattimore’s movement skills and ability to play press or off coverage, and he’s currently ranked 18th on the PFF Draft Board (fifth among cornerbacks). Lattimore may be making a leap forward in our next rankings.
"ASU's Zane Gonzalez is the best kicking prospect we've seen in years, and needs to be off the board by the end of day two" – @PFF_Gordon pic.twitter.com/58OKfnXUJV
— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 10, 2017
Gordon McGuinness is our special teams expert for both the NFL and college football, and while his kicker-love can be a bit much at times, Gonzalez is a legitimate NFL prospect. The question then goes to draft value for a good kicker, and end of day two is still too high for my liking. Unless a team is loaded with picks, it’s best to find kickers on Day 3.
PFF Draft Podcast
The latest PFF Draft Podcast is now available, as I team up with Senior Analyst Mike Renner for our usual ramblings, including a pick-by-pick breakdown of Mock Draft 4.0. Mike brings it with his usual “hot take” of the week, and this one was burning so strong that he had to kick off the show with it. We also discuss players moving up and down the draft board, review old scouting reports (including some insight on Dak Prescott). We are also blessed with Nathan Jahnke’s mind-blowing stat of the week, quickly becoming the most-talked about segment in football podcasting.
Be sure to download and subscribe to the PFF Podcast from your favorite provider.
PFF Draft Pass
Stay tuned for a very exciting venture, as the PFF Draft Pass will be your way to access the most unique NFL Draft insights available. Release information coming soon!
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