Sleeper Bills Pick - LSU QB Zach Mettenberger

[BillsImpossible]

Under the radar we go.

Mettenberger's draft stock took a dive after he suffered a torn ACL against Arkansas, but he's still going to get drafted.

He's 6'5 230 lbs of pure big country. I LOVE how this kid stands in the pocket, noticeable on the first pass in this highlight film below.

Watch the 2nd pass he makes. That roll out pass he threw on a rope over the head of a defender was something I did not see EJ Manuel do all year.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BxtK-eGqviQ?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Where he goes, nobody knows. He could get taken in the 3rd round, or the 7th.

The kid is going to need at least 9 months to heal, won't participate in any combine activities, and wouldn't be able to compete for the starting QB position on any NFL team due to his injury.

I think the Bills are all in on giving EJ Manuel 2014 to prove himself. But just in case...wouldn't it be nice to have Zach Mettenberger on the roster learning the system from the sidelines for a whole year?

Quarterbacks that get drafted and sit on the bench for a year or two seem to perform better than most rookies come their time to start.

Kyle Kaepernick. Steve Young. Aaron Rogers. Brett Favre was drafted by the Falcons. Jim Kelly went to the USFL. Even Tom Brady sat on the bench for a year after the Patriots drafted him in 2000. Brady didn't play until week 2 of the 2001 season after Mo Lewis crushed Drew Bledsoe and changed the course of football history.

If the Bills drafted Mettenberger (or Murray) in the 4th or 5th round this year, I'd be all for it. Backup plans are necessary.

[Mace]

Like Blake Bortles, he fails the successful QB name test and will go nowhere quick in the annals of NFL passing glory. I call them like I see them.

[feldspar]

Like Blake Bortles, he fails the successful QB name test and will go nowhere quick in the annals of NFL passing glory. I call them like I see them.

Will he be better or worse than Roethlisberger? You know that guy made a name for himself after I learned to spell him name, mainly after he lost all of his teeth in a speed-boat accident and raped those children.

[GvilleBills]

All for Mettenburger or Murray.

[YardRat]

I like this kid. I'd much rather take a chance on him in the third or fourth then snag another QB at #9.

[coastal]

They better draft this kid.

[tampabay25690]

Kid improved 150% compared to last year.
Reminds me of Ryan Mallet out of Arkansas. Great arm, limited mobility.
Wouldnt compare him to Big Ben, Big Ben was a bit more mobile.

Should go between late 2nd round and 3rd round..

I would be fine if the Bills grabbed him in the 3rd round.
Depth at the QB position could never hurt

[ghz in pittsburgh]

This is kind of guy teams like the Pats, the Steelers may look, though in later rounds. It's pretty much a luxury that you carry and hope he recovers and pan out. The Pats do have Mallet but Belichick has been trying to srike the lightening twice in recent years. The Steelers has came out said they are not going to extend Roethlisberger at this time. Roethlisberger has 2 years left and for franchise QBs, usually you look to do extension now, especially for a team with cap room of $18000.00+ left. However, most, including me, expect them to do extension next year. But if they draft another QB, all bets are off ...

For the Bills, I don't know THIS COACHING staff themselves can adjustify using any of the first 3 picks to draft a guy not contributing to the team in 2014. Put yourself in their shoes, do you think you can say I can forego the 2013 production of any one of the Woods, Kiko, or Goodwin next year?

[GvilleBills]

Kid improved 150% compared to last year.
Reminds me of Ryan Mallet out of Arkansas. Great arm, limited mobility.
Wouldnt compare him to Big Ben, Big Ben was a bit more mobile.

Should go between late 2nd round and 3rd round..

I would be fine if the Bills grabbed him in the 3rd round.
Depth at the QB position could never hurt
100% agreed. If his knee can make him available in the third...haul ass to the podium.

and while I love the threat of a running QB, is it worth it? These guys are taking bigger hits everyday, and we've seen how your QB going down can derail the season.

[tampabay25690]

100% agreed. If his knee can make him available in the third...haul ass to the podium.

and while I love the threat of a running QB, is it worth it? These guys are taking bigger hits everyday, and we've seen how your QB going down can derail the season.

