Clayton Thorson QB Northwestern

Durable, tough, smart, athletic, strong arm, and obsessed with football.

The interceptions are concerning, but he is a gunslinger without many good weapons or blocking.

From Walter Football:


image: http://walterfootball.com/college/Northwestern_logo.gif

Clayton Thorson, QB, Northwestern
Height: 6-4. Weight: 227.
Projected 40 Time: 4.75.
Projected Round (2019): 2-3.
12/27/18: In 2018, Thorson has completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,942 yards with 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also has nine rushing touchdowns. In the early going, Thorson did not look 100 percent yet as a runner, but he showed some improved ball placement and mechanics.

Thorson played well against Michigan and then dominated Michigan State. His accuracy has been excellent. He made some particularly beautiful throws to lead Northwestern to the road win over the Spartans. Following the Michigan State outing, Thorson led a last-minute comeback to beat Nebraska in overtime. He also has had some underwhelming performances this year, but he led Northwestern to a division title and its first appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Thorson has started 52 straight games, the most in Big Ten history. That is an excellent amount of experience and developmental time for the next level.

8/28/18: According to NFL teams' preseason data provided by team sources, Thorson checks in at 6-foot-4, 227 pounds. He also has 31.5-inch arms, 9.75-inch hands, and a wingspan of 76.5 inches. He is said to run the 40 in 4.75 seconds as well.

In 2017, Thorson completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,844 yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He picked up eight rushing touchdowns as well. Thorson suffered a torn ACL in Northwestern's bowl game after making a catch on a halfback throwback. His numbers in 2017 were held back by a terrible offensive line, awful wide receivers and zero play-makers at his disposal. Thorson completed 59 percent of his passes in 2016 for 3,182 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

WalterFootball.com first reported last season that Thorson would return for his senior year. I had heard early in the fall of 2017 that Thorson would go back unless he graded out as a first-rounder by the NFL Draft Advisory. Scouts who were through Northwestern told me that they were impressed with what they saw from Thorson on tape and in practice. Thorson has shown that he has pro potential in terms of his skill set. He can throw the deep out with a fastball that can be fit into tight windows. Thorson also has a quick delivery, but is a bit too mechanical. Scouts say that he has a strong arm, is smart and athletic, and improves year over year.

In speaking with a general manager who watched tape of Thorson early last November, they graded Thorson as a late second-/early third-rounder. They thought he was a decent athlete, but was bit mechanical as a thrower and didn't go downfield enough. Thorson wasn't without some lowlights on tape, too. However, a lot of Thorson's mistakes came from trying to do too much with his lackluster and terrible supporting cast; if he didn't make a play for Northwestern, nobody else would. His performance in the fourth quarter against Wisconsin was extremely impressive, although one of those trying-too-hard mistakes led to the comeback effort falling short.

Early in fall 2017, some scouts said that they anticipated giving Thorson a second-round grade, unless he fell off with his play. At the same time, they thought he could rise in the leadup to the 2018 NFL Draft. The reason for that is he a good leader who gets along well with all of his teammates. While Thorson is a devout Christian, he knows how to be one of the guys and get along with the different groups in the locker room. They think that evaluators could fall in love with Thorson during the interview process.
Read more at WalterFootball.com: 2019 NFL Draft: Quarterback Rankings

 

On a MUCH worse team. Watch some tape. No o line, no receivers. Dude made some decent lemonade outta those lemons and showed and un-mariota like toughness and charisma. Should be available around 3rd round too.