18. Johnny Manziel (2014)
Even during his highly scrutinized and controversy-filled redshirt sophomore year at Texas A&M, Johnny Manziel went from a frenetic but magical Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback to a legitimate NFL prospect at the position. At his best, he was the first quarterback in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in a single season.
At his worst, he was a constant headache for his coaches, as his off-the-field exploits made even more headlines than his antics on the field (like taunting opponents). The fact that he only played two years of college football also gave some teams pause.
17. Blaine Gabbert (2011)
Today, we see Blaine Gabbert as the guy whom General Managers see in their nightmares when picking quarterbacks who played in spread offenses in college. But back in 2011, when they weren’t as wary, Gabbert was seen as a 6’4, 234lb quarterback who hand the brain to make fast decisions, the arm to fit the ball into tight windows, and the legs to create positive yardage in adverse situations. Scouting reports described Gabbert as having tools that were “too alluring for a team without a quarterback.”
While Gabbert’s bad habits — like relying on his arm too much, and not really being able to connect on the deep ball — clearly manifested at the NFL level, his rocky transition from the spread offense at the University of Missouri to the NFL was really what stunted his career progression.
16. Blake Bortles (2014)
Blake Bortles was the perfect example of giving an NFL team the perfect ball of clay, and asking them to mold a franchise quarterback out of it. Standing 6’5 and 232lbs, running the 40-yard dash in less than five seconds, and with a broad jump just under 10 feet, Bortles was an ideal combination of bulk and athleticism.
Sure, scouts debated whether the athletic ability and the arm talent was enough to merit making him a to pick in the NFL Draft, despite the fact that he was far from a finished product and his overall football intelligence was something of a question.
15. Josh Allen (2018)
Virtually nobody disagreed with the fact that when Josh Allen arrived in the NFL, he’d instantly rank among the top five (if not top three) quarterbacks in terms of pure arm strength; whether he could place his throws within a country mile of his intended target was an entirely different conversation.
The former University of Wyoming quarterback absolutely dazzled NFL types with the ferocity of his throws, leading many people to immediately call him the dark horse contender for the #1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Even as teams began to nitpick at his glaring accuracy issues, they still saw as much raw physical talent in Allen as they had seen in quite some time.