Depth is huge in the NFL..
Ask the Bills this year injuries galore in the begining of the year...
This is a huge offseason IMO for the Bills.
Next year could say alot what this team will do in the future..
I think that next step is so close.

[trapezeus]

kyle kaepernick?

but agreed, this guy is intriguing prior to his injury. big program, played well, highly accurate.

[justasportsfan]

The 3rd and 4th passes in the video were the ones I was hoping EJ could make consistently. Small tight window , in between defenders. These are passes that great qb's make.

[DesertFox24]

While I am all for drafting a QB later to improve depth of the position I really think everyone is giving up on EJ way to early.

We all knew going into this season that he was far from a polished product and it would take a year or two for him to develop.

That being said the bills are clearly looking for mobile QBs who can move, even Tuel has some movement ability.

Guys we should be looking at as potential bills are as follows:
Boyd
Price
Murry
Logan Thomas (Yuck maybe as a TE)

That being said I would take a hard long look at Savage from Pitt I eally think he throws a great ball is deceptive in the mobility department and can be had in the 6th or 7th.

If Savage gets with a good QB development coach he could turn out to be one of the best of this class guy looked liked a sure fire top 10 pck his fresh year at Rutgers and then bounced around due to coaching and scheme changes. Like Tuel he needs playing time and work but could be a very good backup in a few years just like Tuel.

[DesertFox24]

I want to see how this coaching staff develops EJ and Jeff this offseason. Good coaches develop QBs and that is something we have lacked with every coach we have hired as of late.

JP was not developed and neither was Trent.

Hopefully EJ and Jeff will be developed like they did Nassib who was not thought to be a draftable QB his Junior year.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Like Blake Bortles, he fails the successful QB name test and will go nowhere quick in the annals of NFL passing glory. I call them like I see them.

I believed in that test until Colt McCoy failed. I literally cannot think of a better quarterback name.

[justasportsfan]

I want to see how this coaching staff develops EJ and Jeff this offseason. Good coaches develop QBs and that is something we have lacked with every coach we have hired as of late.

JP was not developed and neither was Trent.

Hopefully EJ and Jeff will be developed like they did Nassib who was not thought to be a draftable QB his Junior year.

As much as I criticize EJ, I am not simply giving up on him. I just point out from what I see are his flaws.

What I do not want to happen next season is put our playoff chances in jeopardy again because we are trying to develop EJ. I want Marrone to bring in a legitimate QB who will compete for the the starting job. EJ can use this offseason to develop himself but if he's not ready by preseason, sit him and play the qb that gives us the best chance to win.

[Night Train]

I like him a lot but keep in mind he's strictly a pocket passer with little to no mobility. Great arm and makes all the throws.

[Don't Panic]

4th or later and it is definitely worth consideration.

[tampabay25690]

While I am all for drafting a QB later to improve depth of the position I really think everyone is giving up on EJ way to early.

We all knew going into this season that he was far from a polished product and it would take a year or two for him to develop.

Drafting a QB isn't giving up on EJ at all
That being said the bills are clearly looking for mobile QBs who can move, even Tuel has some movement ability.

Guys we should be looking at as potential bills are as follows:
Boyd
Price
Murry
Logan Thomas (Yuck maybe as a TE)

That being said I would take a hard long look at Savage from Pitt I eally think he throws a great ball is deceptive in the mobility department and can be had in the 6th or 7th.

If Savage gets with a good QB development coach he could turn out to be one of the best of this class guy looked liked a sure fire top 10 pck his fresh year at Rutgers and then bounced around due to coaching and scheme changes. Like Tuel he needs playing time and work but could be a very good backup in a few years just like Tuel.

Drafting a QB at all isn't giving up on EJ...
This is the Bills guy plain and simple

[BillsImpossible]

kyle kaepernick?

but agreed, this guy is intriguing prior to his injury. big program, played well, highly accurate.

Kaepernick did not start as a rookie until about half way into the 2011 season because Alex Smith got hurt.

[BillsImpossible]

I like him a lot but keep in mind he's strictly a pocket passer with little to no mobility. Great arm and makes all the throws.

