Is Bailey Zappe an NFL Prospect?
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Bailey Zappe is one of the top college football prospects in the country. He’s a big, strong quarterback with a rocket arm. But is he an NFL prospect?
There are a lot of factors that go into whether or not a player is an NFL prospect. Bailey Zappe has the size and the skill set, but there are other factors to consider.
We’ll take a look at Bailey Zappe’s NFL prospects and try to answer the question
Who is Bailey Zappe?
Bailey Zappe is an American football quarterback for the Houston Cougars. He was named the starter for the 2019 season after incumbent D’Eriq King decided to redshirt. He has drawn NFL interest with his strong arm and accuracy.
A brief overview of his collegiate career
Bailey Zappe is a quarterback from Sam Houston State University. He played college football for the Bearkats from 2016-2019. In his four years as the starter, he completed 1,001 of 1,514 passes for 12,451 yards and 132 touchdowns. He also rushed for 930 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Zappe was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year in 2019. He was also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the top offensive player in FCS football.
Zappe played in the 2020 Senior Bowl and was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine.
His NFL prospects
Bailey Zappe, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound quarterback from Sam Houston State, is an intriguing NFL prospect. He has good size, a strong arm, and is a dual-threat quarterback. He led the FCS in passing yards (4,752) and passing touchdowns (48) last season. He also ran for 709 yards and 14 touchdowns. His ability to make plays with his feet makes him an intriguing prospect.
His strengths
Bailey Zappe’s most notable strength is his arm. Zappe shows the ability to make all the throws required at the NFL level. He can make all the throws with great velocity and excellent accuracy. His arm talent is elite and is one of the main reasons he is considered an NFL prospect.
Another strength of Bailey Zappe’s is his mobility. He is not a running quarterback, but he has the ability to extend plays with his feet and pick up first downs when needed. This mobility makes him a more dangerous quarterback and helps to offset some of the concerns about his size.
Finally, Bailey Zappe has shown great leadership qualities throughout his career. He was a two-time captain at Houston and was respected by his teammates. This leadership will be important if he wants to have success at the NFL level.
His weaknesses
Bailey Zappe was not invited to the NFL combine. He did not play in a single all-star game. He was not a highly recruited quarterback coming out of high school, and he did not play for a big-time college football program.
But despite all of that, Bailey Zappe might just be an NFL prospect.
At 6’3″, 200 pounds, Zappe has good size for an NFL quarterback. He’s also a very accurate passer, completing 70.8 percent of his passes during his college career. And while he may not have elite arm strength, he has enough zip on his passes to make all the throws required of an NFL quarterback.
So why isn’t Zappe getting more attention?
There are a few reasons. First, as noted above, he didn’t come from a big-time college football program (he played at Houston Baptist University). Second, he’s not particularly athletic and isn’t going to wow anyone with his running ability. And finally, his release is a bit slow and unorthodox, which could make it tough for him to get the ball out quickly against NFL defenders.
Those are all legitimate concerns, but they don’t seem to be scaring off all 32 NFL teams.Zappe has already had visits with the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals, and he’s scheduled to work out for the Houston Texans later this month. So while he may not be getting much attention from the mainstream media, it’s clear that at least some NFL teams are interested in seeing if he can make it as a professional quarterback.
Why he is or is not an NFL prospect
Bailey Zappe is a college football quarterback for Houston. He has good size and arm strength. He is accurate and makes good decisions. He is a three-time All-American and won the 2019 Walter Payton Award. Zappe is not an NFL prospect because he does not have the athleticism to succeed at the next level.
His potential
One potential problem for Zappe at the next level is his arm strength. While he can make all the throws,NFL teams like their quarterbacks to have a little more zip on the ball. This isn’t a huge issue, as there are plenty of quarterbacks who don’t have cannon for an arm that have had successful NFL careers. However, it is something that will likely be brought up by scouts and could prevent him from being drafted as high as he otherwise would.
His intangibles
While not the biggest quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft, Zappe has good size at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. He also has very good arm strength, as he showed at the East-West Shrine Bowl practices. Zappe can make all the throws with ease and can put good touch on his passes when needed. He does a nice job of diagnosing defenses pre-snap and making adjustments at the line of scrimmage.
Zappe is also a very good athlete. He ran a 4.55 40-yard dash at his Pro Day, which is impressive for a quarterback. He also has very good mobility in the pocket and can extend plays with his feet. He’s not going to run for a ton of yards, but he can pick up first downs with his legs when needed.