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What would Crouch’s draft stock have been in 2019?

In a vacuum, yes, his draft stock would be higher. The current NFL is more accepting of mobile and running QBs. It used to be all slow white guys who couldn't scramble. Elway, Montana, etc.

In practicality, though, his draft stock is probably not much higher. There are too many guys like Russell Wilson and Cam Newton who can run and also pass really well.
 

Teams today would probably be more willing to give him a shot at QB. You look at a guy like Russell Wilson who is 5'10 or 11 and has done pretty well. He's a better QB than EC was but he certainly could've gotten better.
 
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DuckTownHusker said:
In a vacuum, yes, his draft stock would be higher. The current NFL is more accepting of mobile and running QBs. It used to be all slow white guys who couldn't scramble. Elway, Montana, etc.

In practicality, though, his draft stock is probably not much higher. There are too many guys like Russell Wilson and Cam Newton who can run and also pass really well.
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For the record Montana was not a slow statue. He ran a 4.7. Same time as JT Barrett and only Quinton Flowers was faster among QBs.
 



Huskerthom said:
For the record Montana was not a slow statue. He ran a 4.7. Same time as JT Barrett and only Quinton Flowers was faster among QBs.
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Yeah but you got my meaning. The NFL was full of white bread pocket passers. Guys like Favre and Jim Kelley, while Nebraska had dynamic runners like Frazier, Frost, Newcombe, Crouch, Jammal Lord, etc.
 
Huskerwisdom said:
Pass percentages are a bit of a situational thing. No doubt he was never a great passer, but I think his percentages go up a lot in a modern spread offense, and he would have been very dangerous as a QB in Frost's offense.

Even today, he'd probably be most dangerous in the NFL as a slash player who can do a bit of everything, including play action when a D has to key on his running ability if he lines up behind center.
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I think Crouch could play in today's NFL but in no way as a passer. The guy who comes to mind right away for me is the kid on New Orleans who was the QB at BYU (Hill?) who could line up in the wildcat and take off on direct snaps or maybe even toss a bomb or two. As a full time QB, there's just too many obstacles for a smaller, medium arm strength guy in the NFL. Guys like Brees are short (6-1 maybe?) but he has a CANNON and makes all the throws look easy. At that level, if you ahve a "decent" arm but are much shorter than the defensive players around you, you will be exposed very quickly.
 




Scott in NY said:
I think Crouch could play in today's NFL but in no way as a passer. The guy who comes to mind right away for me is the kid on New Orleans who was the QB at BYU (Hill?) who could line up in the wildcat and take off on direct snaps or maybe even toss a bomb or two. As a full time QB, there's just too many obstacles for a smaller, medium arm strength guy in the NFL. Guys like Brees are short (6-1 maybe?) but he has a CANNON and makes all the throws look easy. At that level, if you ahve a "decent" arm but are much shorter than the defensive players around you, you will be exposed very quickly.
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As Steve Walsh amply demonstrated to Jimmy Johnson (who foolishly wasted a top draft pick on him). Defenses cheated on him all day long. Dude, you already had Aikman...
 
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Scott in NY said:
I think Crouch could play in today's NFL but in no way as a passer. The guy who comes to mind right away for me is the kid on New Orleans who was the QB at BYU (Hill?) who could line up in the wildcat and take off on direct snaps or maybe even toss a bomb or two. As a full time QB, there's just too many obstacles for a smaller, medium arm strength guy in the NFL. Guys like Brees are short (6-1 maybe?) but he has a CANNON and makes all the throws look easy. At that level, if you ahve a "decent" arm but are much shorter than the defensive players around you, you will be exposed very quickly.
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There however is Russell Wilson who's an excellent passer imo. He's listed at 5'11" which I think is only obtained standing on an orange crate! So there are always exceptions but on average a shorter QB is always disadvantaged in the NFL.
 
Fort Husker said:
I've thought about this at times.

Helped His Draft Stock:
-His passing percentage, as some have mentioned, was a product of the system he was in. Because Nebraska was a power run/option team back then, most of Eric's passes were play action, low percentage throws designed to capitalize on defenses playing the run and hit them with a big pass. If he played in Frost's offense now, or most any spread offense, he'd have a much better percentage because that's what modern offenses do, hence why the record for QBR is broken every year.
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Totally disagree with this. Does the passing % go up with the increase amount of passes to the flat? Absolutely. Can any QB run this offense and be successful? Absolutely not. For those plays to work, you need to be able to throw a dart accurately to quickly hit the WR/RB in stride. Crouch would have been shot-putting passes that would make the receiver slow, change direction, or stop altogether, killing momentum and the play.

AM does not get enough credit for how well he delivers the ball to the WR/RBs on these plays. Just go back and look at previous QBs. A bubble screen is not a new thing for the Huskers, we've run it a lot in the past. But the difference between T. Martinez or Armstrong throwing that ball vs AM is night and day.

Additionally, even if Crouch had a higher %, he would still have had to prove his accuracy at the combine or individual workouts. Scouts would still have been writing "WR" on their notepads after those.
 



cthusker said:
There however is Russell Wilson who's an excellent passer imo. He's listed at 5'11" which I think is only obtained standing on an orange crate! So there are always exceptions but on average a shorter QB is always disadvantaged in the NFL.
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Something I think gets overlooked is the difference 3-4 inches can make in a QB (no jokes necessary here lol). Even if Wilson isn't 5'11", he has a very strong arm (stronger than EC's ever was) and can make most if not all the throws.
 

Scott in NY said:
Something I think gets overlooked is the difference 3-4 inches can make in a QB (no jokes necessary here lol). Even if Wilson isn't 5'11", he has a very strong arm (stronger than EC's ever was) and can make most if not all the throws.
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3-4 inches is half of a hot dog.
 
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