Tyler Bray, the Tennessee quarterback who has a 6-foot-6 frame and a laser rocket arm but also has questionable accuracy and decision making, is heading to the NFL.
Bray has decided not to return for his senior season and instead enter the 2013 draft, Bruce Feldman of CBS reports.
For personnel evaluators who favor traditional pocket passers with big bodies and big arms, Bray is a very strong prospect. Looking only at his arm and his physique, you’d say he’s a first-round pick.
But the game is changing and the way NFL teams evaluate quarterbacks is changing. And being 6-foot-6 with a strong arm isn’t as important as being an accurate passer, a smart decision maker, a good leader and a mobile athlete. And there are questions about Bray in all of those categories. Bray is basically the polar opposite of Russell Wilson, and being the polar opposite of Russell Wilson doesn’t look so great right now.
The NFL player Bray most resembles may be Patriots backup quarterback Ryan Mallett, who lasted until the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. Bray still has time to improve his draft stock with good workouts and good interviews, but at the moment, he looks more like a third-round pick than a first-round pick.