Wonderlic Wonders 2022 Draft

olyfan63

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What will become of the Wonderlic Wonders rookie QB class of 2022? Will they outperform the non-Wonders, validating the usefulness of this metric?
I'm not for or against, just amused and curious. Kind of like, "do better spellers make better office workers?" Of course not. "Yeah, bad spellers always say that."

A Wonderlic Wonder (my made-up term) is a QB who scores 30 or above on this test. The 2022 Wonderlic Wonders are:
(Source: https://www.yardbarker.com/college_...cores_released_for_qb_class/s1_17022_37436258)

3. Malik Willis
malik willis
Wonderlic score: 32
Where he played: Liberty
A former 3-star prospect back in 2017, Willis began his college football career at Auburn, where he played for two seasons. He transferred to Liberty after getting minimal snaps in the SEC, developing into one of the better playmakers in the nation. He passed for over 2,000 yards in each of the last two seasons, with 20 touchdowns in 2020 and 27 scores in 2021, completing 61 percent of his pass attempts.

2. Sam Howell
sam howell
Wonderlic score: 34
Where he played: North Carolina
Howell never had trouble covering the field, passing for over 3,000 yards in each of his three seasons with the Tar Heels. He never completed under 61 percent of his passes and never had a double-digit interception season as a collegian. Last season, Howell passed for almost 63 percent with over 3,000 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions for an offense that placed No. 10 overall in college football.

1. Bailey Zappe
bailey zappe
Wonderlic score: 35
Where he played: Western Kentucky
Zappe moved to WKU from Houston Baptist last offseason and immediately left an imprint on the game. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for an outstanding 5,967 yards with 62 touchdowns in the 2021 season. He broke the former passing yardage record held by B.J. Symons back in 2003, and the passing touchdown record Joe Burrow set (60) during LSU's national title run in 2019. This offseason, Zappe set another record, leading all quarterbacks in the IQ test.

The format I am suggesting is to choose your favorite-for-the-moment and post periodic updates on them, scouting reports, highlights--if they get any playing time, whenever the spirit moves you, plus any analysis/observations you have. I think the Wonderlic test itself, and its debated usefulness have been discussed in other past threads, so that's not the intended topic; rather the PLAY or current STATUS of the 2022 Wonderlic Wonders is the topic.
 
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olyfan63

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Wonderlic Wonder: Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky
bailey zappe Wonderlic score: 35

STATUS: Rookie QB Bailey Zappe got several drives of playing time with the NE Patriots in their first preseason game, playing against the NY Giants.
HIGHLIGHTS: https://www.nfl.com/videos/bailey-zappe-s-best-throws-from-nfl-debut-preseason-week-1

COMMENTS: Zappe seems to have the rifle arm of a Dave Krieg (sarcasm) combined with the speed, elusiveness and scrambling ability of Dan Marino. In the game vs the Giants, Zappe's most successful throws all seemed to be "back shoulder" kinds of throws, where the receiver stopped and let the defender fly by and then gathered in the pass that was thrown behind. I didn't see any "NFL-quality arm" zinger throws in the highlights, but maybe I missed them. Several times Zappe had to scramble around in the pocket and avoid the rush, and he seems to have decent pocket awareness, and good improvisational ability off the scramble. If nothing else, Zappe was entertaining to watch, and he did have a TD pass--back shoulder of course.

Zappe looks like he would be a good practice squad QB, or maybe even roster as a 3rd stringer, and he would be a good guy to have in the QB room and with a clipboard on the sidelines. If he helps turn analyzing defenses into a fun learning adventure that helps Mac Jones continue to develop, that would be a reason to keep him around. He doesn't seem to have the NFL-level physical tools, but maybe a year or two of NFL physical development and weightroom time could help him develop a more viable arm for NFL-quality throws.

NFL comp(s): Dave Krieg arm with Dan Marino scrambling ability.

Sam Howell or Malik Willis updates, anyone?
 

KinesProf

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What will become of the Wonderlic Wonders rookie QB class of 2022? Will they outperform the non-Wonders, validating the usefulness of this metric?
I'm not for or against, just amused and curious. Kind of like, "do better spellers make better office workers?" Of course not. "Yeah, bad spellers always say that."

