FanPost

Perfect Chris Ballard Pick: QB Prospect Anthony Gordon, Washington State (Redux)

After spending some time watching film of Anthony Gordon (yes, Gardner Minshew's backup), I think we may have the next QB prospect for the Colts. Its almost poetic.

What we know about Ballard and the scouting staff is their love for players that had a tough road getting there, but when they do, they excel at their positions. They look for leaders that are intelligent, skilled, and driven. They're excellent "finds" or value picks, etc. Based on this, the more I've researched Anthony Gordon, the more he fits the mold of a Colts player.

Talent

One of the things you'll see when you first look up Gordon (outside of his connection to Falk and Minshew) is the eye-popping numbers he put up in his senior season. There's a reason for that. If you go over his game tape, you will see a guy who has a good arm, with a great combination of touch and accuracy you rarely see in QB prospects. Typically, you'll see a QB with two of those assets, like touch and accuracy, or arm strength and accuracy, but rarely all three. Gordon is in rarefied air in having all three.

He can throw deep bombs with perfect touch that drop right into the hands of the WR in stride, or if needed, he can throw lasers into tight windows that drill the WR in the breadbasket. He's adept at tempering his arm as well, which is a very unique skillset of QBs. What this means is that he can adjust how he throws the ball depending on the receiver and the situation. This may seem similar to other skill sets, but its not. Its part of the reason why Ryan Tannehill scares me in the AFC South so much. He will, literally, ASK his players how they want the ball delivered to them. This is important because the player will know EXACTLY where the ball will be every time, and exactly what it will take to catch it. Its a talent that Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck possessed (they both asked), and it can make average players seem like Pro Bowlers (looking at you Ebron).

Tempering, or counterbalancing as used in this context is the art of adjusting your throw velocity, touch, area, and angle to better accommodate your receiver. The best QBs in the league are able to do this. Again, it was a specialty of Peyton and Andrew. Unfortunately for us, it is not a specialty of Jacoby Brissett.

If you are wondering why this is important, take a look at some of the Colts footage this year. While we had a number of dropped passes and interceptions, some of them were solely due to Jacoby simply throwing the ball too damn hard. Matt Stafford is also another one of these players. They have cannons for arms, but cannot temper their throws. They cannot balance their raw power with more touch. This is why Ebron had the same slump his second year with the Colts, that he did with the Lions.

This is something that Anthony Gordon has shown through his college film that he can do.

There are two main concerns with Gordon, which may lend him to being more of a project than an immediate starter. First, is his mobility. He's Peyton Manning level bad. While he does have pocket presence, he hasn't shown the ability to be more mobile to extend plays. This may be an area that the Colts overlook, however, due to the O-Line play. The second is his desire to wait for players to get open before releasing the ball. Anticipatory throwing is something QBs need to do well in order for them to succeed in the NFL. They need to be able to understand a defense and throw to a receiver before he looks open. This may be the key for why he looks more like a development project than a day 1 starter, even with the incredible numbers put up in the Mike Leach offense.

Draft

The next reason why Anthony Gordon would be an ideal Colts pick is because he wouldn't be a round 1 pick. Most profiles, if he's covered at all, have him as a Day 2 or 3 player. (Personally, if he's as good as he looks on tape, I'd vote for day 2) While there is some concern with him only having 1 year with Wash State under his belt. This is great value for a player that I think will be one of the better QBs in the league if he can grow more as a QB. His path to starting for Wash State reminds me a lot of Rock Ya Sin's route.

Also, the beauty of this is that it gives Ballard the ability to pick other cornerstone players with his early picks. Even if he trades down a few picks in the 1st round, talented O-tackle, D-tackle, wide receiver, and pass rushers can be had at our position this year. If things fall our way, we may end up with our best draft class this year.

Believe it or not, the AFC South is turning into a QB league. With Watson, Tannehill, and either Minshew or Foles, the Colts cannot afford to limp by with an average QB and an above average running game. If you are going to succeed into the future, you have to have a franchise QB that can keep you competitive in this changing division. We are starting to put all the other pieces together. Our defense is getting there (albeit with more help on the line), our O-line and running game is top 5 in the NFL. The only area where we need to improve in our offense is in our passing game. I believe we can do that with Anthony Gordon.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.