My Bengals Dozen: Andy Dalton

TCU QB Andy Dalton is the next Draft prospect on my list to talk about in my series. “My Bengals Dozen”. Dalton has already made a workout with the Bengals and Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden was present at his pro day. NFL.com’s Gil Brandt had this to say on his pro day(3/11):

"Dalton made 50 passes and there was not a single uncatchable ball. He really made quite a showing for himself, and he likely will be a second-round pick now."

Basic info:
Height: 6020 Weight: 215
40 Yrd Dash: 4.82, 20 Yrd Dash: 2.75
10 Yrd Dash: 1.65, Vertical Jump: 29.5″
Broad Jump: 08’10,” 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.27
3-Cone Drill: 6.93

Notes:

Great pocket presence.

• Ability to get away from a pressure.
• Hit’s the screen pass with an urgency.
• Ability to hit the short and medium pass with ease.
• Has good touch on the ball.
• Sells the fake very well.
• Does a good job going through the progressions.*
• Deep ball is underrated; can make all the NFL throws.**
• Doesn’t force many passes; shows good decision making.
• Release is very quick, but throws with a 3-quarter delivery.
• When he does miss a throw it’s typically sails a bit.
• Great pocket presence.Ability to get away from a pressure.
• Great when throwing on the run, still highly accurate.

Bottom Line

• His Wr’s rarely win any “jump ball” situations down field, not helping him out much.
• Show’s great awareness.
• Doesn’t have elite size but alright at 6’2″ 215lbs.
• Level of competition he played is a lot less that what he’d see in the NFL.
• Is a perfect fit for the WCO and think he has the “it” factor. Just needs the opportunity.
• Some say he goes in the first half of the 2nd round. Would feel comfortable drafting him there.
• Really puts me in the mind of a mixture between Kolb and Brees.

Now concerning his draft stock. As mentioned before I spoke about after the top 3 QB’s it’s really in the eye of the beholder between Dalton, Ponder and Mallett. Andy has the potential to be a late 1st rounder and has continued to be connected to the 25th overall pick to the Seahawks. Adam Schefter of ESPN has a very strong sense of when he thinks Dalton will go saying:

"Andy Dalton will come off the board between picks 25 and 35."

Pick 35 sound familiar? The Bengals have pick 35. Schefter has mentioned this a few times now, and strongly feels Andy Dalton will not drop any lower then the Bengals 2nd round pick. And to be fair if the team doesn’t bring in a Q at pick 4 then I’d have to agree. Dalton doesn’t have the wow facter of a 4.59 running Cam Newton, or a Cannon Arm having Ryan Mallett. But what really makes these teams flock to Andy is his massive amount of wins in college, 3 Bowl MVP’s and intangibles that make this kid such a leader.