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 NCAA Scouting – Player Profile:
Joe Flacco, QB
by Sam Monson
28/2/2008
The 2008 draft class of QBs is without a group of top 1st round prospects. Matt Ryan of Boston College is going to be the first QB taken, and he’s likely to be the only one to go high in round 1. There is however a number of QBs in the next tier, which many teams will be looking to pick up at the bottom end of the 1st round or the top of the 2nd Franchise QB on a budget.
Joe Flacco is one of the most intriguing prospects in this second tier of QBs, and has seen his stock rise since the close of the season, showing well during the Senior Bowl week, and the Combine. With prototype size, and the strongest arm in the draft, Flacco is seen by many teams as being a potential franchise QB; available without the $30m guaranteed money that a top 1st round pick will command.
 Coming out of High School, Flacco was rated as one of the top 40 ‘pro-style’ QBs by Rivals.com, and found his way to Pitt, before being unable to unseat Tyler Palko. Flacco then transferred to the Delaware Blue Hens, where he went on to star, leading them all the way to the FCS title game, where they fell one game short to Appalachian St.
What we like about Flacco
Flacco has the strongest arm in the draft this year, which he displayed during his college career, the Senior Bowl, the Combine, and even the College All-Star Skills Challenge. Not only does Flacco have the arm, but he has the NFL mechanics that scouts love. He’s tall, has good footwork, an over the top delivery, and an adequate delivery that has scouts thinking he could be a prospect that can perform sooner rather than later.
Flacco ran quicker than most expected at the combine, and despite his size, is actually quite a scrambling threat, making him even more an attractive prospect to the NFL. He’s also extremely durable, never having missed a game through college.
Question marks about Flacco
Flacco’s coming from a shotgun offense in Delaware and needs more experience in a pro-style offense. Having said that, he showed good ability to learn and master the footwork in the short time he was coached at the Senior Bowl. Some question marks as to why he wasn’t able to beat out Tyler Palko at Pitt. Never put up the eye popping numbers at a lower level of competition that you might hope for, or that a player like Josh Johnson did.
Highlight of his college career
 Flacco led the Delaware Blue Hens all the way to the FCS Championship Game in his final year, only to fall at the final hurdle to the two time defending champions, Appalachian St. Flacco threw for 335 yards in the game.
Other snippets
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Flacco’s helmet went missing over the first few days of the Senior Bowl, and he had to wear a white retail version until it was found and shipped out
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Seen by many as the #3 QB in this draft, Flacco might have the best tools of any of them.
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Has one of the world’s truly great monobrows!
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Could be compared to Ben Roethlisberger, another big-armed, big bodied QB
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Potential good fits include the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens.
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