With undersized Kyler Murray not working out at the Scouting Combine, the biggest news arguably came from the tallest quarterback prospect in Indy.
Six-foot, seven-inch Tyree Jackson, who played quarterback at the University of Buffalo, officially ran the 40 in 4.59 seconds.
Whether that makes Jackson desirable on draft weekend remains to be seen. The MAC offensive player of the year, Jackson decided to enter the draft in lieu of transferring to a Power Five conference for 2019. He has been criticized for having a slow release, a flaw that can kill a quarterback at the NFL level, where the extra time to react to the throw becomes the difference between a receiver catching the pass and a cornerback intercepting it.
Plenty of coaches and evaluators simply don’t like tall quarterbacks, in large part because that often contributes to a slow release. Still, a guy with that kind of size and that kind of speed is a very intriguing prospect. And if quarterback doesn’t work out for him, he could maybe become the next Harold Carmichael, a receiver who towered over defensive backs at six-eight.
