Fact or Fiction: Shea Patterson will catch on in the NFL
National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
MORE: Did NFL get it right passing on five-star QBs?
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1. Shea Patterson will catch on in the NFL as an undrafted free agent.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Patterson, as of Tuesday morning, was the only player at the NFL Combine who wasn’t drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent. By the time you read this, Patterson will likely have signed with someone, but something is clearly amiss. When every team passes on the talented quarterback out of Michigan in the draft and he’s one of the last names signed to a free agent tender, that means everyone knows something we don’t. Could it be injury related? Or perhaps Jim Harbaugh not going to bat for him? I’m not sure but something is odd.
Gorney’s take: FACT. There is something clearly going on but I’m still going to trust in Patterson, who had more passing yards and touchdowns this past season than fellow Big Ten QB Nate Stanley and yet Stanley was picked in the seventh round. The former five-star was clearly over-ranked, but he’s definitely a talented quarterback with athleticism to prolong plays and then find receivers down field. I do think NFL teams will find that attractive and he could be a nice addition to a pro roster.
2. Georgia should have taken a chance with Justin Fields.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Hindsight is 20/20. Trust me, I know. People laugh all the time about rankings of players like Russell Wilson, JJ Watt and others years removed from their high school days. So allow me to take advantage of such vision.
Fields is at Ohio State and ready to make another run at the national title while being a likely top five pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Jake Fromm, meanwhile, left UGA early, only to be selected by the Buffalo Bills in round five. Fromm regressed last year while Fields flourished and Georgia would likely have been a title contender last season and certainly this season with Fields in charge. It’s an error that could set Georgia back a few years.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Kirby Smart had the intuition and guts to name Fromm over Jacob Eason after Eason was the starter and he probably should have named Fields the starter over Fromm, even though a lot of the criticism and concern over Fromm is unjustified. Fields is just that special, that talented and that dynamic that he could have been another threat in Georgia’s offense that the Bulldogs lacked this past season. Making that decision in hindsight is much easier than at the time, but that’s why Smart makes the big bucks and looking back, Fields was the right choice to run that offense.
3. Trey Lance will go higher than Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields in 2021 NFL Draft.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Early 2021 mock drafts have Trevor Lawrence going No 1 overall but some have Trey Lance, the North Dakota State star, ahead of Fields. That’s puzzling to me. Yes, Lance is a talented kid who put up monster numbers at the FCS level last season (28 passing TDs, 0 interceptions, 1,100 rushing yards) and can pass and run and drive defenses crazy. But let’s be real folks. Lawrence and Fields are carving up much better opponents on a weekly basis and have the measurables and mobility to be special.
Lance could be a first round talent, but this screams of people trying to be “first” or “edgy” when the true top two quarterbacks are clearly Lawrence and Fields.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. NFL teams are going to really like Lance because of his efficiency - he just does not turn the ball over - and his dual-threat capabilities but I absolutely do not think he’s seriously going to be in the conversation over Lawrence or Fields. Those two quarterbacks have been so vetted and so picked apart that NFL decision-makers are going to make the smart, conservative pick and take one of those two former five-stars.
Lance could definitely be in the first-round discussion and it could hurt other QBs who are fringe first-rounders but when it comes to Lawrence and Fields, those guys feel almost untouchable at this point.