2012 NFL Draft Spotlight: Baylor Quarterback Robert Griffin III

As we approach the draft, I'll be doing a bunch of prospect analysis, some with video breakdowns, some without. I'd like to do one a day but we'll see how that goes, with the NFL schedule being released this week.

Today we talk about a guy who nobody has said a word about—Robert Griffin III.

Oh, people are talking about him? Well, here we go anyway.

As I talked about when I did Andrew Luck a week or so ago, Griffin and Luck are pretty much neck and neck in terms of value. Luck is the more safe pick, while Griffin has the upside. Wow, does he have upside.

I chose to break down the Baylor/Oklahoma State footage because while it was a blowout and an awful game for RG3, not only did he show some bad, he showed incredible toughness and ability in the face of extreme adversity.

The Good

We can talk all day about RG3's mobility, how dangerous he is with his feet and how he's able to make big plays on the ground.

What happens is, this often overshadows the rest of his game.

RG3 is a sharp quarterback who can quickly read the defense and react at the line of scrimmage. True, he did a lot of his play from a shotgun formation, but he did play under center on occasion. In the video I broke down of his game against Oklahoma State, he did a bunch of reads at the line as well, before dropping back.

He isn't perfect and still needs to work on it, but he's more solid than folks gave him credit for early on in the process.

His accuracy is very good both on the run and in the pocket. That's right, he can throw in the pocket. More than once in the Oklahoma State game, he stood his ground and delivered a ball just before he got hit.

Let me be clear—he is not a run-first quarterback. He doesn't pull the ball down too quickly, and he doesn't freak out when his first read isn't there.

Baylor often had him throwing short to his first read, consistently on bubble screens. However, he can throw a long ball as well, as was evident in the Oklahoma game.

He is also mentally tough. In the Oklahoma State game, possibly the worst in his whole career, he was hit multiple times, intercepted multiple times (some his fault, some not) and behind nearly the whole game by a huge margin, and yet he never folded and never stopped trying. He always got back up from a hit or shook off an interception.

It's a trait that not every physically gifted quarterback has.

The Bad

As with Luck, there isn't a ton to dislike here. When Griffin tries to do too much, he struggles. His accuracy will dip, and he will force balls where they shouldn't go, leading to picks.

As I mentioned in 'The Good' he still has to improve his reading of defenses and going through his progressions. He's good, but he could be better. His learning curve shouldn't be too bad, and I am confident he will develop well—with the right coaching.

As I mention in the video, at times he has an exaggerated play action move that needs to speed up if he's going to fool anyone in the NFL.

My biggest issue, touched on in the video, is his build. Griffin takes a lot of abuse, both on the run and in the pocket. Unlike a Cam Newton or Tim Tebow, he may not have the mass to take that for a whole NFL season.

Let's look at their measurables:

MICHAEL VICK	6'1"	215 lbs
ROBERT GRIFFIN III	6'2"	223 lbs
TIM TEBOW	6'3"	236 lbs
CAM NEWTON	6'5"	248 lbs

You might ask if the 13 lbs between Griffin and Tebow make a difference, and I would say 'yes.' Mind you, I'm not even 100 percent sold that Tebow makes it a whole season.

RG3's weight and build reminds me of Mike Vick. That's a concern given how often Vick is hurt.

Now, that is THE ONLY THING he has in common with Vick.

But it's enough.

I believe he can add some mass to his frame without hurting his game, so to some extent that will help.

The Lowdown

As with Luck, Griffin should be OK transitioning to the NFL level of play. He'll have some bumps in the road, for sure, but he has the tools, the drive and the will to get better.

If he can stay healthy (and that is a concern to me) he should be very good for a very long time.

The other X-factor here is the coaching staff at Washington. Do we believe in the Shanahans? I think they should be fine, but it is a bit of a concern.

They need to handle Griffin right. They seem very enthusiastic to have him (this assumes he is going to the Redskins of course), so I am confident they will fit together well.

Why the NFC North Should Care

It's always possible the Colts/Skins do something insane, and the Vikings can pick RG3. That's unlikely though so I'm just mentioning it 'in case of insanity'.

You'll be seeing RG3 a bunch, though of course not as much as you would if he was drafted to the Vikings, for example.

Like Cam Newton, Mike Vick and Tim Tebow, he brings a unique set of challenges for a defense. Like Vick/Newton he can throw the ball well, and like all three he can run the ball very well.

Assuming the Redskins take him, they have a long way to go to build this team up to be contenders. The defense is good, the offense—not so much.

If the Redskins do a good job of compiling a team around him, you may need to go through him to the playoffs and beyond.