Dynasty Football Rookie Quarterback Prospect KOP Rankings

Bonjour, Mesdames et Messieurs! There’s a lot of good content regarding the NFL Draft, topics like mock drafts, evaluations, and rankings. Most content creators and analysts rank players based on fantasy value or overall skill. The Keen Observer Posse (KOP) rankings are about trust. 

I’ve either played or coached football for over 20 years, and my experience enters how I evaluate NFL Draft prospects. What can I trust him to do? In general, the number one thing a coach values the most in a person/player is trust. It isn’t athleticism or size. The KOP rankings will help you understand why a person struggles in the NFL or why a particular player isn’t receiving more playing time. It will allow you to move off a specific player earlier than most people in the Dynasty Fantasy Football space. For example, while most managers hoped for O.J. Howard to produce as a TE1 in his sophomore or third season; you have already traded him away.

The rankings will allow you to “Live in the Future.” You will move off of players like Trey Lance earlier than the masses. Additionally, you will understand why a person drafted last will start over a first-round draft pick. Coaches love trust and rarely tolerate players that struggle with the easy, especially at the QB position. KOP will provide the QB rankings, then break down what a coach can trust the person to do and what you can’t trust them to do. Let’s get started.

CJ Stroud (Ohio State)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Run vertical style scheme.
• Run a modern-day West Coast scheme.
• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Pocket manipulation, awareness, mobility.
• PinPoint ball placement (all levels).
• Decision making.
• Functional lateral movement, quickness, burst, straight-line speed.
• Recognizing defensive coverages post-snap.
• Throw with touch; layered throws.
• Leadership.
• Handling interior and edge pressure.
• Focus and drive.
• Calling OL blocking assignments.
• Manipulating coverages.
• Performing in crucial moments.
• Overcome mediocre coaching, a bad OL, and weapons.
• Throwing on the move.
• Outside of structure.

Distrust

• N/A

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Stroud ranks first in Straight-Dropback Passing Grade.

Bryce Young (Alabama)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Run a modern-day West Coast scheme.
• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Pocket manipulation, awareness, mobility.
• Ball placement (all levels).
• Decision making.
• To use his exceptional lateral movement, quickness, burst, and straight-line speed.
• Recognizing defensive coverages post-snap.
• Throw with touch; layered throws.
• Leadership.
• Handling interior and edge pressure.
• Focus and drive.
• Calling OL blocking assignments.
• Manipulating coverages.
• Audibling based on the pre-snap defensive look.
• Performing in crucial moments.
• Overcome a bad OL and weapons.
• Throws on the move.
• Outside of structure.

Distrust

• Run vertical style offense; limited arm strength.
• Unable to overcome mediocre coaching.

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Stroud ranks first in passing from a clean pocket, Passing Grade w/o Play Action, Passing Grade on Attempts Beyond the Sticks, and percentage of limiting negatively graded plays.

Stetson Bennett (Georgia)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Run a modern-day West Coast scheme.
• Run vertical-style offense.
• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Pocket manipulation, awareness, mobility.
• Ball placement (all levels).
• To use his exceptional lateral movement, quickness, burst, and straight-line speed.
• Recognizing defensive coverages post-snap.
• Throw with touch; layered throws.
• Handling interior and edge pressure.
• Calling OL blocking assignments.
• Manipulating coverages.
• Audibling based on the pre-snap defensive look.
• Recognizing pre-snap blitz looks.
• Performing in crucial moments.
• Throwing on the move.
• Outside of structure.

Distrust

• Being aggressive, Mr. Bennett tends to force the riskier throw. He tends to pre-determine throws.

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Bennett ranked fourth in PFF’s combined stable metric rankings.

Jake Haener (Fresno State)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Run a modern-day west coast scheme.
• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Pocket manipulation, awareness, and mobility.
• Ball placement (all levels).
• Decision making.
• To use his above-average lateral movement, quickness, burst, and straight-line speed.
• Recognizing defensive coverages post-snap.
• Throw with touch; layered throws.
• Leadership.
• Focus and drive.
• Calling OL blocking assignments.
• Manipulating coverages.
• Audibling based on the pre-snap defensive look.
• Toughness.
• Performing in crucial moments.
• Throwing on the move.
• Outside of structure.

Distrust

• His inability to run a vertical-style offense because his arm strength is similar to Brock Purdy.
• He’s inconsistent with handling interior and edge pressure. He tends to leave clean pockets.

