Cam Newton Scouting Report
Toughness/Leadership: Tough, tough quarterback. Not afraid to put his head down and pick up first downs. Will stand in the pocket with pressure in his face and deliver the ball. Hasn’t missed a game due to injury. Displays excellent leadership qualities. Plays with a cool head and calm demeanor. Plays the game with a jubilation. Keeps his teammates and coaches loose with his smile and care freeness. Has led the Tigers to victories on 5 separate occasions after being down or tied in the forth quarter, including a twenty four point comeback against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Intelligence/Decision Making: Played in the spread offense. Ran a lot of option read plays. Knows when to hand the ball off and when to keep it. Isn’t asked to read coverages a lot, but shows the ability to read them on occasion. Throws a lot of bubble screens and quarterback draw play action fakes. Makes good reads in the passing game. Almost always hits the open receiver. Makes quick and snappy decisions to run the ball when holes appears.
Accuracy: Led the nation in quarterback rating with 188.15. Completed 67.1 percent of his passes in 2010. Is very accurate. Allows receivers to get yards after catch, by hitting them in stride. Consistently hits on deep balls, and shows good touch on them. Doesn’t throw many outs, slants, and comebacks, so those throws are a question marks at this point. Sometimes throws off balance which causes some inaccuracies.
Release/Arm Strength: Throws the ball using a 3/4 release point. Flings the ball effortlessly. Has an extremely strong arm.
Pocket Mobility/Mobility: Has the knack for avoiding pressure while in the pocket. Does a good job of side stepping and sliding his feet when faced with oncoming rushers. Needs to work on re-establishing his balance and foot work after escaping the rush. Really excels at running with the football. Has the speed to outrun defenders, and the size to run them over as well. Always falls forward. Has some elusiveness to his game. Can make tacklers miss in the open field. Is unstoppable in short yardage situations.
Intangibles: While attending the University of Florida, Newton was arrested for theft of a laptop. The laptop was found in his possession, and he was temporarily suspended. Newton withdrew from the University of Florida during the Fall semester of 2008. In 2010, Newton was accused of attempted soliciting of thousands of dollars from Mississippi State University. Newton’s father took full responsibility for the money inquisitions. He won the 2010 Heisman Award. 1st Team AP All-American selection. Is loved by his teammates and coaching staff. Shows extraordinary leadership and poise. Did so even when faced with the NCAA investigation.
Overall Stock: Cam Newton has the athletic ability to make scouts drool, but he is a raw quarterback. He lacks experience in a conventional pro-style offense. Auburn runs a spread offense, so performing 3-5-7 step drops and reading coverages were rare. Newton will need a lot of work on his foot work. Sometimes he fails to set his feet when throwing. He’ll have a lot to prove come the NFL combine. He must spend the time between the National Championship game and the Combine, redefining his mechanics. He is going to have to show that he can accurately throw every route in the route tree. There is no doubt that he is a first round talent. It’s just a matter of how high or low will he come off the board. A case can be made for him to go as high as number three, or as low as twenty five. The ball is in Newton’s court. He must show scouts over the next few months that he is a NFL quarterback and not just a spectacular college quarterback.
NFL Comparison: Vince Young and Ben Roethlisberger