A Wonderlic Wonder (my made-up term) is a QB who scores 30 or above on this test. The 2022 Wonderlic Wonders are:

3. Malik Willis
malik willis
Wonderlic score: 32
Where he played: Liberty
A former 3-star prospect back in 2017, Willis began his college football career at Auburn, where he played for two seasons. He transferred to Liberty after getting minimal snaps in the SEC, developing into one of the better playmakers in the nation. He passed for over 2,000 yards in each of the last two seasons, with 20 touchdowns in 2020 and 27 scores in 2021, completing 61 percent of his pass attempts.

2. Sam Howell
sam howell
Wonderlic score: 34
Where he played: North Carolina
Howell never had trouble covering the field, passing for over 3,000 yards in each of his three seasons with the Tar Heels. He never completed under 61 percent of his passes and never had a double-digit interception season as a collegian. Last season, Howell passed for almost 63 percent with over 3,000 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions for an offense that placed No. 10 overall in college football.

1. Bailey Zappe
bailey zappe
Wonderlic score: 35
Where he played: Western Kentucky
Zappe moved to WKU from Houston Baptist last offseason and immediately left an imprint on the game. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for an outstanding 5,967 yards with 62 touchdowns in the 2021 season. He broke the former passing yardage record held by B.J. Symons back in 2003, and the passing touchdown record Joe Burrow set (60) during LSU's national title run in 2019. This offseason, Zappe set another record, leading all quarterbacks in the IQ test.

The format I am suggesting is to choose your favorite-for-the-moment and post periodic updates on them, scouting reports, highlights--if they get any playing time, whenever the spirit moves you, plus any analysis/observations you have. I think the Wonderlic test itself, and its debated usefulness have been discussed in other past threads, so that's not the intended topic; rather the PLAY or current STATUS of the 2022 Wonderlic Wonders is the topic.

Here is a link to the article where these plagiarized words came from:

https://www.yardbarker.com/college_...cores_released_for_qb_class/s1_17022_37436258
 
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olyfan63

olyfan63

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Here is a link to the article where these plagiarized words came from:

https://www.yardbarker.com/college_...cores_released_for_qb_class/s1_17022_37436258
My bad, I intended to include that link. I'll add it as a reference. The article also has the Wonderlic scores for the rest of the 2022 QB class. I was surprised at the low scores for Matt Corral and Kenny Pickett. FWIW, I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with the the "Wonderlic Wonder" because it's an obvious linguistic device, and also inspired by the "1 hit wonder" tag sometimes given to musicians who have one highly memorable song.
 
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ivotuk

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Didn't Alex Smith get a perfect score? Wonderlic has about as much predictive value as preseason.
 

toffee

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Wonderlic Wonder: Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky
bailey zappe Wonderlic score: 35

STATUS: Rookie QB Bailey Zappe got several drives of playing time with the NE Patriots in their first preseason game, playing against the NY Giants.
HIGHLIGHTS: https://www.nfl.com/videos/bailey-zappe-s-best-throws-from-nfl-debut-preseason-week-1

COMMENTS: Zappe seems to have the rifle arm of a Dave Krieg (sarcasm) combined with the speed, elusiveness and scrambling ability of Dan Marino. In the game vs the Giants, Zappe's most successful throws all seemed to be "back shoulder" kinds of throws, where the receiver stopped and let the defender fly by and then gathered in the pass that was thrown behind. I didn't see any "NFL-quality arm" zinger throws in the highlights, but maybe I missed them. Several times Zappe had to scramble around in the pocket and avoid the rush, and he seems to have decent pocket awareness, and good improvisational ability off the scramble. If nothing else, Zappe was entertaining to watch, and he did have a TD pass--back shoulder of course.

Zappe looks like he would be a good practice squad QB, or maybe even roster as a 3rd stringer, and he would be a good guy to have in the QB room and with a clipboard on the sidelines. If he helps turn analyzing defenses into a fun learning adventure that helps Mac Jones continue to develop, that would be a reason to keep him around. He doesn't seem to have the NFL-level physical tools, but maybe a year or two of NFL physical development and weightroom time could help him develop a more viable arm for NFL-quality throws.

NFL comp(s): Dave Krieg arm with Dan Marino scrambling ability.

Sam Howell or Malik Willis updates, anyone?
Great analysis, noodle arm with some pocket presences? could be the second coming JimmyG?
 

toffee

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Didn't Alex Smith get a perfect score? Wonderlic has about as much predictive value as preseason.
Every time folks were down on Drew Lock, I like to remind them of Alex Smith. Smith's first 4 years were horrid, different OC every year and a HC Mike Nolan that didn't know what he was doing.
 