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Haener ranks second in completion percentage with 71.3%.

Anthony Richardson (Florida)

Trust

• Read Option (RO) scheme.
• Coastal Carolina’s modern-day triple option scheme.
• An offense built around his elite rushing ability; everything works off the run game.
• Make the complex look easy.
• Understands route concepts vs. coverages.
• Coverage manipulation with eyes and body movement.
• Avoiding pressure and sacks.
• He will use his lateral movement, quickness, burst, and straight-line speed, which is the best among NFL QBs.
• Know where to go with the ball based on the play.
• Elusive and breaking tackles.
• Pocket manipulation, awareness, and mobility.
• Look deep to short.
• Works best when he just plays. He’s the ultimate analysis by a paralysis person.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Hitting the layups. He makes the easy look hard.
• Accuracy/ball placement.
• His feet; his accuracy issues stem from his back/plant foot leaving the ground before finishing his throwing motion (simple fix).
• Live-action situational awareness. Ex. will throw the ball away on a fourth down play.
• Run RPO scheme.
• Run West Coast style scheme.

Interesting

• Mr. Richardson increased his average depth of target when under pressure going up (11.1 yards to 12.4). His passing grade under pressure within the pocket was better than Bryce Young’s and CJ Stroud’s.

Hendon Hooker (Tennessee)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• An offense that relies on his physical arm ability. He ran an offense that doesn’t translate to the NFL. 
• Functional lateral movement.
• Decent straight-line speed.
• Run vertical-style offense with limited reads.
• Great ball placement on deep passes.
• Tremendous arm talent; layered throws, arm strength, velocity.
• Decision making.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Will miss one wide-open deep pass each game on average.
• Throws with timing & anticipation.
• Pocket manipulation.
• Run West Coast style scheme.
• Handling pressure from interior and edge.
• With pre-snap and post-snap responsibility, the coaching staff must give him the answer to the test.
• Don’t expect Mr. Hooker to manipulate defensive coverages.

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Hooker ranked first in avoiding turnover-worthy plays at 1.1% and ranked second in average depth of target at 11.7 yards per target.

Clayton Tune (Houston)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Trust him to use his above-average straight-line speed.
• Trust him to use functional lateral movement, quickness, and burst.
• Expect him to throw well with layered and touch throws.
• He can be trusted to run a vertical-style offense with simplistic or half-field reads.
• His arm is good enough for the NFL.
• Throws well on the move.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Run a modern-day West Coast scheme.
• Distrust him with pocket manipulation and awareness; he constantly leaves clean pockets and moves into pressure.
• Expect him to struggle with interior and edge pressure.
• Don’t expect him to make OL-blocking calls.
• Distrust him with manipulating coverages with his eyes or body movement. He tends to predetermine his throws.
• He has limited experience with diagnosing defensive coverages, post-snap.
• He needs everything around him to be elite; coaching and weapons.
• Expect him to struggle with recognizing blitzes.

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Tune ranked second in PFF’s combined stable metric rankings. He’s ranked ahead of CJ Stroud.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Coaches can trust him if they provide clearly defined reads. They must provide situations where the #1 will open constantly. 
• Trust him with the short area and intermediate throws.
• He has above-average movement skills, lateral and straight-line.
• He has the mobility to move well within the pocket.
• His layered,  touch, and velocity throws are good enough for the NFL.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Don’t expect him to be successful with complex pre-snap and post-snap responsibilities. He tends to predetermine his throws.
• Distrust him with coverage manipulation.
• He needs everything to be elite around him.

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Thompson-Robinson was fourth in converting first downs in the passing game.

Jaren Hall (BYU)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Half-field reads.
• Boundary throws, outside-the-numbers throws, and route concepts. Similar to Zach Wilson.
• Decision-making is good when coaches provide clearly defined concepts.
• Accuracy with all level throws.
• Touch and layered throws.
• Throwing on the move.
• Outside of structure.
• Pocket mobility.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Inside route concepts.
• Full-field reads.
• West Coast scheme.
• Timing and anticipation.
• OL blocking adjustments.
• Pre and post-snap responsibility.
• Don’t expect him to overcome average coaching or talent.
• Manipulating coverages.
• Pocket awareness.

Interesting

• Last season, Mr. Hall’s Passer Rating was 112.7, ranked fifth among draft-eligible QBs.

