A year ago at this time, most draftniks believed that three Big Ten quarterbacks- Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg, Michigan State’s Connor Cook and Ohio State’s Cardale Jones, would likely be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Today, there’s a chance none of them will, and the Big Ten conference drought could very well live on. Yes, you have to go all the way back to 1995, when Penn State’s Kerry Collins was the fifth overall pick, a first-round selection by the then nascent expansion franchise Carolina Panthers.
(Related: our most recent 2016 NFL mock draft update)
He’s the last Big Ten signal caller to go in the first round. In fact, just two Big Ten quarterbacks have been first-round picks this past quarter century, with Illinois’ Jeff George being the #1 overall pick in 1990. That was so long ago that Jeff George Jr. is now literally working his way up the current Illini quarterback depth chart in Champaign.
You know the top three signal callers selected next week will be Carson Wentz, Jared Goff and Paxton Lynch. All three will very likely be first rounders, but who’s the fourth QB off the board?
Connor Cook or Christian Hackenberg? Would a fourth QB even be selected before the Cleveland Browns make their selection at the top of round two?
Monday Night Football Analyst and former NFL Head Coach Jon Gruden believes both Hackenberg and Cook deserve to be first rounders.
“These draft shows are great and all these prognostications where a guy should go and will go are two stories that are fun to talk about,” said Gruden.
“But Connor Cook in this draft, based on all the other prospects and the need at the position should go in the top ?? should go in the first round. I feel the same way about Christian Hackenberg. Like I said earlier, I’ve got five quarterbacks in the top 35 players of this year’s draft.”
Quarterbacks will likely go #1 and #2, possibly #7, or #8 (or potentially #32 instead) maybe #20, #28 and #31. Thus Gruden, who hosts a “QB Camp” program could very well be right about five slots for QBs in the top 35. However, both Cook and Hackenberg’s draft stock has been devalued so much that it’s really hard to imagine either Big Ten field general cracking the top 35.
Both Connor Cook and Christian Hackenberg are essentially third or fourth round prospects at this point, but you must remember that no position in any sport consistently is “a reach” or “over-drafted” than quarterback. Gruden is very, VERY high on Connor Cook, as he envisions the former MSU star going #7 to San Francisco.
Said Gruden: “my old boss Al Davis would have loved Connor Cook because this kid pushes the ball down the field. He’s one of the guys in this draft that made me make funny sounds when I was watching him. I would be groaning like, Oh, what a throw, Ahh.”
“He made some jaw dropping throws against Stanford in the Rose Bowl. He pushes the ball down the field. I love that about him. He’s got a great amount of experience, and he’s got size and athleticism, and he’s gotten results. I don’t know anybody else that’s won 34 games at Michigan State. So I think he would be a great pick for the 49ers personally.”
If you’re wondering why so many are bearish and not bullish on Connor Cook, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock probably summed it up best.
“To some teams and GMs it doesn’t matter that you’re not a captain, but to other teams it does matter. Why didn’t his teammates vote their best player and their quarterback to be their captain and their leader? That’s a legitimate question. And the second question for me is why didn’t he go to the Senior Bowl. If you were healthy, I would think you would have loved to step up to Carson Wentz every day and compete with him and show the world, I’m the guy, not him.
“Who’s this kid from North Dakota State, I’m the guy. I think he could have answered a bunch of those questions in Mobile rather than have to deal with them all this week.”
As for Hackenberg, Gruden explained why he’s high on the former PSU leader.
“He’s a Penn State, two time captain. I love that,” Gruden said.
“He’s just been beat up too many times, a ridiculous number of sacks in the last couple of years. Too many plays had no chance from the get go. But I think he’s put together, he’s smart, he’s tough. He’s a lot better athlete than you think. He just has this presence about him. He has the loudest, most commanding snap count that I’ve heard in Andrew Luck. He has a lot of playing experience in two different systems.”
“I think he competes his butt off. I think he wants this real bad. He and Connor Cook had six or seven fourth quarter comebacks. I like this kid a lot. I think he’s got the NFL size, the strength in his arm, and the desire to be great that you need to have at this level. He’s just got to regain his confidence not just in himself, but that he can actually have the time to drop back to pass, and the defense, and make the throws he made as an 18 year old freshman.”
“But he was surrounded by way too many negatives at Penn State. All the sanctions, the coaching changes. I think they had a lack of personnel. I don’t think the offense suited him, and expectations have been soaring since he stepped on campus.”
As someone who updates their NFL mock draft every week throughout the year, and 2-3 times per week this time of year, I find all the endless scrutiny and debate about Hackenberg to be utterly fascinating. We’ve done our part, with “Christian Hackenberg NFL Draft Stock Over-Analysis Column 2014” following PSU’s loss at Illinois that November.
Every franchise needs a sequel and that came with “Christian Hackenberg Over-Analysis Column 2015” this past fall when a ton of NFL scouts showed up to PSU’s loss at Northwestern. Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace was there, maybe they nab Hackenberg at #72 overall in the third round?
I’d guess Connor Cook goes somewhere in round four, maybe round three. The only Michigan State QB ever to be selected in the first round was Earl Morrall was back in 1956; who was affectionately known as “the last of the crew cuts.” It’s very reminiscent of Grandpa Abe Simpson’s “Johnny Unitas! Now there’s a haircut you could set your watch too.” You can cue Morrall up at the 2:10 mark of the video below:
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram