The last game of this week’s slice of NFL-goodness is the Monday Night matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams. The Seahawks have quarterback Russell Wilson, the go-to counter example for anyone who doubts a smaller signal caller can succeed in the NFL. Wilson’s Seahawks are the current favorites to win the NFC West, and his ability to make smart throws at any level of the field along with his dynamic running ability is a big reason why.
The Rams’ starting quarterback Sam Bradford is out for the season with a torn ACL. They’re scrambling to find a capable replacement in the barren free agent quarterback market, which features former Tennessee Titans’ quarterback Vince Young. Young was hyped as a game-changing dual threat coming out of the University of Texas, but his sensitivity to adversity, puzzling decision making and his tendency to run before throwing has made him a bust in the pros.
Five years from now, Clemson’s senior quarterback Tajh Boyd could be the next Russell Wilson. He could also be the next Vince Young. And the NFL community is still debating which answer is right.
When searching for scouting reports on Boyd, the only consistency in the results are writers bringing up his Favre-like toughness and his erratic decision-making. After that, it’s a free for all, with some mock drafts having him as a top-15 pick and other mock drafts having him as a second-round pick. For a quarterback with even a hint of franchise potential, this disparity is gigantic, much like the disparity between Boyd’s best and worst college performance.
Against LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last season, Boyd dominated an LSU defense stacked with NFL talent. He completed 30 of 56 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns without his favorite target in wide receiver Sammy Watkins. On Clemson’s final drive, Boyd connected with DeAndre Hopkins to convert on a fourth-and-16 that was make-or-break for his team. The pass was perfect despite Boyd getting pressured yet again, and it remains Boyd’s defining moment in college.
Against the visiting Florida State University Seminoles in perhaps the most hyped regular season game in Atlantic Coast Conference history, Boyd’s No. 4 Tigers were routed by the score of 51-14. Matthew Fairburn, assistant NFL Draft Editor at SB Nation, noted that Boyd’s accuracy, decision making and pocket presence left much to be desired after Saturday’s loss.
“Clemson’s offense had a lot of things go wrong early against Florida State, and Boyd let that affect him,” Fairburn said. “One game doesn’t change an evaluation, but consistency has always been his problem.”
Boyd could have left Clemson after last season, declaring for the 2013 draft and avoiding Jameis Winston and the juggernaut Seminoles. If he had, chances are he could have been the first quarterback selected. Not too hard when his only competition would have been Geno Smith, who got drafted by the New York Jets with the 39th overall pick. The Kansas City Chiefs were the holders of the first pick and traded for quarterback Alex Smith due to the lack of quality signal callers at the top of the class. The recent success of Wilson would quell any concerns about Boyd’s smaller stature, and his career path would have a very different look from where it is right now.
Of course, this is me just rambling on about hypotheticals, but the situation in last year’s draft is the exact opposite of what’s coming up in 2014. Teddy Bridgewater. Jadaveon Clowney. Johnny Manziel. The talent at the top of next year’s draft has the potential to usher in a new era of NFL greatness. Boyd might become an afterthought when he had the chance to be the No. 1 player (with a No. 1-level paycheck) not even a year ago.
Oddly enough, going under-the-radar as the fourth or fifth quarterback selected could be the best-case scenario for Boyd’s professional career. The quarterback-needy teams that will be picking high in May (Jacksonville, Minnesota and Houston) have one thing in common: their current coaching staff is on the hot seat. The worst thing to happen to a young draft pick is to be playing for a coach who will be on his way out at any moment. As the saying goes, new regimes mean new quarterbacks. And Boyd needs stability and consistency, not just in his game, but with the people surrounding him, if he wants his NFL career to take off. That’s the way it goes for all quarterbacks picked with the intention of becoming the future.
With Boyd, the exact image of Wilson appears every now and then. I see a quarterback finding ideal throwing lanes despite difficulty seeing over his line. I see a competitor who takes vicious hits every weekend, yet still remains inhumanly durable. I see an arm that can get the ball to every level of the field in a multifaceted offense.
Yet there are moments where Young-like tendencies stick out like a sore thumb. He becomes skittish in the pocket, rolling out and improvising when the play asked for something different. He doesn’t properly anticipate his talented group of receivers getting open and will miss some easy ones. He has taken a beating in college and will have even less time to throw in the NFL.
Boyd remains the most divisive player in this draft class, even before lightning rods such as Clowney and Manziel. If his draft stock continues to fall this season, he could be selected late in the second round or maybe even the third. That wouldn’t be a bad thing for his career; he wouldn’t have the pressure to start right away, and he could sit behind a capable veteran and learn. But it takes just one team to like Boyd for him to be drafted high. I guess they’re banking on the Wilson comparison.