Max Duggan (TCU)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Straight-line speed, lateral movement, and burst.
• Short and intermediate accuracy.
• Velocity and touch throws.
• Utilize deep and intermediate areas.
• Relies on outside the hashes throws.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Manipulating coverages.
• Within structure.
• Handle blitzes.
• Decision making.
• Deep ball accuracy. He loves his deep passes but is inconsistent with such throws.
• Pre and post-snap responsibilities.
• Inability to overcome an average roster and coaching staff.

Interesting

• Last season,  Mr. Duggan ranked fourth in total passing yards (3,697) and touchdowns (32).

Todd Centeio (James Madison)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Half-field reads.
• Play calls where his eyes can stay in the exact location.
• He must see the player, open throws.
• Accuracy (72.7% adjusted completion percentage).
• Touch and layered throws.
• Lateral & short area mobility, similar to Jalen Hurts’ mobility.
• Handling pressure from the edge.
• Handles clear defensive pre-snap reads, specifically cover 0.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Throws requiring zip and arm strength; arm is similar to Gardner Minshew.
• Handling Interior pressure.
• Handling zone coverages where defensive players are much deeper in their zone & responsibility.

Interesting

• Among 2023 NFL Draft prospects, Mr. Centeio ranks second in Yard Per Attempt (YPA), averaging 9.4 YPA. Only behind Hendon Hooker

Aidan O’Connell (Purdue)

Trust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Post snap reads.
• Ball placement at all levels.
• Touch throws.
• Utilized all levels of the field.
• Plays within a structure.

Distrust

• Handle pressure and blitzes.
• Lack of straight-line speed, lateral movement, and burst.
• Pre-snap reads.
• Outside of structure.
• Ball security.
• Manipulating coverages.
• Arm strength.
• Pocket mobility.
• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Decision-making.

Interesting

• Mr. O’Connell’s aggressive nature led to 13 interceptions last season, ranking third-worst among NFL Draft QB prospects.

Tanner McKee (Stanford)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Ball placement at all levels.
• Velocity, touch, and layered throws.
• Utilize every blade of grass.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Lack of straight-line speed, lateral movement, and burst.
• NFL standard throwing motion.
• Pre and post-snap responsibility.
• Footwork.
• Off-platform throws.
• Throws on the move.
• Handling pressure and blitzes.

Interesting

• Mr. McKee’s Turnover Worthy Play Rate was 1.5%, ranking fourth among NFL Draft QB prospects.

Will Levis (Kentucky)

Trust

• Run Pass Option (RPO) scheme.
• Functional movement skills; lateral and straight-line.
• Offense is built around his mobility. Create an offense where the defense has to scheme for 11 vs. 11 football.
• Utilized short and inside the hashes throws.
• Performs well when standing still in the pocket. He needs a scheme that limits his dropback footwork.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Footwork.
• Pre and post-snap responsibility.
• Pocket awareness.
• Ball placement.
• Layered throws.
• Arm strength. He has the elite arm talent that every coach wants, but his arm strength comes and goes due to his poor mechanics.
• Decision-making. He looks short-to-deep too often when it should be the other way around.
• Handling pressure and blitzes.
• Manipulation coverage.

Interesting

• Mr. Levis was sacked 34 times last season and only scrambled 15 times on straight dropback plays.

Malik Cunningham (Louisville)

Trust

• Exceptional lateral movement, quickness, burst, and straight-line speed.
• Short throws accuracy.

Distrust

• Throws requiring timing & anticipation.
• Throwing motion.
• Pre or post-snap responsibility.
• Pocket manipulation.
• Deep and intermediate accuracy.
• Arm strength.
• Throwing on the run.
• Off-platform throws.
• Decision-making.
• Handling pressure and blitzes.
• Rarely utilizing deep and intermediate areas.
• Withing structure and outside of the structure.
• Manipulating coverages.

Interesting

• Last season, Mr. Cunningham’s average time to throw on dropback was 3.02 seconds behind only Anthony Richardson and Clayton Tune.

Conclusion

Remember, the KOP rankings are rare because it is timeless ranking. You can always go back to the KOP rankings to understand better what’s going on with a specific player. KOP is the best for “Living in the Future” which is your primary skill to succeed in Fantasy Football. Trust the process; the keen observer of the human experience can “Live in the Future.” 

I hope I was helpful and insightful with the KOP QB rankings. If you have any questions regarding my comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me at @crazy_kirt. Thank you for your time and support, and have a good day.