Anthony Gordon Draft Profile

Background Info: JUCO transfer, immediately recognize that he’s only a one year starter at the D1 level but he did play 13 games at City College of San Francisco as a Freshman where he went 12-1 and led his team to a CCCAA Championship. Transferred to WSU where he redshirted a year and sat behind two now NFL QB’s, Luke Falk and Gardner Minshew. As a first year starter at WSU he passed for 5579 yards 48 TD 16 INT with a 71.6 completion percentage.

Pros: Not huge but he has decent size officially measured at 6-2 ⅜ and 205 pounds (9 ⅜ inch hands for anyone that cares) and for that size he’s a pretty decent athlete. Has a lightning quick release, shows good mobility in the pocket, not afraid to take chances but will not force the ball downfield/into coverage, has a really tight spiral and gorgeous deep ball, takes what the defense gives him. Will catch you off guard with some of his throws and how good his ball placement can be. Will tear a defense apart in a clean pocket. Ultra confident and competitive and interviews suggest his teammates love that. Money within 10 yards of the LOS and very comfortable with throws in the short to intermediate range. Great upper body mechanics and natural hip torque. Is excellent when he goes through his progressions.

Cons: He takes a lot of sacks because he’ll take too long to make a decision usually from locking into one read or taking too long with his progressions. Although he’s pretty mobile, he is B A D under pressure; His mechanics regress, he looks terrified (like he doesn’t want to get hit), his accuracy declines, he’ll too often turn his back to the defense when trying to escape pressure and ‘loop’ around the defense. Also struggles with pocket presence and sensing pressure. Lower body mechanics need some work; can get flat footed at times and can lock his front leg causing him to not step into his throws but his torque is so good he often gets away with it. Sloppy when attempting to throw on the run, rarely every flips his hips to deliver a strike on the run and will try to rely on his arm.

Skill Breakdown

Accuracy/Ball Location: He’s got it. Consistently throughout his tape he’ll make multiple throws a game where you’re impressed with how precise he can be delivering the ball especially downfield. Got great touch.

Anticipation: Just like his accuracy he will anticipate some windows where all you can say is wow. He’ll look off a safety or stare down of side of the field and then just snap to the read he knows is open and it's just *chef kiss* incredible. Throws receivers open often, will pick apart the holes in a zone, and drop a ball in a bucket where only his guy has a chance at it.

Arm Strength: Not the strongest arm in the class but definite NFL arm talent. Won’t wow you with cross body throws nor does he have a rocket on his shoulder like Eason or Herbert, but the ball definitely has some speed to it. Really tight spiral.

Decision Making: His decision making will not lose you a game. He does like to play hero ball sometimes but it usually is just trying to keep a play alive too long vs forcing it into coverage. Needs to get better at knowing when a play is broken down and to throw the ball away to avoid costly sacks, especially vs Cover 2.

Footwork: Not great but also not unfixable. Often will get flat footed and just stand there straight up scanning the field like a meerkat. If he’s standing in the pocket and feels the walls closing in on him he’ll get happy feet. Footwork definitely looked better at the Senior Bowl and Combine.

Mechanics: Inconsistent, especially on the move. Such a natural thrower that no one probably ever bothered to work on his mechanics with him. Excellent, quick release; adjusts his release easily to however best suits delivering the ball to the target whether that be for more velocity or touch.

Mobility: Definitely has enough speed to escape from pressure or scramble for a first. Not a burner at all but has the tools to make plays on the run.

Progressions: Will lock into his first read, if it’s not there he’ll take too long to move on, often results in sacks rather than turnovers. Needs to get faster at processing the game and not rely on pre snap reads. However, when he has time and does go through his progressions he looks damn good.

Poise/Pocket Awareness: If he can’t sense the pressure he will stand in the pocket and deliver a strike just seconds before getting hit, he needs to get better at seeing where the pressure is coming from. Will choose to roll out of the pocket to avoid pressure vs stepping into the pocket; wouldn't be a huge issue if he was adept at throwing on the run but he’s not (though he has shown flashes of it.) Needs to consistently navigate the pocket and deliver a ball vs instinctively running outside of it. Also needs to cut the habit of turning his back to the defense when escaping pressure.

Red Flags: I see no red flags or anything alarming in his game. I went back and watched every single game tape to dissect his interceptions and of the 16 picks, 7 of them weren’t his fault where the receiver dropped the ball and the defender caught it, 3 of them he was hit in the process of throwing and other 6 where in a clean pocket where he made a mistake or were on the run

Conclusion: I like this kids game a lot. I believe if he goes to a team that believes in him he has one of the higher upsides in this draft. He doesn’t have anything in his game that’s alarming or unfixable. He profiles to be a pretty good development project that I think would be best fit sitting behind a Veteran for a year or two. He’s got a good arm, solid size, excellent accuracy and ball placement, and good mobility. He can improve on the speed he processes the game, his footwork, mechanics, and ability to dissect multiple coverage looks. If he can become a more consistent player I don’t see why he can't be an NFL Starter one day.

Favorite Film(s): @ Oregon, @ ASU, vs UCLA

Worst Film(s): @ Utah, @ Washington