Before the NFL season, Sports Illustrated reached out to scouts who, speaking anonymously, named the most overrated (and, on a more positive note, most underrated) player for each team in the NFL. A quarter of the season complete, RealClearLife decided to pull out some of the highlights among the overrated. Quarterbacks tend to be highly represented on these lists — after all, it’s the key position on a team and the one with the most measurable stats — so here are some QBs the scouts called out, and how questionable those calls seem now.
The Scouts Called It
Kirk Cousins, Washington: “QB play is not dynamic enough for them to run away with the division this year.” Washington has fallen behind division rivals the Eagles and the Cowboys, even with both of those teams starting rookies at quarterback. While Cousins isn’t a disaster, he’s not throwing many touchdowns and currently averages an interception a game.
Brock Osweiler, Houston: “When you come off the bench as a second-round pick who hasn’t played, there really is not a whole lot of pressure on you. And now, when you get the big contract, the expectations, and the pressure is a lot different. It will be interesting to see how he deals with that.” So far Osweiler’s dealt with it by throwing more picks than touchdowns, which is a sure recipe for an angry fan base.
The Scouts Fumbled
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia: “He has a hitch in his delivery where his elbow flares out, and he’s kind of a rigid guy in the pocket—mechanical is the word that comes to mind.” Wentz has looked like a Pro Bowler for the Eagles and established himself as the most popular man in Philly since Ben Franklin.
Andy Dalton, Cincinnati: “Dalton is one of the classic examples of a quarterback who gets way too much praise when things go right and way too much blame when things go wrong.” While his team only won half of its first four games, Dalton overcame his offensive line collapsing in a Week 1 victory over the Jets (he threw for 366 yards despite seven sacks), showing the Red Rifle actually does sometimes deserve some credit.
Of course, the real fun is finding out what they said about your team. For the complete AFC reports, click here. For the complete NFC, click here.
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