Arizona Cardinals: Quarterback options outside of draft
Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians likes what he sees in this year’s NFL Draft
Head Coach Bruce Arians has went on the record saying that he sees five to six quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL Draft that intrigue him. With the re-signing of Zac Dysert, though, is drafting a quarterback really in the cards for the Arizona Cardinals? Most fans, including myself, hope so.
Dysert has yet to throw a regular season pass in the National Football League. The one-time Miami of Ohio starter has been on multiple squads, yet the only two teams that he has been active with are the Denver Broncos and the Cardinals, his first and most recent teams. Though Dysert has went through a number of preseason games and training camps, no team has seen enough of him to give him a shot at being a starting quarterback.
With the Cardinals’ willingness to stick with Dysert as a #3 for now (and potential replacement), we cannot rule out the possibility of other young QBs that have not been given a chance to shine.
One of these quarterbacks hails from Western Kentucky, and in his last two seasons, he totaled almost 10,000 passing yards and 97 passing touchdowns compared to merely 19 interceptions. This quarterback, Brandon Doughty, spent his rookie season as a member of the Dolphins’ practice squad.
As seen in the above video, Doughty was awarded “Rookie of the Week” for his preseason debut after a promising performance. Doughty being added to the practice squad, despite the potential he has flashed, is likely because of the experience of Dolphins’ backup Matt Moore.
The resources at Doughty’s disposal in Miami is all the more reason that Steve Keim should roll the dice and make a move for Doughty. Whether it be through a trade for a conditional pick, waiting to see if he is released, or signing him off of waivers, he makes sense.
These resources include Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. In the aforementioned video clip, Doughty stated that he has been able to pick apart Dan Marino’s brilliant mind. It’s an asset that comes in handy as the young QB attempts to “emulate” the legends’ game.
Doughty is also the ideal size that Arians looks for in a field general, as he is the same height (6’3″) as Dysert while being nearly the same weight. His skill set also matches Arians vertical offense.
According to Doughty’s NFL.com draft profile from a year ago, he is an intelligent quarterback that is smart pre-snap and is not afraid to attack the safeties in the deep middle of the field. Although he lacks elite arm strength, he can “play pitch and catch” when he finds a rhythm and “can drop a good deep ball in the bucket.”
The fearlessness to attack the deep middle and be accurate with the deep ball are evident in Doughty’s statistics from his senior season at WKU as he had 9.4 yards per attempt along with a 71.9% completion percentage. These skills and play-style are a perfect match for a vertical offense looking for a young signal caller. At 25 years old, Doughty could be just that for the Arizona Cardinals if given the chance.