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olyfan63

olyfan63

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Didn't Alex Smith get a perfect score? Wonderlic has about as much predictive value as preseason.
Actually it was punter Pat McInally that got the perfect score.
Source: https://playersbio.com/highest-nfl-wonderlic-scores/

The top 8 Wonderlic QBs now have 3 Super Bowl titles, 2 from Eli Manning, and 1 from Matthew Stafford. However, I think the take-away there is that a #1 defense on your side makes any QB look a lot smarter regardless of Wonderlic score. A historic #1 defense can make even a bum like Trent Dilfer into a Super Bowl champion.

NamePositionWonderlic Score
12. Matthew StaffordQuarterback38/50
11. Eli ManningQuarterback39/50
10. Sean MannionQuarterback40/50
9. Alex SmithQuarterback40/50
8. Carson WentzQuarterback40/50
7. Blaine GabbertQuarterback42/50
6. Kevin CurtisWide Receiver48/50
5. Ben WatsonTight End48/50
4. Greg McElroyQuarterback48/50
3. Ryan FitzpatrickQuarterback48/50
2. Mike MamulaDefensive Linesman49/50
1. Pat McInallyPunter50/50
 
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olyfan63

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It doesn't look like any of the Wonderlic Wonders are on track for getting regular season snaps, barring injury or abject slump by the starter.
Malik Willis was annointed as the backup. I haven't heard where Sam Howell wound up on the depth chart. Anyone know?
 

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It doesn't look like any of the Wonderlic Wonders are on track for getting regular season snaps, barring injury or abject slump by the starter.
Malik Willis was annointed as the backup. I haven't heard where Sam Howell wound up on the depth chart. Anyone know?
ESPN shows Howell behind Heinicke and Wentz but, to me, Howell looked better than PIckett, Ridder, Willis, or Corral...vs Carolina, KC, and Baltimore.
 

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I'm not sure how relevant it is nowadays, but there used to be a prediction formula for QB success called the 26/27/60 rule:

If an NFL prospect scores at least a 26 on the Wonderlic test, starts at least 27 games in his college career and completes at least 60 percent of his passes, there's a good chance he will succeed at the NFL level.

 
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Bailey Zappe getting snaps and started 2 games in place of injured Mac Jones! Zappe is 2-0 in his two starts for the Patriots! Patriots are playing lights-out D

Any other Wonderlic Wonders getting regular season snaps?
 

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RiverDog

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Bret Favre and Terry Bradshaw are another couple of HOF QB's that had poor Wonderlic scores, so there's obviously exceptions. But apparently, it is an indicator or else they wouldn't be using them as they've been giving them for over 40 years.
 

chrispy

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I'm not sure how relevant it is nowadays, but there used to be a prediction formula for QB success called the 26/27/60 rule:

If an NFL prospect scores at least a 26 on the Wonderlic test, starts at least 27 games in his college career and completes at least 60 percent of his passes, there's a good chance he will succeed at the NFL level.

The article says Sam Bradford easily hits all three measures.... That, kind of, disqualifies the entire premise... doesn't it?
 

RiverDog

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The article says Sam Bradford easily hits all three measures.... That, kind of, disqualifies the entire premise... doesn't it?
No, it doesn't. Bradford wasn't exactly a bust, at least not in the same manner as guys like Ryan Leaf and JaMarcus Russell. He suffered two separate ACL injuries to the same knee, missing part of one season and all of the next. He spent 9 years in the league. He was a disappointment for sure, but it's hard to call him a bust or use his career as an example of the 26-27-60 being invalid.

Even if we accept your argument that Bradford was a bust, it doesn't invalidate the 26-27-60 rule. There are exceptions.
 
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olyfan63

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What the Patriots look for, and they factor in Wonderlic score to an extent:
"Be prepared to face a lot of questioning if you grade a quarterback high with a low test score."


Their formula seems to be working for drafting Mac Jones, and now, Bailey Zappe.
 

RiverDog

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What the Patriots look for, and they factor in Wonderlic score to an extent:
"Be prepared to face a lot of questioning if you grade a quarterback high with a low test score."


Their formula seems to be working for drafting Mac Jones, and now, Bailey Zappe.
Interesting. Thanks for the link!
 

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