Tanner McKee NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Philadelphia Eagles' QB

HEIGHT: 6'6"

WEIGHT: 231

HAND: 9⅜"

ARM: 32⅞"

WINGSPAN: TBD

40-YARD DASH: N/A

3-CONE: 7.22

SHUTTLE: 4.41

VERTICAL: 33"

BROAD: 9'6"

POSITIVES

— Great size/frame for the NFL.

— Good arm strength. Throws with easy velocity outside the numbers and can drive the ball downfield.

— Good processing and decision-making. Cycles through reads in a timely fashion and rarely makes crushing mistakes.

— Fairly aggressive thrower. Unafraid to target one-on-ones or test tight windows.

— Very good understanding of ball placement relative to defenders. Can throw wide receivers open.

— Smooth athlete for his size. Able to throw on the move comfortably.

NEGATIVES

— Long, slow release. Can disrupt timing and allow defensive linemen to get hands up to swat passes down.

— Sometimes struggles with over-the-top touch. Go balls and corner routes, in particular, can get away from him at times.

— Below-average creator outside the pocket. Often hangs in the pocket for too long.

2022 STATISTICS

— 12 G, 264-of-426 (62%), 2,947 YDS, 6.9 Y/A, 13 TD, 8 INT

NOTES

— DOB: April 27, 2000

— 4-star recruit in 2018, per 247Sports

— 21 career starts

— Undisclosed minor injury in 2021

OVERALL

Tanner McKee is a strong-armed, stationary pocket passer with the processing skills and savvy to work himself into a starting job.

He has a lot of translatable skills as an NFL passer. First, he has the requisite arm talent, as he throws with good velocity, especially outside the numbers, and has the juice to push the ball downfield regularly.

The 22-year-old also has no fear in using that arm strength, regularly showing the willingness to rifle throws into tight windows or give his guys chances in one-on-one scenarios. Furthermore, McKee maximizes his arm talent through comprehending how to throw receivers open. He has a good understanding of how zone windows shift and how to throw away from defender leverage, which helps him complete some high-difficulty attempts.

Additionally, he is a capable processor. McKee handled a number of pro-style concepts at Stanford and executed them well. He proved he would cycle through his reads efficiently and decide in a confident, timely manner.

It's hard to find examples of his forcing clearly bad decisions or getting the ball out late to open receivers. If anything, Stanford's recent shift toward sprinkling RPOs into the offense was a disservice to McKee, who both doesn't need that crutch and can suffer on those quick throws because of his long, slow release.

McKee's drawbacks mostly come down to his ceiling. Though his arm is strong and he understands how to throw around defenders, he too often lacks the finesse to layer throws in over the top. He can do it, but needs to find consistency.

McKee is also a lackluster playmaker. He is a fine athlete for his size but is too often anchored to the pocket. When he does leave it, the Stanford product doesn't have the twitch or speed to be a real scrambling threat or exciting playmaker.

He would have been a first-round prospect 30 years ago. His size, arm talent, processing skills and confident style all fit the "days of old" passing style.

However, his lack of creativity and ability outside the pocket will likely limit him to being an average starter, unless he develops into one of the best pure processors in the NFL. McKee would fit best in a throwback vertical-style offense, similar to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers attack under Bruce Arians.

GRADE: 7.0 (High-level backup/Potential starter - 3rd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 83

POSITION RANK: QB5

PRO COMPARISON: Matt Schaub

Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen