Ball Velocity Results Raise Arm Strength Concerns for QB Deshaun Watson | Pro Football Spot


Ball Velocity Results Raise Arm Strength Concerns for QB Deshaun Watson
by Mattis Holt March 13, 2017
NFL DRAFT

You can teach a quarterback a lot, but you can’t teach arm strength. That’s why the NFL Combine velocity numbers might send QB Deshaun Watson out of the 1st round.

Deshaun Watson has been the top quarterback on the board for many NFL scouts leading up to this year’s NFL Draft, but his draft stock just took a serious hit. The ball velocity for quarterbacks has been measured at the Combine since 2008. Some say it’s a meaningless stat, other says it’s a matter of life and death in the NFL.

Here’s how the top quarterback prospects in the 2017 draft class ranked in regard to ball velocity, according to CBS draft analyst Dane Brugler:

60 mph: Patrick Mahomes
59 mph: Davis Webb
56 mph: DeShone Kizer
55 mph: Mitchell Trubisky, Jerod Evans
53 mph: Nate Peterman, Brad Kaaya
49 mph: Deshaun Watson

Watson’s Woeful Number

Deshaun Watson’s 49 miles per hour is shockingly bad. The magic number for NFL quarterbacks is 55 mph. Only two quarterbacks with ball velocity below 55 mph have had any success in the NFL: Tyrod Taylor (50 mph) and Dak Prescott (54 mph). Prescott was also reportedly throwing with a minor shoulder injury at the 2016 NFL Combine.

That makes Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor the only QB with a ball velocity below 55 mph since 2008 to find a home in the NFL. Notable players with 55< ball velocity includes Bryce Petty (53 mph), AJ McCarron (53 mph), Kellen Moore (52 mph), Mike Glennon (49 mph), Christian Ponder (51 mph), TJ Yates (53 mph), Jake Locker (54 mph) and Chad Henne (53 mph) – none of which have proven themselves NFL starting caliber.

Only three players have recorded a worse velocity than 49 mph since 2008 — Colt Brennan, Armanti Edwards & Blake Sims — and Dan LeFevour, Tony Pike, Josh Johnson, and the now-Bears QB Mike Glennon are the only other four to match Deshaun Watson’s weak velocity.

Will the numbers scare away NFL teams or will general managers take a shot at the former Clemson QB despite his poor arm strength? This will definitely be a big storyline leading up to the NFL Draft in Philadelphia April 27th.


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