Washington Football Team: 5 non-first-round quarterbacks to consider drafting
5. player. 844. . Quarterback. Razorbacks . Feleipe Franks
I was torn between Ian Book and Feleipe Franks for the final spot on this list, but I think that Franks’ ceiling is higher than that of Book. If Book succeeds at the NFL level, it’ll be in an Alex Smith-type role or a Chase Daniel role as a backup.
But if Franks can put everything together, his ceiling is pretty high.
The Arkansas quarterback was once considered to be a top-five pro-style quarterback recruit when he committed to Florida, but early in his career, he had his share of issues. He wasn’t very accurate and took a lot of time to make decisions. In total, he was inconsistent but started to put things together during his junior year at Florida.
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Then, Franks broke his ankle. He was out for the rest of the season at Florida and he decided to transfer. He landed at Arkansas and put together a solid final season for the Razorbacks. He showed off his cannon of an arm and continued to show improved accuracy. He helped lead Arkansas to some SEC wins and showed upside overall.
Franks still has some issues reading the field, but he’s a 6-foot-6, 228-pound quarterback who looks the part, has solid mobility, and has a great arm.
Just how good is that arm? Well, the Boston Red Sox selected him in the 2019 MLB Draft despite the fact that he hadn’t played baseball since his high school days. Yes, it was a later-round pick, but still — they saw something that they liked in him.
If Franks is given time to develop, he could eventually become a starter. It may take awhile, but if a team believes in his potential, he could be worth a late-round flier. He was also a team captain Arkansas, so if he has leadership potential, that may make him an intriguing selection for Ron Rivera.
Franks is firmly a Day 3 pick right now, so Washington could probably get him in the last couple rounds of the draft since he’s raw. That would be a fine price to pay for a developmental quarterback.