Redskins: Top 10 quarterback big board after the Senior Bowl
Fun fact: Ryan Finley actually began his college career at Boise State. He transferred to NC State after losing the battle for the starting quarterback position to…Brett Rypien. Ironically, both are closely rated in my quarterback rankings and realistically, either could be a good game manager option.
Typically speaking, the term “game manager” has a negative connotation to it. But in this context, it is a good thing. Finley has three years of starting experience and really knows how to lead a team. He is efficient, accurate, and makes good decisions. That description should sound familiar to Redskins fans, as it mirrors nearly exactly what Alex Smith provides the team with.
When healthy, Smith’s combination of experience and risk-averse play helped to keep the Redskins in most of the games they played. He may have lacked the flashy playmaking ability that some passers have in the NFL, but he would keep the team alive and avoid mistakes. Finley figures to be a similar player at the next level.
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In his final season at NC State, Finley completed a career-high 67.4 percent of his passes. He had just under 4,000 passing yards and 25 touchdowns which were also career highs. He improved season to season at NC State, and while his weaknesses will keep him out of the first round, it doesn’t mean that he can’t be an Alex Smith type starter at the next level.
Speaking of Finley’s weaknesses, his biggest one is his lack of upper echelon arm strength. He is accurate in the short to intermediate game, but he doesn’t have the ability to push the ball downfield or make big plays. While Finley’s accuracy was on display at the Senior Bowl, so was his lack of arm strength, as a lot of balls seemed to flutter to the receiver. A team can live with that from a starter, but Finley is a high floor, low ceiling guy. He’ll be an average starter at best and a quality backup at worst. Nothing more, nothing less.
Finley should probably be a second-round pick but could slip to the early stages of Round 3. If the Redskins choose to wait until the second round to take a quarterback, he should firmly be on their radar.