College: San Jose State

Class: Senior

Height: 6’1½”

Weight: 220 pounds

Positives

Placement and Anticipation: Fales’ accuracy and ball placement is top three in this class, especially down the seam. Even downfield, where some are concerned about his arm strength, he is accurate. His understanding of separation and windows allows him to be able to throw before the receiver is open. That is not saying that he is forcing passes, it is saying that he throws before the receiver is open and by the time the receiver makes his break or creates his small window of separation, the ball is already there. Likewise, Fales has outstanding ability to throw around tight coverage. He is able to lead his receiver away from the defender or, at the very least, put a contested pass in a spot that favors his receiver. Such anticipation is also why Fales is a lethal back-shoulder passer. He gets the ball to the receiver before the defensive back is able to recover and break on the ball.

Movement Ability: No, Fales is not a Kaepernick or Newton type of runner. Really, he is not much of a runner at all, but he keeps plays alive. He is able to move off of his spot, keep his eyes up, and deliver a throw. Although, he does have enough athleticism (and common sense) to run for a small chunk of yards if the defense has clearly allowed it. Too many quarterbacks lack such ability to be effective when improvising, but not Fales.

Negatives

Inconsistent Pocket Movement: Despite his success on the move, Fales needs to be more consistent with his pocket maneuvering. Fales too often bails a relatively clean pocket instead of “climbing the pocket” and throwing. Not to say he can not do so, but he needs to do it more frequently and not rely on winning outside of the pocket considering he is only an average athlete. He could be a more effective quarterback if he fully accepted the fact that he is a pocket passer first and a mobile passer second, not vice versa.

Mechanics: Fales’ mechanical situation is quite unique. While most quarterbacks’ bad mechanics cause deep ball issues, Fales’ cause short throw issues. When going downfield, his footwork and body motion is impressive and maximizes his arm strength. When throwing shorter passes, his footwork gets lazy and he shows poor hip rotation. Essentially, he is using only his arm and he does not have a Logan Thomas type of arm to be able to get away with this. His poor mechanics on those shorter passes lead to him throwing behind or at the feet of more receivers than most quarterbacks.

NFL Comparison: Eli Manning, New York Giants

Just like Fales, Manning’s velocity oddly seems to escalate as he throws farther down the field. Both win more with careful placement than by simply zipping passes into tight windows. As Manning showed in the 2007 Super Bowl, they both also have an odd ability to improvise despite naturally being pocket passers.

Draft Outlook

While he has the talent to be an NFL starter, he is not quite worth a first round pick. Although, his top notch placement, anticipation, and ability to handle any situation, he has made himself worth a second round pick. Being a second rounder, he is not forced to start, but could certainly do so.

Best Fits

At pick No.5, the Oakland Raiders may be looking to acquire an elite player over a quarterback. In that case, Fales will likely be available at their second round pick and could be the answer at quarterback for a rebuilding franchise.

Likewise, if the Minnesota Vikings want to target a different position instead of reaching for a quarterback, they could wait for Fales in the second round. With the plethora of skill players surrounding him, Fales would certainly enjoy functioning in Minnesota’s offense and his services would improve the team.