Robert Griffin III 2012 NFL Draft scouting report

Jan 3, 2012, 2:01 PM UTC

Accuracy: Is one of the nation’s most accurate passers, which is a combination of his ability and, lesser, the offense he plays in. Has accuracy where he can fit the ball into a tight space. Those windows will be different in the NFL when his receivers can’t simply outrun defensive backs.
Arm strength: Displays impressive arm strength when Baylor works the ball vertically. Puts good zip on the ball on deep passes. Maintains his arm strength when he’s under pressure or throwing on the move. Has the strength to make throws outside the numbers. Doesn’t put too much on his passes in the short game, displaying nice touch.

Decision making: Griffin rarely throws bad passes. One spot you'd like to Griffin get better is throwing the ball away. Griffin know he's a superstar athlete, but he needs to learn to throw the ball away instead of trying to make plays with his legs.

Field vision: Plays in an offense where he's not asked to make many pre-snap adjustments. Like many college spread quarterbacks, Griffin isn't asked to go through more than a progression or two after the snap. Typically plays only one side of the field.

Mechanics: Prior to his junior season, Griffin adjusted his release, which has helped him improve his accuracy on deeper throws. Griffin's release is over the top, so it's not always the fastest, but not it's not a detriment. Unknown footwork when taking snaps from under center.

Pocket awareness: Staying in the pocket is where Griffin showed marked improvement between his sophomore and junior years. Still, he moves around in the pocket much more than most quarterbacks. In an effort to get a clean throwing window, Griffin will get low and move around. He'll have to cut that down dramatically in the NFL and get the ball out faster. Plays with a lot of toughness. Stayed in the game against TCU this season despite being knocked loopy after making a reception. Takes the vast majority of his snaps from the shotgun.

Final word: There is arguably no better athlete in the 2012 NFL Draft than Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. That's regardless of position. If Griffin wanted to be, he could be an Olympic track star. Instead, he chose to be a quarterback and has developed every year as a starter.

Griffin has a great arm and delivers passes to all parts of the field. Like most current college systems, Baylor's offense called for Griffin to take a play and go with it. There wasn't a lot of audibles or pre-snap adjustments. Griffin knew where he wanted to throw the ball and did so. If he didn't, he was allowed to pull the ball and make plays with his feet.

One of the knocks you'll often read about Griffin is about his size — listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. That's a similar size to Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, but he doesn't take hits like Griffin does. Because of that, you'll always wonder about Griffin's long-term health.