Vandy's Cutler wows scouts, raises stock
Beneath the radar
Vandy's Cutler wows scouts, raises stock
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/28/06
Indianapolis — Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler's decision to participate in every drill at the NFL Scouting Combine might have helped his draft stock more than any of 300-plus players at the audition.
Cutler, 6 feet 4, 230 pounds, bench-pressed 225 pounds 23 times. He ran a 4.7 40-yard dash and showcased his cannon arm. More decorated quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Vince Young opted to bypass anything that required them to sweat.
"I've watched every tape of Matt Leinart, and I've watched every tape of Vince Young," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "From my perspective, from a physical skill set, I think Cutler has the biggest arm in the draft. I think he has a quicker release than either of the other two. I think he's tough. When I look at that kid and what he did on tape, he can make throws that I don't think the other two kids can make."
USC's Leinart and Texas' Young will display their wares at their respective pro day workouts on or near their college campuses, a common tactic practiced by high projected draft picks.
Cutler will have additional workouts, too. That he risked hurting his projected top-10 draft status in front of every NFL head coach and hundreds of other talent evaluators this weekend did much more good than harm, some coaches said.
"I asked a lot of questions at the Senior Bowl as to what the scouts thought, what the coaches thought, and everyone said you can't really hurt yourself, go out there and throw and do the best you can," Cutler said. "I wish everyone was competing with me, but that's how it goes."
Following the combine performance, Cutler could be picked ahead of Young in the NFL draft April 29-30. Young, whose throwing motion and shotgun-heavy offense at Texas has been criticized, could fall out of the top three picks. A recent report, which has been denied, said Young scored in the single digits on the Woderlic Intelligence Report. Leinart is pegged as the No. 2 pick and first quarterback selected, with Tennessee possibly using the third overall pick on the guy who played in their shared hometown of Nashville. The New York Jets, who have the fourth pick, also are in need of a quarterback.
"We were very impressed with his athletic ability, his footwork, his arm strength, his delivery, his body language, huddle presence, all those things," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said of his evaluation of Cutler at the Senior Bowl. "It's an unnatural place to observe those kinds of things, because it's a short period of time, you're installing an offense, he's around people he doesn't know. But I thought he handled himself very well. We're very impressed. He's quite a talent."
At Vanderbilt, Cutler completed 710 of 1,242 passes for 8,697 yards and 59 touchdowns. The lofty numbers might be overshadowed by his toughness. He was sacked 80 times and hit much more than that.
"What if Jay would have played out at Southern Cal with the athletic ability of those kinds of teams?" Fisher asked. "What kind of success not only would Jay have had, but also would the Trojans have had? Those are the type of things you look at. Jay had a great career."
Cutler said playing behind a sometimes suspect offensive line may have prompted him to develop some bad habits that he'll have to overcome.
"At times we don't have the front five to block the Floridas and LSUs so I had to throw off my back foot," Cutler said. "I had to move around a little bit and couldn't really get my feet set or my hips in line and stuff."
If there are flaws with Cutler's game, they aren't being talked about.
"I think he helped himself," Mayock said.