The Washington Post - USA (2022-04-25)

D6 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.MONDAY, APRIL 25 , 2022

“Zappe is an interesting guy

because he’s so good from the

neck up and he just knows how to

play and he’s accurate,” Nagy said.

“Zappe’s a guy who I think could

have a Case Keenum-type career

— a guy that you don’t necessarily

plan on being the starter, but then

he plays and you win a bunch of

games with him.”

Another possibility in the latter

rounds or even as an undrafted

free agent is EJ Perry of Brown.

Perry spent two seasons as a

backup at Boston College before

transferring to Brown and

promptly becoming the FCS lead-

er in total offense. After the Ivy

League skipped the 2020 cam-

paign and the 2021 spring season

amid the pandemic, Perry was the

conference’s offensive player of

the year this past fall.

“I think at best he’ll be a num-

ber three in the league and will

have a chance maybe to work

himself into a backup role, but

he’s got to cut down on the inter-

ceptions,” McShay said.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremi-

ah has compared Perry, who is 6-2

and 211 pounds, with Colt McCoy

and believes he could be a good

mobile backup with a knack for

making plays. But he noted Per-

ry’s hand size could deter some

teams.

Jeremiah is intrigued by Jack

Coan as a Day 3 option; he be-

lieves Coan could go in the fifth or

sixth round. Coan, who is 6-3 and

218 pounds, spent four years at

Wisconsin before transferring to

Notre Dame. Coan dealt with his

share of injuries, including a foot

injury in 2020 that cost him the

season and a dislocated finger

last year, which he reset in the

middle of a fourth-quarter drive

before throwing for the winning

touchdown.

“He’s got some size. He’s really

smart. He’s really tough. He’s won

games,” Jeremiah said. “He can

move around a little bit — he’s not

a great athlete — but he’s some-

body that, I think, would be an

intriguing guy. I could see him

having a really long career as a

number two.”

Western Kentucky. In his lone

season as the Hilltoppers’ starter,

he completed 69.2 percent of his

passes for 5,967 yards and

62 touchdowns, setting Football

Bowl Subdivision records in the

latter two categories.

At 6 feet and 215 pounds,

Zappe is a stockier quarterback

who lacks the ideal frame but has

been lauded for his “intangibles”

and mental makeup. Nagy be-

lieves he will be selected in the

early part of Day 3 of the draft,

when the fourth through seventh

rounds are held.

ceptions. But his mobility is limit-

ed, and his injury history could

create concern; he has had three

surgeries on his right knee.

“Carson Strong, to me, is kind

of the wild card because he’s had

over the last three years some

really good tape,” Nagy said.

“[Last] year he played banged-up

with the knee quite a bit, so I

don’t think you really saw the real

guy.”

Zappe was a four-year starter

at Houston Baptist, a Football

Championship Subdivision

school, before transferring to

mid-to-late rounds, when the

Commanders are in line to have

their pick from a handful of pros-

pects regarded as lower-tier tal-

ents.

Carson Strong of Nevada and

Bailey Zappe of Western Ken-

tucky sit atop the list of late-

round quarterback options.

At 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds,

Strong has the coveted size for the

position as well as the accuracy

and strong arm. In his last two

seasons at Nevada, he completed

70 percent of his passes for 63

touchdowns against only 12 inter-

back, and I don’t think Seattle

[with the ninth] is taking a quar-

terback,” ESPN’s Todd McShay

said on a recent conference call.

“... I think the only other team

really from seven until pick 32

that has a need for a quarterback

and that I think is likely to take a

quarterback in the first round is

Pittsburgh.”

Washington has a long list of

needs — wide receiver, defensive

back and linebacker, to name a

few — and plenty of options.

Finding a third-string quarter-

back may be in the cards for the

the post-draft free agency pool to
find a journeyman. Or perhaps
the Commanders will pounce in
the draft, which begins Thursday.
Rivera said last month that
trading for Wentz altered Wash-
ington’s priorities for the
11th overall pick.
“It does at 11, most certainly,”
he said. “For future depth, it
doesn’t change it, though. Right
now we have two quarterbacks —
we have Carson and we’ve got
Taylor, and we feel really good
about that combination of guys
right now. But we have to take a
long look at the future. It could be
a guy for four, five, six years down
the line. But we’re going to take a
look at it.”
The Class of 2022 is considered
thin on elite quarterback talent.
There isn’t a clear top pick, and
since 2000 a quarterback has
been the first selection in 16 of 22
drafts. Only twice was the first
quarterback taken outside the
first 10 picks — EJ Manuel went
16th overall in 2013, and Chad
Pennington was the 18th pick in
2000 — and that could happen
again this week.
“There’s not a guy with the
total package of ‘wow’ tools with
really good tape [this year],” said
Jim Nagy, executive director of
the Senior Bowl. “There’s really
not a slam dunk. But there’s going
to be a couple of these guys that
end up being good NFL quarter-
backs.”
Nagy is among the many who
view Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh
and Malik Willis of Liberty as the
top quarterbacks in this class,
with Matt Corral (Mississippi),
Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati)
and Sam Howell (North Carolina)
close behind them. But some ana-
lysts foresee a first round in
which none of them are taken
before the Pittsburgh Steelers at
No. 20 — assuming trades don’t
shake up the first round.
“I keep saying this, and I could
be wrong and we’ll find out...
but I don’t think Atlanta [with the
eighth pick] is taking a quarter-

COMMANDERS FROM D1

Commanders could seek a third-string quarterback in draft

ERIC GAY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bailey Zappe broke national records last year at Western Kentucky, and scouts have praised his smarts, if not his stocky physique.

their new organizations, Hop-

kins and Diggs have received

contract extensions, and their

successes seem to be the comps

that inspired Miami to strike a

deal with Kansas City for Hill

and Las Vegas to make a trade

with Green Bay for Adams.

