Each week this offseason, we’ll be focusing on one position and how the Panthers may choose to address their needs; whether they’re in the market for an upgrade at starter or just a reliable backup, every player on the 53-man roster is going to be important in 2018.

This is Quarterback Week.

While the Panthers almost certainly won’t draft a quarterback in the early or middle rounds, they could well take a chance on a quarterback either late in the draft or as a priority UDFA. While such players generally have very low success rates, there are numerous examples of undrafted quarterbacks having success in the NFL; eight undrafted quarterbacks threw a pass last season, four started games and since the merger, two undrafted quarterbacks have made the Hall of Fame, with Tony Romo having a chance to join them in the coming years. With that in mind, who might the Panthers be able to get as an undrafted free agent or late-round pick who might be able to stick around in the NFL?

Enter John Wolford.

Arm Talent

A major factor in most undrafted quarterbacks not being taken earlier is their lack of arm talent. While NFL quarterbacks don’t necessarily need to have huge arms to be successful, they do need to have sufficient arm strength to prevent defenses compacting the field. While Wolford’s arm would be nothing exceptional at the NFL level, he does have enough power to make most throws. While the long deep ball is always nice to see from a quarterback, the more consistently relevant use of arm strength is on the velocity a quarterback uses on short and intermediate throws, especially to the outsides of the field; the windows for completing such throws gets a lot smaller in the NFL.

 

 

On both of these throws to the sidelines, Wolford shows a good level of velocity while maintaining a reasonable degree of accuracy. Throws such as these are some of the most vulnerable to being intercepted at the NFL level due to the length of time they can spend in the air; the speed with which Wolford gets the ball out there should do a lot to cut down on the potential risk. Wolford also shows good velocity on some longer outside throws, such as the following:

 

While the deep ball wasn’t a huge part of Wake Forest’s offense, Wolford does at times show the required arm strength to push the ball down the field, such as on the following throw:

 

On this throw, Wolford shows not just the arm strength to make a forty-five yard pass, but also the touch to weight it perfectly, allowing only the receiver to make the catch. This touch is also a significant issue for many late-round quarterbacks; while this is a skill that can be taught to a certain degree, far more throws in NFL offenses require placing the ball at a certain depth rather than simply hitting an open target with a line-drive. On the following throws, Wolford demonstrates his ability to weight passes well in order to allow for effective completions.

 

 

 

While Wolford doesn’t posses elite arm talent, his combination of good velocity and touch with an ability to hit the deep ball when needed is more than adequate for an NFL quarterback. This creates a high ceiling for Wolford as a late-round prospect, as many other quarterbacks who fall beyond the middle rounds will likely be unable to ever progress beyond mediocre backups due to their limited arm talent. For a late-round quarterback, Wolford actually shows a lot of potential.

The Details

Although some prospects who fall to later rounds, like Russell Wilson, do so due to sheer incompetence of NFL executives, most of them spur reasonable doubts about their ability to perform at the pro level. For quarterbacks this is either due to a lack of arm talent, as discussed earlier, or because teams doubt their ability to adjust to an NFL offense, either because of the increased requirement for accuracy or because of their need to adapt to a pro-style offense.

In terms of accuracy, Wolford is good but not great. He very rarely actively missed receivers in his collegiate career; but his ball placement, while generally quite good, is sometimes inconsistent. On both of the following throws he shows an ability to lead his receivers, thereby allowing for yards after the catch.

 

 

However, there are also examples on tape where, although not completely inaccuracte, a throw behind the receiver makes the catch harder than it hard to be, which does sometimes lead to incompletions to at least partially open receivers.

 

 

On balance, Wolford is accurate on throws like this more often than not, and is generally an accurate passer. That being said, his accuracy will be something that any prospective employer will want to work on to some degree, as he doesn’t quite reach the level that would be described as good by NFL standards. What is promising though, is the awareness Wolford shows for where the ball needs to go in order for it to be completed. On the following throw, he places the ball high and away from the defender, allowing only the receiver to get the ball, while not over-leading the receiver, which might have allowed for the safety to make a play.

 

He shows that same awareness on both of the following throws, throwing the pass slightly short of usual in order to allow the receiver to catch the ball without the defender over the top being able to make a play on it:

 

 

Of course, these plays are only a small number of those that Wolford attempted during his senior season; based on the tape available, it does seem as though this is more than just a few anomolous plays, but rather a wider understanding of where the pass needs to be in order to lead to a completion.

The major concern with Wolford, as with almost all quarterbacks, is their ability to learn and eventually master an NFL offense. Wake Forest ran a fairly simple passing offense, with a number of the reads being made pre-snap. Because of this, the Panthers would likely need to spend some time with Wolford in order to determine his understanding of scheme and reads. On tape, he does show some ability to make basic progressions, such as on the following two plays, but it is hard to make any form of strong statement based off of these.

 

 

What is promising to see is his ability to anticipate where the open man will be, and his knowledge of where the receivers are meant to be. On the next play, he recognizes the blitz and quickly gets the ball to the open man for a first down.

 

What is more interesting is that even when the play breaks down, he shows an ability to continue to look to pass, recognizing where the open man should be. This allows him to make plays such as the following:

 

These plays are merely indications that Wolford might stand a chance of being successful in an NFL offense, but for many quarterbacks coming out of college this has been the case. For Wolford to have success in the NFL, he will need to develop the mental side of his game; given what he has shown on tape, he has about as good a chance of learning an NFL offense as any other player coming out of such an offense.

The Added Extra

While Wolford isn’t the most obviously athletic player, he is surprisingly shifty and can pick up yards with his feet if needed. While Wake Forest possible over-used his running ability at times, it is certainly a useful feature of his game for any team that involves quarterback runs in their offensive scheme. This is clearly a part of the Panthers scheme with Cam Newton and while Wolford is unlikely to be running QB power anytime soon, his mobility would certainly allow for some read-option plays to be part of the offense.

 

 

As a late round pick or potential UDFA, Wolford is certainly not a polished pro-ready quarterback. However, he has a decent arm for an NFL quarterback with good touch and shows some promise when it comes to mastering the finer aspects of being an NFL quarterback. Should the Panthers look to add some quarterback depth late in the draft, then Wolford could certainly be one of the players they consider.

 

BEST CASE: Alex Smith
WORST CASE: Just Some Dude
Summary: Has the arm and mobility to be a game-manager quarterback with upside. His NFL future will almost certainly depend on his ability to master an offense scheme with time.
Grade: C+
Vincent Richardson on Twitter
Vincent Richardson
Managing Editor at Riot Report
Fan of zone coverage, knee bend and running backs running routes. Twitter: @vrichardson444