NFL teams -- and fans -- need to be realistic about Taylen Green's NFL future
Let's be real: Taylen Green is an impressive athlete, but he is not an impressive quarterback. Green the athlete pops off the screen, as we noted weeks ago:
"Green, who measured in at 6-foot-5⅞ inches tall and 227 pounds, ran a wide-receiver-worthy 40-yard dash in an official time of 4.36 seconds to go with a 43½-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 11-2. All three are records for quarterbacks since at least 2003, according to ESPN Research.
"Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr., who was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, had the previous bests for a quarterback in the vertical and broad jumps in that span -- 40½ inches and 10 feet 9 inches respectively. Green's 40 time is now the first sub-4.4 clocking for quarterback since at least 2003. The previous best 40 for a quarterback was a 4.41 by Robert Griffin III, coming off a Heisman Trophy season at Baylor, at the 2012 combine.
"Green's performance comes in a year when the quarterback rankings, beyond the expected No. 1 pick of the draft in Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, are still in flux for many in the league. Green is the No. 8-rated quarterback in ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest position rankings.
"Green was a four-year starter in college -- two years at Boise State and two at Arkansas. This past season he threw for 2,714 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions to go with 777 yards rushing as well as eight rushing touchdowns."
He's not top-three, he's not even top-five. Taylen Green, in what is a very weak quarterback class, is barely a top-10 NFL prospect. A quarterback has to throw the ball, and Green doesn't do that at an elite level -- not with the accuracy and football IQ NFL teams are looking for. Yet, this is a crazy-skilled athlete. Taylen Green can run, jump, change direction, make tacklers miss, and improvise.
NFL teams just need to be willing to change the equation with Green. Have him in the backfield as a running back. Use him as a wide receiver. Give him the ball on reverses, jet sweeps, bubble screens, or quick-hitch passes. Move him around the field. Give him touches but don't ask him to pass except for the occasional trick play. Green could be very useful in the NFL -- just not as an every-down dropback passer. He can contribute, but it has to be in other ways.