Buffalo Bills: Final Grades for 2020 NFL Draft
By Ed Stein
Round 5, 22nd pick, 167th Overall
Jake Fromm, quarterback, University of Georgia Bulldogs
Maybe one of the biggest surprises in the entire draft was quarterback Jake Fromm‘s free fall into the fifth round. Pre-draft many thought he was a late second-to-early third-round pick. The Buffalo Bills were able to scoop him up with the 167th overall pick.
Fromm left Georgia with the second-highest passer rating among quarterbacks with over 30 attempts (156.2) and touchdown passes (78). He is also fourth all-time with 8,236 passing yards. The Bulldogs were 36-7 during his three-year tenure in Athens.
One of the reasons Fromm fell so far is that teams were worried about his arm strength. The consensus is that it’s about average. They believe he lacks the necessary “zip” on his passes or be able to take advantage of deep routes as well as put the ball into tight windows. Things an NFL quarterback has to do to be successful.
His 2018 was better than his 2019. I understand Fromm lost some key weapons in last year’s draft. But when he became the make-or-break player on his team, Fromm didn’t step up well enough. Defenses keyed on him, and Fromm didn’t come through the way he should have. One other point of concern, Fromm isn’t very mobile. On the bright side, he’ll throw the ball away before taking a bad sack.
Grade: C-
He’ll be a competent game manager at the next level and might even do reasonably well in a west coast system. I would have like to see Beane and Co. take a linebacker in this spot.