For those who don't pay for a subscription, the writer Ted Nguyen polled the top private QB coaches on mechanics of Caleb, Daniels, Maye, JJ, Penix, Nix and Rattler.
They graded efficiency, speed, adaptability and overall mechanics on a scale of 1-5. Efficiency is the ability to transfer force from their hips, speed is how quick their release is, and adaptability is how well they can adjust their mechanics to overcome external factors. The overall grade isn’t a cumulative score of the other three categories but just a grade on the quarterback’s overall mechanics that could include factors outside of the listed categories.
• 1 – Problematic
• 2 – Will take a lot of work to fix
• 3 – Fixable
• 4 – Good
• 5 – Excellent |
Caleb Williams
Efficiency: 4.8
Adaptability: 5
Speed: 4.25
Overall: 4.9
Drake Maye
Efficiency: 3.6
Adaptability: 3.5
Speed: 3.3
Overall: 3.75
Jayden Daniels
Efficiency: 4
Adaptability: 3.5
Speed: 3.6
Overall: 3.8
J.J. McCarthy
Efficiency: 3.8
Adaptability: 4
Speed: 3.1
Overall: 3.75
Michael Penix Jr.
Efficiency: 4
Adaptability: 3.3
Speed: 3.3
Overall: 3.8
Bo Nix
Efficiency: 4
Adaptability: 4
Speed: 3.8
Overall: 3.9
Spencer Rattler
Efficiency: 4.3
Adaptability: 4.25
Speed: 3.5
Overall: 4
It's worth reading the full piece as there's a bunch of quotes from the QB coaches on each guy but I wasn't sure how much I can copy and paste here.
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On Maye:
“However his accuracy diminishes as he moves through progressions, (it’s) a very fixable issue,” a coach said. “However, in a non-developmental league, it needs to be fixed immediately, and this can only be done through on-field reps.”
This coach’s observation is that when Maye is throwing on rhythm to his first read, he’s accurate. But as he has to move to his second and third reads, he struggles to consistently get his feet set correctly. Footwork has proved to be correctable at the next level.
The consensus is that Maye can overcome some inefficiencies with his mechanics because of his raw talent. One coach said it takes him some time to ease into a game and get loose. He can be stiff early in the games, which leads to sequencing problems.
Another issue commonly brought up by analysts is Maye’s windup. The term coaches use for the action of bringing the ball back or loading for the throw is “layback,” and most coaches agree it isn’t a problem. They say Maye’s layback is ideal for generating power and they wouldn’t mess with it. Maye doesn’t have the fastest release, but the quarterback coaches agree it’s still good.
Overall, Maye has to clean up his footwork when moving from read to read, and he must continue to tweak his mechanics and be more consistent from snap to snap, but wholesale changes don’t need to be made. He’s only 21 — the coaches believe there is plenty of optimism that Maye can fix the issues that affected his accuracy.
JJ:
McCarthy has a strong arm and throws with a lot of zip, but he doesn’t throw with a lot of touch, which is a skill that requires different mechanics than when he’s throwing line drives. Another concern is that his accuracy dips when throwing to the left. Coaches believe it’s a combination of footwork problems and a tendency to overstride.
“I just don’t think he’s fully aware where his lower body’s supposed to go and get to, to set up the type of misses that he was having,” one coach said. When throwing to the left, he doesn’t align his body correctly with his feet and then overstrides, trying to rip passes in. This is seen as a correctable issue.
One coach said when he starts working with quarterbacks, one of the first throws they’ll work on for a right-handed quarterback is throwing left off of five-step drops. “Typically, the hardest area for guys to get right early,” the coach said. “Once you get it and you know how to hack it, it’s easy.”
Penix:
“It’s like lateral tilt, and then that looks like that puts the arm in that three-quarters slot where it’s, like, not fully where it should be,” one of the coaches said. “So to me, that ends up being potentially a lower-body inefficiency.”
He tends to lean back, which one coach compared to when a golfer pulls his head out and ends up slicing.
“Penix is still tremendously accurate because he has the ability to pull so many things with his arm,” another coach said. “So I think that he could take his level of consistency up if he maintained his posture a little bit longer.”
Another issue brought up is that when he does miss, he isn’t opening up his front foot enough toward the target, which doesn’t allow his hips to fully open. That causes him to overcompensate with his arm and slash unnaturally.