Jeff Driskel, Louisiana Tech QB: 2016 NFL Draft Profile

Jeff Driskel

College: Louisiana Tech

Position: Quarterback

Height/Weight: 6-4/234

College Stats: 7444 passing yards, 50 touchdowns, 967 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns

Driskel has had quite the roller coaster of a college experience. After being one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the nation in high school, Driskel started his playing career at Florida. He played sparingly his freshman year and earned the starting job in his sophomore season. A mixture of injury and unreasonably high expectations caused the remainder of his time to be much less than promised

After graduating from Flordia as a redshirt junior, Driskel transferred to Louisiana Tech to finish out his playing time in the NCAA. The transfer provided a whole new life to his college career and allowed him to showcase exactly why he deserves to be chosen in this year’s draft. Driskel may be considered a project quarterback by some in the NFL but certainly has the potential to be "the guy" down the road.

Pros:

One of the largest advantages for Driskel going into this year’s draft is his dual threat capability. His 40 yard dash time of 4.56 in the combine was over 2 full seconds quicker than Trevone Boykin who recorded the second fastest time. Combine that speed with his size and you have yourself quite the prototypical athlete under center. Although he is quick, Driskel’s speed was most used to execute designed runs rather than to extend the play. NFL coaches could dig just a bit deeper into their playbook with an athlete like Driskel.

Overall Driskel is an efficient quarterback. He ranked 15^th in passing efficiency last season and his numbers look very similar to quarterbacks such as Dak Prescott and Cody Kessler. More impressive is his efficiency combined with the cannon that he has attached to his shoulder. After watching just a short amount of film it should be obvious to anyone that his arm strength is exceptional. Any quarterback that can combine efficient short passing with the deep ball threat like Driskel should have the ability to do well in the NFL if given the correct supporting cast.

Cons:

Although Driskel had a very impressive senior season, he was also surrounded by a group of talented players. His talented teammates, combined with the level of competition that he faced in CUSA defenses, leads one to wonder whether he can last on a lower ranked NFL team against NFL competition. Teams that have an immediate need at QB might avoid drafting Driskel.

Despite impressing NFL scouts in his final season and at the combine, Driskel's inconsistent past at Florida may come back to haunt him. His time at Florida will not be enough by any means to keep Driskel out of the QB conversations for numerous teams during the draft. However, one can only imagine how high he could have been picked with four to five years in a situation like he had at Louisiana Tech.

Where will Driskel get drafted?

I don’t know that I would exactly consider Driskel a sleeper pick. After his performance at the combine and in the senior bowl, a number of teams have Driskel on their radar. The 49ers and new coach, Chip Kelly, are neither deep nor secure at the quarterback position. A 6 foot 4 quarterback with impressive speed sounds right up Chip’s alley.

49ers with pick 133 in the 4^th round