What Should The Nfl Make Of Brendan Sorsby? Using Jaxson Dart As A Reference

The Brendan Sorsby saga has taken another turn, as Texas Tech announced that he would no longer be a part of their program and the young quarterback is seeking to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft.

It would be a stunning surprise if the New York Giants are among the teams to show any interest in Sorsby. After all, they just drafted Jaxson Dart last year and believe that he has the potential to be their franchise quarterback. However, Dart does provide a useful frame of reference for Sorsby, as the two passers have similar traits.

Sorsby was one of the wildcards in what is expected to be a blockbuster quarterback class. He has the potential to grow into a franchise quarterback in the mold of Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, or Drake Maye. On the other hand, he could flame out and be another quarterback who’s potential gets a coach or GM fired.

Sorsby is going to be an absolutely fascinating case to follow over the next month or so. He has legitimate upside as a quarterback, and the NFL was excited to see him this year at Texas Tech. However, he is a boom-or-bust prospect even before we consider the gambling addiction that cost him his college career.

It’s entirely possible that a solid third of the NFL’s teams will have real interest in Sorsby, so what does he do well, and what will he need to improve to make it as an NFL quarterback?

What he does well

Sorsby flashes the potential to be a top 5 pick at the quarterback position. He is a traits-heavy, toolsy quarterback with great size, elite arm strength, and surprising athleticism for his frame.

He has a similar build to Dart, weighing in at (roughly) 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, a bit bigger than Dart’s 6-foot-2, 225 pound frame.

Sorsby is a highly athletic quarterback with the open field speed to pick up chunk yardage and plenty of power as a runner. He’s a tough quarterback to bring down on the move and is strong enough to survive incidental contact or poor tackle attempts. Also, like Dart, he has surprising agility as a runner with solid vision and twitch to make quick cuts.

He has an impressive arm, with a snappy three-quarters throwing motion. The ball comes out fast and with great zip through the intermediate area of the field. Sorsby has plenty of arm to attack all areas of the field, as well as drive the ball off-platform. He has the arm strength to thrive in a vertical passing attack and consistently looked for opportunities to attack deep at Cincinnati. Sorsby was 16th in the nation in passes of more than 20 air yards, and could quickly become a dangerous player in the NFL if he’s allowed to simplify the defense with his legs as well as attack the deep part of the field.

And while Cincinnati primarily relied upon RPOs in their passing game, Sorsby does have some experience reading the defense as a pocket passer. He’s willing to hang in the pocket and work through a limited read progression reads. His size, strength, and athleticism help him in the backfield as well. Sorsby doesn’t take many sacks, using his strength and agility to escape pressure, as well as his quick throwing motion to beat the rush.

What he needs to improve

We’ll set his gambling addiction aside for the moment. The scope of his problem (reportedly more than 9,000 bets totaling more than $90,000 while in college) is beyond anything I have the insight nor the expertise to comment on. It will likely be necessary for both his future team and Sorsby himself to make sure there’s a strong infrastructure in place to support him and ensure he doesn’t relapse.

As a quarterback on the field: Sorsby needs to be better on a down-to-down basis.

His highs are electric and the flashes are absolutely tantalizing, however he has far too many lows throughout his game right now.

It all starts with his foundation, both technical and metaphorical. Sorsby appears to want to play from the pocket and seem to understand the value of doing so, but he also hasn’t quite mastered being a pocket passer. As things stand now, his mechanics are inconsistent at best, which is up-stream of some of his inconsistencies. As with Jaxson Dart, Sorsby’s footwork in the pocket can be inconsistent, lazy, or downright sloppy. He features a shuffling drop, similar to Dart coming out, and is very inconsistent in aligning his feet with his target or even throwing from a firm base.

That isn’t uncommon for players who can rely on their athleticism to improvise and were often asked to use their legs out of structure. However, it can also lead to poor timing, off-target passes, a loss of velocity.

He could get away with that in college but, as we’re seeing with Dart, one of the keys to succeeding in a Pro offense is using your footwork to sync with receivers, as well as consistently deliver on-target passes.

Sorsby’s arm strength allows him to still drive the ball when throwing flat-footed or off-platform, but the inconsistent technique and mechanics makes for poor throws.

Sorsby also needs to continue to improve the mental aspect of his game as a quarterback. He doesn’t consistently read defenses or recognize coverage rotations after the snap, which lead to dangerous throws. Both Dart and Sorsby have a tendency to go big play hunting, passing up modest gains in search of explosive plays. That’s another common trait among young players with the athletic tools to extend plays, but NFL defenses are too good at baiting quarterbacks into mistakes.

In short, Sorsby needs to improve the mental aspect of playing quarterback.

Dart was a more advanced processor than given credit as a college prospect and further along in this regard than anticipated as a senior. This is an area where Sorsby losing his final year of college could really hurt him, unless he lands in a situation where he can grow and develop to make up for the lost year.

Where could he go?

This, of course, is the big question over the next month.

We haven’t had a supplemental draft in three years, and Sorsby is probably the biggest name player to enter the supplemental draft since the USFL Supplemental Draft of 1984. With that in mind, we should probably go over the rules of the Supplemental Draft.

Teams are divided into three buckets based on their performance the previous year.

• 6 or fewer wins.
• 7 or more wins, but missed the playoffs.
• Playoff teams

Pick order is then randomized within those buckets.

Teams bid future picks (in this case 2027 draft picks) on prospects in a blind auction. In other words, no team knows whether any other team has entered a bid on a prospect, or what pick that may be. The team that bids the highest pick is awarded the player, and sacrifices that pick in the following draft.

As noted above, the early reports are that Sorsby was already drawing tremendous interest from around the NFL even before his legal troubles. Now, it’s possible that a full third of the league could at least consider putting in bids on him.

Of course, the quarterback-needy teams are expected to be interested in Sorsby. The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals are at the top of the list. There are also several teams that have starters, but not long-term answers, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, and Miami Dolphins. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could fit here as well, if they have concerns about negotiations with Baker Mayfield.

Then finally there are some teams that could be wildcards, teams that have entrenched starters but could be interested in getting younger and cheaper at quarterback. The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have been brought up as potential surprise bidders.

At first blush, a second-round pick seems like a good bet for Sorsby. It seems as though it would be high enough to secure his services, while also preserving a first round pick to use on one of the blue chip players that could litter the top of this draft.

That makes perfect sense for teams like the Jets, Browns, and Cardinals, all of whom are in the first bucket of teams.

But the potential interest of the Steelers, Vikings, Dolphins, and Panthers, not to mention potential bids from Dallas, Detroit, or a complete wildcard, changes the math.

The Steelers, in particular, stand out as a team to watch. They’ve been stuck in quarterback hell since Ben Roethlisberger declined and retired. Never bad enough to access the top of the quarterback market and find a true successor, but also just bad enough to have a disappointing end to their seasons.

They also don’t have a quarterback for 2027, but will once again expect to be a fringe playoff team. This might be their best chance to get a player who can be their franchise QB, while also getting him in the building with Aaron Rodgers. However, the Steelers fall in the third bucket of teams as a playoff team last year. So while they may be more comfortable with a Day 2 pick given the concerns surrounding Sorsby, they might have to bid a 1st round pick if they really want him.

That, in turn, could motivate other teams to bid first round picks.

This has the potential to turn into an exciting, and volatile, situation.