It’s no secret Stanford excels at developing NFL quarterbacks. Kevin Hogan is the next of that group. Hogan looks the part for an NFL quarterback at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. He’s the ideal system-fit quarterback, knowing where his reads are and how to go through his progressions. However, the complaints about him are that he lacks mobility to get outside of the pocket to extend the play and that he struggles throwing the deep ball with consistency.
Hogan is extremely unorthodox in terms of his release. When you pair that with his height, it’s easy to see why there are disbelievers of Hogan’s ability to be a successful NFL quarterback. But because of his intelligence and his anticipation skills, there’s not a doubt in my mind that Hogan can be a quality backup quarterback. Let’s dive into the tape and see how Hogan projects at the NFL level.
The first GIF I put in this article was simply a horizontal view of his release and how he gets the football out. In terms of footwork, Hogan is fine here, but his release keeps him from getting the football out quickly. He winds back and gets the football out, but when the pressure nears, this extra second of winding up leads to more sacks and more opportunities for turnovers.
While Hogan may have a slower release, it doesn’t keep him from putting solid touch on the football. On this throw, Hogan shows off his accuracy by putting the deep ball in a good spot down the field.
Despite his size and his slender frame, Hogan is extremely tough in terms of knowing where the sticks are and knowing what needs to be done to move the chains. This GIF is an example of Hogan extending the play and finding a receiver for a first down.
I talked earlier about Hogan’s anticipation skills and how he’s able to dictate his passes off reading the defense and seeing what they’re doing. This throw is an excellent example of Hogan anticipating the defense and putting the ball exactly where it needs to be.
Hogan is extremely accurate from the pocket, I already knew that from just watching a few of Stanford’s games over the past four seasons. However, I never realized how accurate of a quarterback he was on the run. This is an unbelievable throw on the road with time winding down in the half.
The next throw is one that shows off Hogan’s mobility to move up in the pocket and fling a gorgeous pass that would’ve been a huge gain if it weren’t cleanly dropped by the receiver.
One big knock of Hogan is that he has a weak arm. This is a hard throw to make to begin with, but Hogan’s lack of arm strength is on full display in this throw when he fails to get the ball out to his open man.
At the NFL level, I’d like to see Hogan take more advantage of what the defensive gives him. In this GIF, Hogan misses on his receiver downfield that is wide open. This is a throw I’d like to see Hogan make.
When I look at Hogan, it’s easy to see a guy that has improved each season. Hogan is an interesting player because he embodies many of the skills teams desire out of a backup quarterback. He has excellent anticipation skills, he’s extremely intelligent, and he’s accurate at all three levels of the defense.
How does Hogan fit in Dallas? Because the Dallas Cowboys have a glaring need at the quarterback position, Hogan is a guy they can draft in either Round 3 or even Round 4. He has a ton of traits to like and if he’s placed in the right offensive philosophy, he will succeed. I’m a bigger fan of Hogan that I thought I’d be and if he ended up being drafted by the Cowboys on Day 2, I wouldn’t be that upset at all.
Games watched: USC, Northwestern, and Notre Dame.
Next up on the docket: Jacoby Brissett
