We’re back to look at some possibilities for the Indianapolis Colts in the 2020 NFL Draft. The quarterback position is one we’re going to be hearing a lot about as the next months play out. With so many becoming free agent, and such a quality draft class, it’s bound to get interesting for Colts fans.
We looked at Anthony Gordon the other day, and today we’re going to take a look at Jake Fromm out of Georgia. Fromm reportedly met with the Colts last week as well, so there’s that to think about.
Fromm has been a three-year starter which naturally is something NFL teams are going to like about him. Fromm accumulated over 8,200 passing yards (191.5 YPG), 78 touchdowns (1.8 PG) and only 18 interceptions with a career completion rate of over 63 percent in his 43 games at Georgia.
Additionally, Fromm has been blessed with some pretty fantastic skill position players, and offensive lines to help him along the way. That’s not exclusive to Fromm by any means, but we’ll get to where that matters here shortly.
Fromm is a junior so we didn’t get to see him in the Senior Bowl this past weekend, but we’ve got more than enough of a sample set with all of the film on him in order to gauge what we think of him at the next level.
After watching Fromm’s 2018, and 2019 tape primarily, there were definitely some improvements from his sophomore to junior season, but there were also issues in both years, just not necessarily the same ones. Fromm’s skill position groupings were quite different from year to year, and it affected how he went about leading the Bulldogs in each of those seasons.
Fromm has the frame, natural footwork and the requisite speed from the time he sets his feet to the release of the ball. GMs and coaching staffs are going to appreciate that. I didn’t really find any issues with any of his fundamentals, arm strength or anything like that either — at least not what he possesses in those abilities. How he used them, though, that’s a bit of a different story at times.
In his 2018 tape, you won’t see him throwing receivers open very often, rather he’s relying on his receivers far superior athleticism to win on a consistent basis even on bad throws. Granted, it’s college ball, and that’s not exactly something we see in every quarterback, but if they’re going to have a future in the league, they need to do it occasionally. However, in his sophomore year, I’d argue that I witnessed better timing, touch, and being able to recognize when to take advantage of defenders.
Fromm showed the ability to move, and freeze defenders with his eye discipline in 2018 as well. He’s also got the natural running ability that you like to see from a quarterback, especially in today’s NFL with so much being done outside of the pocket. Fromm is pretty darn accurate — I wouldn’t say precise — outside of the pocket as well.
Fromm actually had better ball placement along the sideline in his sophomore year in my opinion, but he also had better receivers who were much better at coming back to the ball and setting up defenders. He has the ability to make accurate, tight window throws, though, he really struggled with his precision in this area in 2019 against the better competition.
This past season, Fromm struggled mightily against Florida, LSU, and Auburn to make plays that weren’t designed to have the ball come out quickly. One thing that stood out to me on in several 2019 games, was also that he threw behind his receivers, missed along the sidelines, and missed far too many wide open receivers for my liking.
Now, he does a really nice job of being patient throughout his progressions, and he’ll stand tall in the pocket with pressure in his face, yet, his confidence takes a hit when the defense is able to take his first read away from him.
Fromm does very well between the hash marks, and has the accuracy and throwing power to hit receivers outside the numbers as well. The problem comes when the middle of the field is congested, and being taken away by the defense. Fromm relies on his tight ends getting free, as well as his receivers using rub routes, and deep in-routes to get on a roll. If he’s limited to throwing outside the numbers, things get hairy pretty quickly.
Fromm is a hard guy to pin down for me to be perfectly honest. He doesn’t really do anything badly, but his game isn’t as polished as I’d like it to be when it comes to decision making, deep ball accuracy, or throwing with anticipation. Fromm definitely became more aggressive in 2019, partly because he had to in order for Georgia to remain competitive in some of their tougher matchups.
I suppose when it comes down to it, I just don’t see Fromm being any different from guys like A.J. McCarron, or C.J. Beathard, or even Cody Kessler at the next level. Fromm could absolutely be schemed into a capable quarterback, but I don’t see any team getting an edge simply because he is drafted by their team.
To be perfectly honest, nothing I’ve seen to this point (7 games) leads me to believe that he’s got the mental, physical, and natural abilities — all wrapped up into one impressive package — to be a guy who flourishes against NFL competition.
I will definitely watch more of him as the NFL Draft inches closer, and maybe my outlook will change a bit. I simply don’t see him as a franchise quarterback right now by any stretch.
Instead of putting a couple specific clips of plays as arguments either for or against Fromm within this eval, I decided to simply give you a few links to larger sections of a few games.
Alabama 2018: You can see that Fromm has some really nice accuracy and his timing is on point a large portion of the time. You’ll also see that he gets the ball out well under pressure, but he also struggles to move the ball downfield at times, and may understand why I’m not in love with the velocity he puts on the ball on certain throws that demand it.
Missouri 2019: You’ll see improved throwing power, some GORGEOUS deep balls, and his understanding that he had to be more of a playmaker with his skill position grouping. You’ll also see his feet get stuck at times, and he doesn’t harness his entire body to make some throws.
Watching these two games, then moving on to the following three games, is a complete night and day experience. Like I said, I’ll watch more, but right now, Fromm is too inconsistent for me with what I currently perceive to be an average NFL ceiling. Fromm really struggles in these games.
LSU 2019 — Florida 2019 — Auburn 2019
Next on the list is Washington’s Jacob Eason.