Matt Stafford QB 6’3 228 Georgia Jr.

Stafford was a highly sought after recruit that worked his way into action early on as a freshman. He started eight games in 2006, earning SEC All Freshman honors in the process. He threw for 1,749 yards while completing just under 53% of his passes for seven touchdowns and 13 interceptions. That experience was a great learning tool for the following year. Stafford threw for 2,523 yards and 19 touchdowns, while cutting his interceptions to just ten and improving his completion percentage to just a tick below 56.

Strengths

Stafford has all the tools to be a franchise level quarterback. He has good size, showing the strength and toughness to take hits in the pocket and get back up for the next snap. Stafford’s arm is amazing, and can make every throw with ease. When he unleashes the football, you can tell his arm is NFL caliber. He is also a surprising athlete for a pocket passer, and is able to elude the rush and can scramble a little bit when things break down. There is a lot of upside left in Stafford’s game. He has shown improvements every year, and there is no reason to expect his growth to slow down now.

Weaknesses

Despite his talent and improvements, Stafford has not had the production to justify the hype. He can be erratic at times with his throws, and still forces the ball into coverage at times. He will need more time to develop, and if he declares as a junior, should sit quite a bit his rookie season.

Future

Stafford has all the talent to be one of the first QB’s selected whether it is this year or next. He is better off staying in school to maximize his development at the college level, but he should still be a coveted player this April should he choose to declare. His draft stock at this point will be based more on potential, but with a weak senior crop of QB’s, his draft stock will still be very high.