Clayton Thorson NFL Draft Profile

Number 9 on our quarterback countdown is Clayton Thorson from Northwestern.

Introduction

Thorson is a four year starter at Northwestern University. His completion percentage has gone up every year, which is good because it was very poor as a freshman. His career completion percentage isn’t where I’d like to see it, but that is mainly due to his 50 percent freshman year. His junior and senior years were both over 60 percent. Thorson is also a good athlete and he ran for 27 touchdowns over his career at Northwestern. He throws well on the run and can move around in the pocket well. He also has a strong arm, no concerns there. He’s also 6’4” 222 pounds so prototypical NFL quarterback size.

Negatives

The problem with Thorson is his decision making. He forces way too many balls. His touchdown to interception numbers are very close in his junior and senior years, 15 to 12 and 17 to 15. While his accuracy has improved, it’s still spotty. He misses some throws badly. His accuracy really suffers on the deep ball. Thorson also has problems reading defense, he is fooled easily. In the film I watched, he was also just uninspiring. I just didn’t see anything special when I watched him. I don’t think he progresses beyond backup level skill in the NFL.

Prediction

Draft Dive Grade: 6th/7th round, very close to Brett Rypien ranking.

Likely Landing Spot: All over the board. He reminds me of Blake Bortles so maybe the Jaguars take him to back up Foles.