The only mobility I really care about in a quarterback is his ability to feel pressure, step up in the pocket and make a throw.

Mettenberger looked mobile enough on that second throw wearing a knee brace.

Kaepernick hasn't had much success in the read option this year up until last week. RG3 was totally shut down.

"Mobile," quarterbacks are overrated. One of these days, Kaepernick is going to get hurt running the ball. It's only a matter of time in the NFL.

And now that players are being told to tackle lower on the body to avoid the head, running QB's are going to be even more at risk of getting injured.

[BillsImpossible]

Drafting a QB at all isn't giving up on EJ...
This is the Bills guy plain and simple

Totally agree. This is EJ's year to shine. Drafting a quarterback that is recovering from a major knee injury in the 4th or 5th round and will not even physically be able to challenge Manuel for the starting position is hardly giving up on EJ, it's just being smart and having some form of QB insurance just in case EJ gets hurt again.

[YardRat]

I like him a lot but keep in mind he's strictly a pocket passer with little to no mobility. Great arm and makes all the throws.

Perfect.

Three truisms about the NFL...

The running attack will always matter.
Games are won in the trenches.
Running QB's will never be able to sustain long careers or be consistent winners until they learn to play like a pocket QB.

[The last buffalo fan]

Totally agree. This is EJ's year to shine. Drafting a quarterback that is recovering from a major knee injury in the 4th or 5th round and will not even physically be able to challenge Manuel for the starting position is hardly giving up on EJ, it's just being smart and having some form of QB insurance just in case EJ gets hurt again.

Great, so now we could have not one but two knees injured qb's!! :gobills:

[BillsImpossible]

Great, so now we could have not one but two knees injured qb's!! :gobills:

Saw that response coming from 14 light years away, but we're talking about a QB who would have been drafted in the late 1st to 2nd round of the draft at worse if it weren't for an ACL tear that happened on the throw he made below at 1:25. If he played great in LSU's Bowl game, he'd probably be a top 15 pick.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/h4LXfg-vRbE?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Mace]

Will he be better or worse than Roethlisberger? You know that guy made a name for himself after I learned to spell him name, mainly after he lost all of his teeth in a speed-boat accident and raped those children.

The key to Roethisberger is the first name Ben. Had he been a Randy Roethisberger, which he well may be, or a Winston Roethlisberger, he'd have been done. "Ben" provides a rock solid first name to balance the following blizzard of letters.

Colt McCoy was mentioned later in the thread, oh yeah, count on him to Kurt Warner in a couple years. There is no way he cannot eventually succeed, somehow, somewhere.

[Mouldsie]

Intriguing player but he reminds me a bit of Manuel in the sense that he has shaky confidence

[RedEyE]

Interesting throw to start a campaign video as the receiver was 8 yards in front of the defender and he had to stop his route and come back towards the DB to catch the ball. It was obviously thrown short. But there are definitely better highlights on the reel.

I love how the kid plants his feet. He doesn't do it every time but he seems to have great balance and good leverage. The tight outside throws are nice but those tight windows are even smaller in the NFL. I don't mind a QB taking chances but how will his confidencde shake out after a 3 or 4 interception game.

His best highlights are the throws down the middle of the field. I like the accuracy there as well as the placement of the ball.

To be honest, in my opinion, his lack of mobility doesn't match the offensive philosophy of this Bills team.

[alohabillsfan]

I love how people would wait till the 4th to draft a possible franchise QB so they can draft the next possible gem at ILB! Sure

[B-DON]

Dude throws way to many balls he shouldn't. Over confident a lot when I watched him. Has all the arm talent in the world but never dominated like I thought he would.

[YardRat]

Dude throws way to many balls he shouldn't. Over confident a lot when I watched him. Has all the arm talent in the world but never dominated like I thought he would.

This isn't a thread about Jim Kelly...please try to stick to the subject. Thanks in advance.

[tampabay25690]

Dude throws way to many balls he shouldn't. Over confident a lot when I watched him. Has all the arm talent in the world but never dominated like I thought he would.

Have to remember he really ony started 2 seasons in College and last year he was awful.
This year he improved 150%..
Probably most improved player in the SEC, I think he will continue to get better.