It often takes a former college quarterback, the son of a former NFL tight end and head coach in the league, to have a unique perspective that eludes other experts as they plumb the depths of the coming NFL Draft.
There's been much chatter surrounding the Jets and the quarterback position -- be it guys currently on the roster, in free agency or the draft. And in Episode 2 of the “Now Boarding” series, the Jets' draft preview show hosted by team reporter Eric Allen, special guest Nate Tice, a draft guru for Yahoo Sports brought to our attention a connection no one else has made between LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier and the Jets' former standout QB Chad Pennington.
"Coach's kid," Tice, son of Mike Tice, said of Nussmeier, son of Doug Nussmeier. "He's tough. He's a decent scrambler, above average athlete who can just get the simple yards, the simple first downs. But actually my comparison for him last year when I thought he was coming out, was kind of a little undersized [6-1, 205].
"Chad Pennington, wow, was actually my comparison for him. I just thought about that on this show. So kind of like a smaller version of that. Chad was a little bigger [6-3, 225] than I think people realize, but just the kind of play style, accurate, pushing the ball. Knows what he is, a little bit, not an overwhelming athlete, but OK, gets the ball out quick. Coach's kid. There's a lot of comparisons. I have him, what I call a late second-, early third-round grade. He'll be around that kind of Player 50 range, but he and Ty Simpson from Alabama, I kind of have grouped the same in that kind of range right now."
For the record, Pennington -- who played 8 seasons with the Jets from 2000-07 compiling a 65.6% completion rate, 13,738 passing yards, 82 touchdowns and 55 interceptions -- was also the son of a football coach, Elwood, who died in 2014.
Tice, a former NFL assistant and scout who played in high school in Edina, MN, was recruited by Central Florida and then transferred to Wisconsin, was asked to put on his coach's cap and put names to five categories/traits that would make the perfect QB in this draft. One size does not fit all.
Arm Strength
"Drew Allar from Penn State, if we're just going for arm strength, and not where the arm is going, where the throw is going, but just sheer arm strength. Yeah, we'll go with Drew Allar."
Yahoo Sports gave Allar a grade of A- for his performance at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Allar won his group, getting stronger as his throwing drills progressed, especially on the deep throws."