So what unique qualities does AJ McCarron have?
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AJ McCarron
- Thread starter rmartin65
- Start date
So what unique qualities does AJ McCarron have?
Marshall
Not pretty, but ALIVE!
He was carried by superior talent and didn't mess it up? much...
Blake
MMQB
That he doesnt have to spend pick # 1.1. on him.
TexansFTW
Veteran
What a surprise, HE says he's more athletic. Kind of like Boyd saying he IS the 2nd best QB coming out.
It all depends on the situation he is thrown into. I like Zach Mett a little more than him, but I liken the two quite a bit.
If they go to a QB needy team with holes all over the place that need a QB to win their games for them like the Jags or Raiders they will get a couple years to start, then fail, then become career backup journeyman IMO.
If they go to a team like the Cardinals and sit for a year, maybe 2 behind Carson Palmer with Bruce Arians as head coach and a top 5 defense I believe these 2 can be very solid starting QBs and game managers.
The Seahawks, 49ers, or Cards. But then you'd need to play 16 games against the Raiders and Jags.
I don't know about unique, but I like his size, his footwork, his reads, his arm, his accuracy, his ball placement, his commitment to stand in the pocket & take a hit to deliver a pass. He plays in a "pro-offense" against tough competition, & has had success against that competition.
He's not exciting like the other guys, but he's solid. Appears to be pretty smart, makes good decisions. Mobile enough, strong enough arm.... & I think he should get more credit for managing that talented team than he's getting.
& he's been very consistent for 3 years. 37-3, two national championships, 72 TDs 13 Ints.
I'm not in love with him. I'm not going to draft him in the first round just to say he's a first rounder. I'd take him in the second even though I've seen mock drafts have him going in the 4th & later.... I just don't believe that. I think he's as talented & as poised to succeed as any of the 1st rounders.... I like Zach, I like Boyd, I like Mankins, but I like McCarron more.
If I pass on Mettenberger in the second thinking McCarron will be there in the third, I'm screwed if he's not. Boyd will probably still be there, I'd take him in the third, but he's not really what I want. I don't believe Mankins is ready to play, but I do want him.
Aj McCarron, Bortles, Mettenberger are the guys I want. I don't want to spend the 1st overall on Bortles, I don't think he's better than the other two. I'll spend a second on McCarron & be very happy. Even though most everyone has him going in the 3rd or later.
Everything they're saying about Bridgewater can apply to McCarron... Bridgewater may be slightly more accurate, but the competition McCarron played against & the successs he's had, even considering the talent he's had, puts him way over Bridgewater imo.
TexansFTW
Veteran
That's weird. He said it himself that he's super athletic.
Except that TB had to throw the football to win the game for his team.
I'm kind of hijacking an AJ thread and I apologize. I'll temporarily leave.
I'm sure Alabama wouldn't have won as many games if not for the 72 TDs McCarron threw.
WolverineFan
Hall of Fame
They got to the Sugar Bowl with John Parker Wilson and won a national title with Greg McElroy. And the surrounding talent has only gotten better since then. I don't think it matters what McCarron did as long as he could hand the ball off and not turn it over.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Or put another way - lots of college QBs with little/no NFL potential might have pulled off the same thing.
kiwitexansfan
Hall of Fame
Yeah no
Wow, horrible tattoo.
Somewhat irrelevant to QB evaluation, but that body looks super unathletic.
Playoffs
Hall of Fame
kiwitexansfan
Hall of Fame
Same here...
Maybe we should remove the athlete part from the description student-athlete of College QBs.
I'll tell you what, seeing there body shape, there more acceptable weights (for some people) are not made up of quality weight.
badboy
Hall of Fame
Duane Brown, Quessenberry, Myers/Jones, Brooks and draft pick like Antonio Richardson or JuWuan James would be a great line. Support him with a healthy Foster and our WRs, yeah McCarron should do well.
The line does not have to be dominant just keep him on his feet. Same with a QB on our roster, does not have to be Manning, just smart and accurate. AJ is both.
I saw the words "pretty good" "has enough" and the idea "I am not in love with him" to continue my thought that McCarron is non-special player that you find in any draft. He is more non-awful than anything. I can't see him ever being more that a mid-level guy who won't be able tomake key plays when things are not perfect.
badboy
Hall of Fame
If you think all he did was hand off and not turn the ball over you did not watch him play.
WolverineFan
Hall of Fame
That wasn't my point. Thunderkyss said that he doubted Alabama would have won all of those games without McCarron. All I did was point out that they did it with "inferior" QB's before he ever got his chance. I never said that's all he did. I said that's all he had to do.
