Colorado Football: 3 reasons to pick Steven Montez in 2020 NFL Draft

1. Ability to throw on the run and mobile enough to avoid pressure

In today’s game of football, it still isn’t necessarily a must for a quarterback to be nimble with his feet and mobile, however it is definitely something NFL scouts look for and something that could make a quarterback on the bubble of getting drafted stand out.

Steven Montez is a guy who not only has your prototypical size that scouts look for in quarterbacks as he stands at 6-foot-5 and over 230 pounds, but he has mobility that is rare for his size.

This combination will only help Montez’s draft stock as he has the size that most scouts want and has the ability to escape pressure and use his legs when he needs to. Another one of Montez’s strengths is his ability to throw on the run. When watching his film closely, it almost seems like at times he is more accurate and comfortable throwing outside the pocket than he is inside the pocket.

Below is a clip from the  Colorado State game, the same game we showed on the previous slide. Fast forward to the 2:42-mark of the clip. You will see Montez show good ability to get outside the pocket, keeps his eyes downfield, directs his receiver and shows good arm strength throwing on the run.

A few areas to improve

Every quarterback has areas to improve, below are a few for Montez to work on as the draft nears.

1. Technique flaws: Whenever Montez throws an “off” pass, it is usual due to a mechanical issue in his delivery. He tends to have a stiff front leg at times, which leads to his back leg whipping around. This takes away the balance and rotational force of throwing the football and can lead to his ball floating at times. Also throwing toward’s his left he will tend to open up the hips too much and fall away from his throw, causing his ball to be short.
2. Tends to force it at times: Montez will also tend to make a few throws a game that are “forced”. Sometimes it is successful, sometimes it’s an incompletion or interception. Quarterbacks with good arms all seem to do this at times. He will pre-determine his throw at times before the play and the defense will show one thing, but be in a different type of coverage and Montez will still attempt to force something that isn’t there.

With coaching and the willingness for a team to develop Montez, these are all things that can get cleaned up. He has the tools and is worth an NFL team drafting to see what they can get out of him.