But the latest two trades seem

a little more desperate. Miami

dealt five draft picks for the right

to give Hill a four-year, $120 mil-

lion contract that includes

$72.2 million in guarantees. The

Raiders gave up first- and sec-

ond-round picks in this year’s

draft to acquire Adams, then

worked out a five-year, $140 mil-

lion pact (with $67.5 million in

guarantees) with him. For my

tastes, Adams is the best, most

quarterback-friendly wide re-

ceiver in the NFL, and he seems

to be a perfect pairing with Las

Vegas quarterback Derek Carr,

who was his college teammate

for two years at Fresno State. But

Adams is 29 and won’t be catch-

ing passes from four-time MVP

Aaron Rodgers anymore.

It’s possible that Kansas City

and Green Bay, franchises that

have achieved sustainable suc-

cess of late, made shrewd deci-

sions to revise their rosters in-

stead of flirting with salary cap

hell. Or they could have given a

couple of opponents the boost

they needed to build dynamic of-

fenses. It’s unlikely to be both.

Clear winners and losers will

emerge, and perhaps that will

help define the prudence of big

wide receiver spending.

But in the meantime, the ex-

pectation for monster deals will

Samuel a “foundational piece”
given his impact as a receiver
and a runner in special situa-
tions, but San Francisco could be
enticed by the right trade offer
because it drafts well and has a
clear offensive vision with Coach
Kyle Shanahan. It’s unwise to be
nonchalant about the possibility
of losing a big-time talent — es-
pecially one who you drafted and
developed — but there are model
franchises that might prefer
change rather than risk overex-
tending to pay for a wide receiv-
er.
As the market goes crazy, it’s
fascinating to see what teams
truly value. Clearly, there’s a fac-
tion that believes it’s important
to go all-in to give the quarter-
back help. Look at the list of the
highest-paid wide receivers, and
the top four were acquired re-
cently via trade: Hill, Adams, De-
Andre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs.
Arizona fleeced the foolish
Houston Texans to acquire Hop-
kins two years ago. Though inju-
ries cost him seven games last
season, Hopkins has been the ul-
tra-productive wideout who Ky-
ler Murray needed. And Arizona,
while inconsistent and unable to
win high-pressure games so far,
has seen its status rise with Hop-
kins.
In Buffalo, Diggs has caught
230 passes and scored 18 touch-
downs over two seasons, playing
a huge role in quarterback Josh
Allen’s superstar level of play and
the team’s championship-caliber
performance. Since arriving with

BREWER FROM D1 was at its most influential, preci-
sion was so important that, if a
wide receiver couldn’t do the job
exactly as coached, he wouldn’t
play. Sometimes it would take
three years for good ones to
emerge. Today, just as spread-
based offenses and simplified
playbooks have allowed quarter-
backs to excel earlier in their ca-
reers, the same freedom enables
wideouts to be fast, athletic and
impactful long before they ab-
sorb the nuances of the position.
With that comes greater curi-
osity over whether to commit to a
special wide receiver or trade
him for several assets, one of
which could be used on a cheaper
alternative who makes an im-
mediate impact. The Packers are
almost certain to test the theory.
Now that they have traded Ad-
ams, they have two first-round
picks and two second-rounders.
The consensus among draftniks
is that this class is a strong one
for wide receivers. There could
be a dozen wideouts taken in the
first two rounds, and more than
half of them might be selected in
Round 1.
Talent evaluation has never
been more important. It’s not as
simple as knowing who can and
can’t play. It’s about deciphering
the subtleties that separate good,
very good, great and transcen-
dent. All over the NFL, there are
loads of wide receivers with spar-
kling statistics, but they can’t all
be worth $25 million per year.
Who knows what they’re do-
ing? In an expensive wide receiv-
er market, we’re just beginning
to find out.

will be tempted to think about all

possibilities. Ten years ago, the

NFL remained of the belief that

developing wide receivers took

time. Over the past decade, the

productivity of wide receivers on

rookie deals has improved dra-

matically. Much like young quar-

terbacks, it’s easier to activate

wideouts. Offensive coaches have

more flexibility in their systems

now.

When the West Coast offense

If that’s the case, it would be fool-

ish to lose a productive physical

specimen such as Metcalf, who

doesn’t turn 25 until December.

In Washington, McLaurin is the

most important part of an unfin-

ished offense, and with Coach

Ron Rivera about to begin his

third season, this is no time to ex-

change prime young talent for

draft capital.

But for as obvious as some of

those situations seem, the teams

remain. Samuel will get his mon-

ey, whether it’s through trade or

reconciliation in San Francisco.

The run-heavy Tennessee Titans

have the ideal complementary

wideout in Brown, who is just 24

and has posted good numbers

that would be even better in oth-

er offenses. The Seahawks are a

rebuilding team that won’t say

outright that they’re rebuilding,

which means they hope to get

back to competitiveness quickly.

JERRY BREWER

Star wide receivers no longer require a long incubation period to make an impact on o≠enses

RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES

Deebo Samuel could g et a big payday, either via a trade and new deal or by re-signing with the 49ers.

S0141 6x3.5

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