ESPN analyst discusses Osweiler, Burfict

Some questioned why Brock Osweiler would forego his final year of eligibility in Tempe and enter the draft. They questioned his footwork. They cited his lack of experience (only 15 career starts). They wondered if the former Gonzaga basketball recruit could handle the intricacies of an NFL offense.

From the people we spoke to this week in Indianapolis, those critics might be eating their words in a couple month.

“I like him,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay told Pros2Preps.com. “He’s got a very unique delivery. His ability to move in the pocket and anticipate and his competitiveness…I liked him a little more every tape I watched. Right now he’s the fourth-best quarterback in this class.”

McShay has Osweiler listed behind Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and another late-bloomer Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill. 

“I see Tannehill somewhere in the mid to late first and Osweiler maybe a couple picks behind him,” McShay explained to Pros2Preps.com. “But I don’t see a big separation between those two…Osweiler’s potential is as good as Ryan Tannehill’s.”

The reviews weren’t so favorable for Osweiler’s teammate Vontaze Burfict who enters Saturday’s linebacker workouts as one of the true wildcards in this draft. Burfict also opted to skip his senior season after his production slipped from his sophomore year at ASU.

“He’s dropped a lot after more tape I watched of him,” McShay said. “Part of it is the lack of discipline off the field and a lot of it is the lack of discipline on the field. What I saw on tape this year is a guy that flashes brilliance and can make plays all over the field. He’s explosive. He’s big and fast. But he’s undisciplined and he puts his defense in a lot of bad positions. He’s inconsistent. You don’t know what you’re going to get from one play to the next.”

Teams will get a much better idea of where Burfict fits on their draft boards going through individual meetings and seeing his workouts this weekend at Lucas Oil Field.