Quarterback

Iowa

6-4 223

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #83

Draft Board Overall Quarterback Rank: #6

Rating: 71 (mid 3rd)

40 time: 4.93

3/23/11: Stanzi once again didn’t look great throwing, this time at his Pro Day. He’s still a solid mid round prospect, but I’m moving him down a bit. 

2/17/11: Ricky Stanzi isn’t going to amaze you with physical tools, but he has experience in a Pro Style offense and statistically had a very good year last year. He completed 64% of his passes for an average of 8.7 YPA as a season and 25 touchdowns to 6 picks. He did this, however, with a lot of his help from his running game and defense.

Iowa frequently would run the I formation, with two running backs. This is a Pro Style offense and Stanzi has the experience taking snaps under center, dropping back, he’s got very refined footwork, a smart decision maker who makes good reads, but he didn’t ever prove he could carry a team. He has an above average arm when he does throw, but he rarely needs to throw far downfield because he’s frequently operating out of 2^nd and 3^rd and shorts, with the defense keying in on the running game.

That being said, his above average arm, mature decision making, refined footwork, and Pro Style experience are going to be intriguing to a team in the 3^rd round range. He doesn’t need as much work as a lot of the quarterbacks in this class and he’s a relatively safe pick at quarterback. He’s not a huge upside guy. I don’t think he’ll end up a franchise quarterback. He’s got the arm strength, but I don’t think he was tested enough in college and he did show some inconsistencies.

He threw 15 picks to 17 touchdowns in 2009. He improved his decision making from 2009 to 2010, but he still played fairly inconsistently. He was very inconsistent at the Senior Bowl as well, though many note the strong leadership skills he displayed in the game, leading a touchdown drive down 17 points.

NFL Comparison: Chad Henne