NFL draft: Connor Cook, Cody Kessler rated as top senior QBs in 2016

One of the two primary scouting services employed by NFL teams rates Michigan State’s Connor Cook and USC’s Cody Kessler as its top two senior quarterbacks, the Shutdown Corner has learned.

Cook is not a surprise given his class- QB stature — 6-4 and 222 pounds, with a hose for am arm. He might have been a first-round pick had he declared early this past winter.

But National Scouting (the other one is BLESTO) also gave a first-round grade to Kessler, the 6-1, 213-pound quarterback who turned in a statistically stunning 2014 season, entering this year prior to the inclusion of any underclassmen.

[Yahoo Fantasy Football: Still not too late to sign up for a league]

The dynamic will change when underclassmen enter the picture, but it’s interesting that Kessler, who has less than prototypical NFL size and arm strength, was graded only a shade lower than Cook, who — at least to the eye test — seems to fit more of what NFL teams traditionally have sought.

Kessler’s game is centered on precision and decision-making. He completed 315-of-452 passes (69.7 percent) for 3,826 yards with 39 TDs and only five interceptions last season and is off to another scorching start in 2014, completing 45-of-57 passes (78.9 percent) for 650 yards with seven TDs and no interceptions in blowouts over Arkansas State and Idaho.

The Trojans’ next slate of games — vs. Stanford, at Arizona State, vs. Washington, at Notre Dame, vs. Utah — should be a far better test for Kessler to see how he holds up.

Kessler prides himself on not throwing picks, and his career interception rate (12 picks in 872 passes) is an incredible 1.4 percent. He watches Drew Brees tape and appears to model his game after Brees — minus some of the risk taking we saw from him last season — which would be a good way to quell issues over Kessler’s lack of ideal measurables.

Cook has been impressive in the Spartans’ two victories, first over Eastern Michigan and then over No. 7 Oregon, but is completing only 55.6 percent of his passes. Scouts have dinged him for his lack of pristine accuracy, which has hovered around the 58-percent mark throughout his starting career, but like Kessler he has avoided interceptions beautifully (16 in 825 career attempts).

[Yahoo Daily Fantasy Football: Enter our $1 Million Week 2 contest]

It might be hard for Kessler to raise his draft stock beyond that of where Cook might go, and each of them could be surpassed by underclassmen such as Cal’s Jared Goff, Ohio State’s Cardale Jones or Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg. But don’t sleep on Kessler as a top-50 selection by the time the draft rolls along, as there could be a number of teams looking to draft a quarterback in 2016. 

Draft notes

• A league-issued press release indicated that LSU is the school that currently is best represented in the NFL with 40 players. Next most: Miami (37), USC (35), Alabama and Georgia (34 apiece). It should be no surprise that the Tigers are likely to send more talent the NFL’s way next year, as National Scouting gave draftable grades to four seniors in Baton Rouge — OG Vadal Alexander, DB Jalen Mills, TE Dillon Gordon and P Jamie Keehn. In addition, the Tigers have underclassmen CB Tre’Davious White, ILB Kendell Beckwith and WR Travin Dural who could consider coming out early.

• The mystery surrounding Ole Miss OLT Laremy Tunsil continues. He returned to school as one of the most hyped prospects in the country, a possible top-10 pick, but has yet to take the field amid an NCAA investigation over a possible rules violation. That might not hurt his draft stock, per se, as NFL evaluators might not care too much about something in line with receiving illegal benefits. It certainly didn’t prevent recent top-10 picks such as Todd Gurley and A.J. Green from going high even though both were suspended multiple games. But missing time on the field — and the school is bracing for this limbo to continue — might allow what appears to be a solid group of offensive tackles to steal a little of the spotlight away and put out more quality tape while Tunsil sits.

• Oklahoma WR Sterling Shepard has been on NFL teams’ radars for some time, and he’s rated by National as a late first-round, early second-round pick. A shade under 5-10 and 192 pounds, Shepard is built similarly to and has a game that compares to recent draftees Tyler Lockett, T.Y. Hilton, Antonio Brown and Randall Cobb. Although NFL teams love long, rangy wide receivers, receivers such as Shepard who can separate, find holes in coverage and make clutch plays — such as his game-tying TD with 40 seconds left in regulation and his game-winner in the second overtime — deserve to be taken in the top 50 picks.

– – – – – – –

Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm