by It’s that time of the year again! NFL Draft season.
Over the next few months, I’ll be breaking down and highlighting a handful of notable college football stars entering the draft — most of whom may be flying under the radar.
Today’s scouting report will turn to the “Fun Belt” and focus on South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley.
When you talk about sleepers in this year’s NFL Draft class, look no further than Bradley. In what is a loaded quarterback class filled with generational talents and historically successful players at the FBS level, Bradley has carved his own path and will be a late-round selection worth remembering.
PRODUCTION
Son of ex-NFL head coach Gus Bradley, Carter began his college career at Toledo despite receiving scholarship offers from more notable FBS programs such as Ole Miss, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. While he did not see the field until his redshirt sophomore campaign, Bradley showed flashes of greatness through several starts, including a 432-yard-3 TD performance in a shootout win over Northern Illinois.
The future was looking bright for Bradley in Toledo up until DeQuan Finn emerged and beat him out for the starting job as the Rockets’ quarterback. This led Bradley to make the best decision of his football career by transferring to South Alabama.
Bradley unlocked his full potential and excelled during his final two collegiate years as the signal caller in Mobile, AL. In 2022, he guided the Jaguars to their best single-season in school history at the FBS level (10-3 record) while setting school records in passing yards (3,326), completions (276) and touchdowns (28).
He popped this past season as a senior too, racking up a career-high 67.8 completion percentage and posting the 30th-best QBR in the nation (151.3).
STRENGTHS
The first thing that sticks out about Bradley to NFL scouts and many others, including myself, is that he possesses ideal NFL arm strength. He is a terrific vertical thrower and has calm poise in the pocket for a dropback quarterback. Former South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack constantly raved about Bradley’s immediate leadership and confidence the day he stepped on campus two years ago — something that obviously goes a long way for a player entering a new environment at the next level.
MY COMP: Bryce Petty
For starters, neither guy was a highly-touted prospect entering the NFL, even though Petty put up far better numbers in college at Baylor. Coming out of college, both Petty and Bradley are known for their huge arms and good deep balls, with room to improve in the accuracy department. Neither guy really brings much value as a rusher, but the two are near identical in terms of big frame (Petty: 6’3”, 230/Bradley: 6’3”, 215). Similar to Petty, Bradley is the type of quarterback that needs time to develop as a pro as well. However, unlike Petty, Bradley never had an injury history in college and did impress at his Senior Bowl outing.
PROJECTED ROUND: 6th-7th
As previously mentioned, this NFL Draft is flooded with talented quarterback prospects, so depending on the QB demand for franchises across the league, Bradley will most likely slide to the Day 3 range. He will be targeted as a quality backup candidate, but based on his college trajectory and growth, Bradley can be a serviceable fill-in starter someday in the pros.
