2021 NFL Draft: Jamie Newman will get live action at Senior Bowl

2021 NFL Draft prospect Jamie Newman. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /

Jamie Newman will finally see live action before the 2021 NFL Draft

There is not a single 2021 NFL Draft prospect with a weirder offseason than that of quarterback Jamie Newman. First, after four years at Wake Forest, Newman opted to transfer to the University of Georgia and team up with air raid guru Todd Monken for his Redshirt Senior season.

However, after JT Daniels also transferred to Athens, and rumors began to leak that perhaps Newman had lost the job, the former Demon Deacon opted out of the 2020 season and declared for the draft. Since then, Newman has been training for the main event, hoping to have another chance to prove he can be an NFL quarterback.

Newman now gets one more chance to play live action football before April as he has officially accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

What Newman has to prove

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When watching Newman’s 2019 tape at Wake Forest, it is apparent that he has an NFL arm, and despite his completion percentage in the box score, has adept accuracy towards the boundary and down the field. However, there are a ton of glaring weaknesses to Newman’s game as well, and weaknesses he must show strides in at the Senior Bowl.

First and foremost, Newman has proven to have a bit of a delayed process in his ability to work through his reads both pre-snap and throughout a play. This leads to Newman holding the ball too long in the pocket, or to him attempting to force footballs into dangerous places on the field.

Newman must also take a good, hard look at his footwork as he looks to showcase his new and improved self at the Senior Bowl. Any trainer he is working with pre-draft will likely drill this into his muscle memory as the 2021 NFL Draft approaches this upcoming April.

Newman’s current 2021 NFL Draft outlook

Right now, Newman’s 2021 NFL Draft projection is all over the board. Some draft pundits have Newman as a preseason top-five quarterback, while others view him as a barely draftable prospect. While he now has little hope of becoming a first round pick after opting out, he could still go as early as the second round with a solid Senior Bowl given the priority of the quarterback position.

Nick Farabaugh of Pro Football Network is one of those pundits who thinks Newman has a long way to go:

"“…without another season of tape to see if he could take strides, Newman is stuck in no man’s land. The tools are intriguing, yes. On the other hand, there is so much to be worried about on his tape. Therefore, I have reservations about any team taking a chance on Newman early.The process could help him with a strong Senior Bowl, perhaps, but that can not alleviate a lot of these concerns that showed up on his tape. The tools are encouraging, but Newman is probably a day-three prospect for teams to take a chance on right now. There are just too many questions and too much to work on for him to warrant a significant investment.”"

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Prospects like Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Allen have used the Senior Bowl to show off their talents to NFL teams before landing in the first round of the NFL Draft. This would be a pipe dream for Newman at this point, with no more college tape left to put out, but he can prove he belongs at the next level as he now packs his bags for Mobile.

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