Even after an impressive NFL Combine performance this past weekend, Kedon Slovis isn’t guaranteed to hear his name called during the NFL draft next month.
However, one current NFL star may have paved the way for Slovis to be a late-round selection, according to analyst Justin Melo of the Draft Network.
“On day three, teams are throwing those darts at the board a lot more frequently over the last year or two, and you know why that is? I’ll be honest with you, some of it is Brock Purdy,” Melo told the “JJ and Alex” radio show on KSL Sports Zone Wednesday. “You’ve seen what San Francisco got out of Brock Purdy on day three, wow. This is totally worth the gamble. A high-IQ football player who can sling the pill, let’s take a chance on that guy.”
Similar to Slovis, Purdy was a quarterback prospect with question marks surrounding him when he entered the draft two years ago. He was ultimately taken with the final pick by the San Francisco 49ers.
What some thought to be a throwaway selection at the time has become one of the most significant draft steals in recent history — Purdy owns a 17-4 regular season record with 44 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and a stellar 111.4 passer rating. He also took the 49ers to last month’s Super Bowl and nearly toppled the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Due to Purdy’s success, Melo believes other organizations will try to find other hidden gem quarterbacks in the draft’s late rounds, an approach that opens the door for accomplished college passers such as Slovis to get a shot somewhere.
Slovis passed for 1,716 yards and 12 touchdowns over eight games at BYU in 2023 before injuries ended his season prematurely. A five-year collegiate starter with other stops at USC and Pitt, the Scottsdale, Arizona, native racked up 11,689 yards and 80 touchdowns for his career. He also completed 64.5% of his passing attempts for a 140.6 rating.
Comparatively, Purdy posted 12,170 passing yards with 81 touchdowns in four years at Iowa State, completing his passes at a 67.7% clip with a 151.1 rating.
“I think there’s a good chance he gets drafted, I think if he doesn’t get drafted he’s a high priority (undrafted) free agent, so I think he’s going to get a chance to compete in training camp,” Melo said of Slovis. “This class is deep at quarterback, he’s not going to be the one to go in the third or fourth round, maybe once we get to that sixth round range teams will start to think about (drafting him), but I’d ultimately expect him to be a (free agent pickup).”
2024-03-07 20:44:56
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