Jamie Newman has a significant upside in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Jamie Newman is not regarded as being on the same level as the top three quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft but, after a hugely promising 2019 season with Wake Forest, he has the opportunity to catapult himself into the first-round conversation.
In 12 games for the Demon Deacons in 2019, Newman completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns, leading Wake Forest to an 8-5 record.
Following a transfer to Georgia, Newman will attempt to prove he can perform at a similar level against SEC competition.
Georgia has not exactly been a breeding ground for top-tier quarterbacks in recent times, with Jacob Eason and Justin Fields each transferring elsewhere and Jake Fromm not selected until the fifth round of the 2020 draft.
Newman will try to buck the trend and, as his tape from the 2019 season shows, he has the traits to do so and insert himself in the discussion to be the first quarterback off the board after Trevor Lawrence, Trey Lance and Fields have all been selected.
Here we assess the strengths and weaknesses of a quarterback who has flown under the radar to this point but whose stock could be significantly higher come draft time if he gets the chance to hit the field for the Bulldogs in 2020.
Strengths
Newman is blessed with a magnificent, NFL-ready arm. Deep balls are his forte and he throws downfield with consistently impressive ball placement.
He delivers his downfield passes with excellent touch and frequently puts the ball where only his receiver can get it, while his arm strength allows Newman to regularly make opposite-hash throws to every level of the field.
Newman can throw with extremely high velocity to fit the ball in between defenders and possesses the ability to alter his arm angle when necessary to navigate through different throwing windows, with side-arm deliveries no issue for him.
He regularly and diligently works through his progressions and can find his checkdown option when needed. Newman also excels at timing throws, demonstrating a great rapport with his receivers and hitting them in stride.
Able to deliver accurately with pressure in his face, Newman has the mobility to escape the pocket, evade the pass rush and complete throws on the run.
Newman was frequently used on short-yardage runs at Wake Forest and was effective as a patient and powerful runner who is surprisingly elusive in the open field.
Weaknesses
While Newman has had instances where he excelled under pressure, he has also experienced significant issues when throwing in the face of the pass rush.
He often panics and rushes his throws when under pressure but has also committed turnovers and missed throws as a result of holding the ball too long.
Though Newman has, on occasion, made big-time plays with defenders converging on him, he is not able to make off-platform throws with regularity and sails passes when he is not able to step into them.
For all his success pushing the ball down the field, Newman has endured location issues intermediate throws of lower difficulty.
However, the biggest concern around his game surrounds reading the field and specifically the interceptions that have come from him failing to spot second-level defenders.
Of his 11 interceptions last season, a large amount came when Newman forced the ball into a throwing lane in which a linebacker or safety was lurking.
Newman will hope to improve in these areas of his game during the 2020 season with the Bulldogs. If he is unable to contest the scheduled campaign because of the public health situation, scouts may be reluctant to buy in on a prospect with just one full season of college football experience to his name.
Verdict
Between his tremendous deep accuracy and arm strength, Newman has massive upside that should intrigue quarterback-needy teams throughout the NFL, as should his poise in working through his progression and the versatility he has showcased in terms of throwing from different arm angles.
Though more of a battering ram akin to Cam Newton than an agile, Lamar Jackson-style runner, Newman possesses the skill set to be a genuine dual threat at the quarterback position and can be a significant threat in short-yardage situations near the goal line. Newman averaged just 3.2 yards per carry last season but found the endzone six times.
Pro Football Network’s Nick Farabaugh also sees the upside of Newman as he heads to his new home:
"“It is a good thing that Newman ended up heading to Georgia. Wake Forest had him doing a lot of run-pass option concepts, and that is where he thrives. With Todd Monken coming onto the Georgia staff as well, that certainly could be a massive influence on what they could want to run with him at the helm. A Newman-led offense will give fans a little introspective into what an offense with Fields at the helm might have looked like in Georgia. That is the crux of Newman’s game here.”"
All the tools are there for Newman to become a starter-level quarterback in the NFL, however, he needs significant improvement in dealing with pressure and reading the field to avoid turnover-worthy throws that will be more consistently and more devastatingly punished in the pros.
If he does not play in 2020 or fails to display much in the way of improvement in this area of his game, then NFL teams may view Newman as a developmental backup who needs to sit behind an established veteran for at least a season before taking the reins of a pro offense.