Kansas City Chiefs Draft Profile: Vernon Adams

Oooof!!! Okay, at this point I’m guessing you may be ready to close the book on Vernon Adams all together, but hear me out for a few more minutes. If you are willing to go a little beyond the mainstream draft profiles you can find some people that are much higher on Adams. How much higher you ask, well none higher than Cian Fahey who runs presnapreads.com. You can read his in depth scouting report on Adams HERE where he makes a case for Vernon Adams deserving to be a first round draft pick. While I’m not willing to go that far he does make a very compelling argument and I highly encourage you to read the article if you are at all curious about Vernon Adams.

Here’s a quote from Fahey:

"Adams can deliver the ball from the pocket, rolling to his right and rolling to his left. He can deliver the ball accurately downfield off his back-foot against pressure and still lead receivers to space against tight coverage. This is the type of throw that few quarterbacks in the NFL can make once, Adams makes these types of throws consistently."

In case you’re thinking that Fahey may be the lone writer banging the drum for Adams, here is another article by Justis Mosqueda for Bleacher Report titled “Can Vernon Adams Be 2016 NFL Draft’s Hidden Gem at Quarterback?“. It’s also worth your time to read. Here’s a quote from Mosqueda:

"On a trait-by-trait basis, Adams and Manziel are the same player on the field. They’re short, possess decent, but not great, arms, are very mobile, have play-making ability and make defensive ends who break their containment assignment look foolish. All of it. Some intelligent team will realize that the only difference between them from a football perspective is a late hit and a Heisman Trophy."

So while CBS reluctantly compared Vernon Adams to the 5-foot-11 and 206 pound Russell Wilson, Mosqueda compares him to 6-foot-0 and 210 pound Johnny Manziel. A Manziel comparison may seem like a negative given the disastrous career path that “Johnny Football” has taken. However, that path has been primarily caused by his off-the-field issues.

His on-field abilities were seen as good enough to warrant a first round draft pick. When you watch Adams game tape you can see the similarities. I can see the comparison, but I actually think Adams may do a better job of keeping his eyes down field instead of relying on his legs. That’s a huge plus for a quarterback that is small in stature.

Next: Let's take a look