Sam Bradford Pro Day Preview

Today represents the biggest day of Sam Bradford's football career, call it judgment day.  Bradford's Pro Day where he goes out and throws the football for real for the first time since his shoulder injury means the difference between being picked number one overall, or sliding down the draft boards. 

He is the only QB worthy of being selected number one overall and wh the St. Louis Rams needing a future franchise QB it's hard to imagine them passing on Bradford if he can prove his shoulder is healthy and 100%. 
 
Therein lies the major question, just how healthy is Sam Bradford's shoulder?  Speaking from past scouting experience, I watched Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter in the last game of his career tear up his shoulder against the UofA.  Walter was considered by many to be a potential first round pick before his shoulder injury.  Walter was unable to throw at the combine and had to wait until the last possible week before he could throw.  As a result his stock was hurt considerably, and I would argue his career was hurt because of his shoulder injury.  Walter had one of the strongest, most accurate deep balls I have ever seen.  I'd argue his deep passes were the most accurate throws I've ever seen in a QB. 

Yes it's crazy to make that type of statement, but Walter had a strangely unique ability to complete the deep ball during his ASU career.  After his shoulder injury however the zip, and the confidence Walter once had was gone. 

This is the same dilemma that Bradford faces, only it's a question of his overall accuracy versus arm strength.  Bradford is said to be so accurate that one scout waxed "he could throw a football through a shot glass he's so accurate". 

This type of praise may be a little over the top, but it doesn't understate the importance of this day for Sam Bradford.  He needs to throw well to boost his stock and the amount of money he'll get. 

Shoulder injuries are not kind and don't simply go away, they can be the worst injury out there in terms of how long they linger.  Especially on an NFL quarterback where most basic of fundamentals all start with the shoulder. 

Beyond the shoulder issues I'd argue that Bradford also needs to prove his foot work to NFL scouts.  Why most experts are overlooking the fact that Bradford spent most of his career throwing out of the shotgun is the most perplexing aspect of his scouting report.  Where as  Tim Tebow threw out of the shot gun and was criticized for not coming out of a pro style offense, Bradford too played out of a system at Oklahoma. 

A shot gun spread system that didn't rely on Bradford to hit his receivers with precise passes based on timing in the routes.  The Oklahoma receivers are not known for their route running abilities, more their work in finding the open lane and then Bradford delivering the ball on target. 

It will be interesting to see how successful he is behind center taking three and five drops and delivering the football based on the timing of a route and throwing the ball to a spot on time.  The Sooners' offense was no where near a pro style offense, but this hasn't hampered Bradford's stock to this point in his evaluation.