Ask Farrell: Did Jake Fromm live up to his five-star ranking?
Other than LSU’s Joe Burrow as the probable No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, there are disagreements and debates about every high-level quarterback heading into the NFL Scouting Combine.
Maybe no more than Georgia’s Jake Fromm. Some are fair and some might not be but that’s the reality and his performance in Indianapolis is going to be telling.
“Only thing that’s going to be on display there and he’s going to have to show is the necessary arm strength because that’s going to determine is he Aaron Murray, is he Andy Dalton?” ESPN Draft Analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said on a conference call. “That’s what everybody is trying to figure out.
“Well, maybe he’s more like Aaron Murray. Well, maybe he’s more like Andy Dalton. If he’s Andy Dalton, you’re talking about an early second-round quarterback. If he’s Aaron Murray, you’re talking about a later-round quarterback who’s now playing in the XFL. That’s where people will have to make that decision - based on arm strength. We know he has the smarts, we know he has the leadership, we know he’s an accurate passer, forget all the numbers, we know he lost all his receivers going into this year. You know he can do all that, but is the arm good enough?”
His arm was pretty good at Georgia. The former five-star completed more than 63 percent of his passes for 8,236 yards with 78 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in three seasons. That’s more passing yards than Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and just as many TD passes as Burrow.
He also held onto the starting job and caused two five-star quarterbacks -- Jacob Eason and Justin Fields -- to transfer.
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Yet, there are still significant questions about Fromm’s arm talent apparently as he heads to the combine.
“I had a chance to go visit with Jake and watch him work out,” NFL Network Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on another conference call. “And when you visit with him you’re immediately impressed just talking with him. He’s very mature. He’s engaging. You can see how he won over the locker room there at Georgia. He’s going to be very impressive when you get in the room, get on the board, talk Xs and Os. He’s very sharp.
“The knock on him, the concern is pure arm strength. I’ve seen him make the deep out from the far hash in the Florida game. You’ve seen examples of it. But there are other times when the ball hangs and the ball dies. Mechanically, he can help with getting his lower body more involved and he’s been down in Mobile, Ala., at QB Country working with David Morris and Daniel Jones is down there and he’s been making progress.”
FARRELL'S TAKE
Heading into combine week, we ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if he believes Fromm backed up his five-star ranking while at Georgia and whether a strong showing at the combine can propel him into the first-round discussion since so many quarterbacks are expected to be taken that early?
"This is a tough one because, in many ways, Fromm did live up to his five-star ranking by leading his team to the SEC title game multiple times and to the national title game. And it was his intangibles — like leadership — that led to his fifth star. However, when you look at stats, Fromm hasn’t been a five-star quarterback. Part of that is the system he was in at Georgia and part of it is inconsistent play by Fromm.
"I think he’ll land in the second or third round because the NFL always needs quarterbacks, but I was disappointed how he regressed this past year. I’m not sold on him being much more than a system, game manager at the next level."