This QB Prospect Just Might Have Saved his Draft Stock
Just a few months ago, Spencer Rattler’s draft stock was at an all-time low.
South Carolina finished 5-7 in 2023 with Rattler at the helm, with five of those losses coming against ranked opponents. This rough patch included a 31-17 loss to Drake Maye’s UNC, a 41-20 loss to Joe Milton’s Tennesee, and a close 16-7 loss to Clemson to cap off the year. In a competitive quarterback class, failing to win against tough competition doesn’t leave a great impression on scouts.
If you were an inquisitive GM taking a look at his raw stats, you'd probably want to see a little more from him. Rattler faced tough defenses across the SEC, and couldn’t achieve the production of other top talents. He threw for 3186 yards (28th overall) and 19 TDs (54th) with a completion percentage of 68% (11th). He even reduced his interceptions from last year bringing that number from 12 in 2022 down to 8 in 2023. Not bad, not great, but certainly not enough to warrant an early draft selection.
With these two middling bullet points on his resume, Rattler’s projected draft spot landed him just outside the top 100 picks in this year's draft class. He would be the 8th QB off the board behind Caleb Willams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Michael Penix, JJ McCarthy, and Michael Pratt. (Of course, this is all based on mock drafts in January.)
Rattler, the once promising young freshman for Oklahoma, has fallen drastically in the eyes of NFL front offices since he lost his starting job to the potential first-overall pick.
Spencer Rattler: Senior Bowl Standout
With just a couple of months left to prove something, Rattler needed to make waves in the last big event for NFL hopefuls - the Senior Bowl. Despite most NFL personnel making the trip to watch Penix and Nix, people couldn’t stop talking about the QB out of South Carolina.
He stood out throughout the practice portion of the event and was voted “Top QB” by the defensive teammates. Rattler had viewers glued to his reps. He was seen talking to teams at the event, most notably the QB-deprived New England Patriots. It appeared as though Rattler was doing everything right. The last piece of the puzzle would be his performance at the Senior Bowl game.
Despite having limited playing time, Rattler gave the audience plenty of good work to leave a great impression heading forward. He finished the afternoon throwing for a perfect 4/4 for 65 yards and a beautiful touchdown pass to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.
A Great Showing, but Was It Enough?
A great Senior Bowl appearance doesn't absolve Rattler of all of his past faults, but it certainly paints him in a more positive light in the most important part of the off-season. Heading out of the Senior Bowl event, Rattler could find himself creeping up draft boards thanks to his performance this past week.
All that's left is for Rattler to have a solid combine outing. If he once again proves to look NFL-ready, Spencer Rattler could sneak into the second round of the draft.
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