He gets a lot of credit for being a winner. When "inferior" QB's were doing the same thing before he got there then I begin to discount that hype.
bhsman
Rookie
Even if McCarron is better than we collective doubt he is, his decision to skip the Senior Bowl (even to prevent aggravating some minor injury - Clowney and Ebron still decided to show) and now potentially not even throw the ball? He needs to drop whomever is giving him advice like 3rd period French, and fast.
Except he's not getting any credit. There is 0 hype surrounding him. I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way.
I really wonder if McCarron is this years "Aaron Rogers" .... Not that he will be as good , but he falls in the draft , sits for a year or two then comes in and plays well.
He does nothing great .... but everything pretty well. The ceiling isn't all that high and that's probably why he's getting no run .... but the floor isn't all that low either.
He could have a career like Alex Smith who doesn't wow you with numbers .... He just doesn't make many mistakes and gets the ball into the hands of the playmakers on his team.
If you could get him at the top of the 4th round , I think he's an absolute steal.
He does nothing great .... but everything pretty well. The ceiling isn't all that high and that's probably why he's getting no run .... but the floor isn't all that low either.
He could have a career like Alex Smith who doesn't wow you with numbers .... He just doesn't make many mistakes and gets the ball into the hands of the playmakers on his team.
If you could get him at the top of the 4th round , I think he's an absolute steal.
bhsman
Rookie
McCarron has neither Rodgers's arm strength nor Smith's athleticism; it's not that he does nothing great and everything pretty well, it's that he does some things pretty well and is outright deficient at others.
Anyone who drafts him before the 5th round is wasting a pick, but that's JMO.
I did not in any way compare Rogers talents with those of McCarron .... Reading Comprehension Fail.
Dalton may be a fair comparison ...
Yep and you can put TB in this category also.
Great college players with limitations that will hamper them in the NFL. Unless they overcome these deficiencies with hard work which both are capable of doing.
WolverineFan
Hall of Fame
Winning the Maxwell over Winston and Manziel is undeserved credit/hype to me. He didn't have the stats or the impact of those guys. He won it as a career award because of how good his team has been the last 3 years.
Well I'm just going to have to disagree with all of you. I think the kid can play at a high level & don't see the limitations you mention. Sure he's not as athletic as Kaepernick, but that is not a requirement for success in the NFL.
He's got everything I'm looking for in a QB & I wouldn't hesitate to take him at 1-1 if I thought I needed to. But since he is so underrated I'll target him later in the draft.
We'll just have to wait & see.
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He's got everything I'm looking for in a QB & I wouldn't hesitate to take him at 1-1 if I thought I needed to. But since he is so underrated I'll target him later in the draft.
We'll just have to wait & see.
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TexansFTW
Veteran
If we passed on QB until 4.01 I would have no issue with giving him a shot.
He's a game manager. He doesn't do many dumb things which in today's NFL is almost as important as doing good things.
So many QBs today can give you that 1 wow play, then the next second leave you scratching your head.
I think AJ doesn't give you either, which on the right team can be very useful.
I can definitely see him "succeeding" in the NFL w/ a team like the Cardinals. Top 5 defense, athletic WRs that can make him better, and a decent to strong run game.
I can also 100% see him failing if he's forced into a situation where he has to go and win the game because his team is devoid of talent (Jags, Raiders).
He's a game manager. He doesn't do many dumb things which in today's NFL is almost as important as doing good things.
So many QBs today can give you that 1 wow play, then the next second leave you scratching your head.
I think AJ doesn't give you either, which on the right team can be very useful.
I can definitely see him "succeeding" in the NFL w/ a team like the Cardinals. Top 5 defense, athletic WRs that can make him better, and a decent to strong run game.
I can also 100% see him failing if he's forced into a situation where he has to go and win the game because his team is devoid of talent (Jags, Raiders).
bhsman
Rookie
My bad, though I would still say that the thing about McCarron is that he might have much growing to do on the bench. =/ The take a lot of scouts have is that he might have already peaked athletically in college, and a lack of arm strength and the fact that all he was asked to do at 'Bama was hand the ball off to Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, et al, and make 'safe' throws.
If McCarron turns in the next Tom Brady, all the more power to him, because he's shown almost none of it in college.
drs23
Veteran
Serious question, did Brady?
Playoffs
Hall of Fame
Dishman
Miss Ya Blue
Great read! I forgot all about Drew Henson, but recalled Griese.
So a knock on McCarron is that he didn't have to carry his team, or basically he's playing on a very talented team. I don't argue the point, I know Alabama is a talented team, has been for a while.
I don't "watch" college football. I read a lot of the draft stuff, the Heisman stuff, watch highlights. I'll catch a game here or there, usually watch 4 or 5 bowl games plus the championship game.
My question, for you who do watch NCAAF, & you draftniks (love you guys), how does McCarron compare to Alabama's other QBs, specifically McElroy & JPWilson?
I don't "watch" college football. I read a lot of the draft stuff, the Heisman stuff, watch highlights. I'll catch a game here or there, usually watch 4 or 5 bowl games plus the championship game.
My question, for you who do watch NCAAF, & you draftniks (love you guys), how does McCarron compare to Alabama's other QBs, specifically McElroy & JPWilson?
Honoring Earl 34
Something Witty !
Not much difference IMHO .
He's bigger than the other two but he's just another guy . McElroy was really smart and Wilson seemed to always be looking over his shoulder .
I am not a huge fan of McCarron, but he is easily a better prospect than either McElroy or Wilson. All I ever remember about JP Wilson is the terrible choke job against Utah in their bowl game.
Wilson or McElroy never lasted long in the NFL, but I think McCarron can be a nice backup somewhere for many years.
Imagine the meltdown at the draft party if that happened?
bah007
Hall of Fame
McCarron is the most physically talented QB Saban has had at Alabama.
Marshall
Not pretty, but ALIVE!
I like him as a fourth round backup to Case.
Marshall
Not pretty, but ALIVE!
1-1? Are you kidding or serious?
Blake
MMQB
Personally I dont think its a good idea to draft players based on other teams boards or rankings. If you have AJ rated as a first round prospect then you better take him at 1.1. Waiting around because you think others have him rated lower spells disaster if he is "your guy."
Dead serious.
When I consider taking a QB with the #1 overall pick, he's got to meet certain criteria.
Size... check
Successful career..... check
Prolific... check
Major Program... check
Good arm.... check
Sound mechanics... check
Pro offense.... check
Competitive... check
Smart... check
Hot Super Model girlfriend/wife... check
He's as good a prospect as Lienart was & Lienart was considered the best QB of both the 2005 & 2006 draft. Without the benefit of hindsight, Lienart would probably be the best QB in this draft.
I know people will look at Lienart & say he was a bust, which is true, but I don't think that means McCarron will be a bust. As far as prospects go, it doesn't get much better than Lienart. Well, it does but then you're talking once in a lifetime type players. McCarron's not once in a lifetime, but he's worthy of the #1 overall.
Luckily I'm the only who thinks that way & we can most likely get him in the second.
bah007
Hall of Fame
Leinart is the poster boy for prospects like McCarron. You're taking the #1 reason not to take McCarron and trying to spin it around as the reason you should take him. Plenty of scouts pointed out the potential risks with Leinart but he ended up being drafted high anyway, probably based off of a chart like the one above.
Just because Leinart was drafted in the 1st round doesn't mean that he deserved to be. He busted because he was clearly overrated as a prospect. He didn't have a NFL caliber arm, he played behind an awesome OL who protected him so cleanly that he never had to play under pressure. He had probably the best running game in the country supporting him. He had big WRs who just dominated smaller less talented defenders. He had a defense loaded with future NFL stars that kept him from having to carry his team.
Basically, if he was surrounded by premier talent he looked like a premier QB. But he couldn't elevate the talent around him. They actually elevated him.So when he got to the NFL and every team had similar talent, his flaws became magnified.
Does he elaborate on this any? I found this...
That's not what I saw when I watched McCarron. I understand the knock on him, that he played with "too much talent" & I'll agree that he's probably the most experienced QB in this draft with a clean pocket, I don't think anyone else had seen such a clean pocket with the frequency McCarron did.
But that kid brought a lot more to the table than he's getting credit for.
bhsman
Rookie
Not really, and that was the point - though Brady struggled with a lot more. I don't know if that same level of drive exists in McCarron, but that's getting into motivation talk and that's where lesser sportswriters make their living.
WolverineFan
Hall of Fame
Brady didn't have the same drive in college that he took to the NFL. He was looked over in college with the whole Henson ordeal, but he still had a good career and earned the stigma of "captain comeback" during his senior year.
However, it was at the NFL combine when scouts literally made fun of him and he fell to the 6th round that he developed the biggest chip on his shoulder that any player has ever had. He started watching film 8 hours a day, every day, and was Bledsoe's shadow every second during practice. The guy lived for the chance where he could make fools of everyone who had doubted him. When he got his chance, he set out on a mission to prove them all wrong.
I don't see that same drive in McCarron, but that kind of drive is rare so that shouldn't be a knock on AJ at all.