Ryan Finley is a prospect to watch this upcoming season.
Ryan Finley is going into his Senior year and looks like one of the better quarterbacks in this draft. The trait that stands out about him is how he can throw under pressure. This will help him at the next level when the game is quicker. Finley also has good pocket awareness and has the mobility to run if he needs to. I like the way he can get the ball out quick although he doesn’t always do that. He looked comfortable when he played a good Clemson team which shows that the adjustment to the next level may not be so hard. Finley has good footwork which helps him deliver crisp passes. I like that he has some zip on his passes and that his arm is strong even though he did not show it as much in a West Coast like offense. The last thing to admire about Finley’s game is the way he can go through his progressions.
The aspect of Finley’s game that worries me is that he can be hot and cold in terms of accuracy. He shows the ability to fit passes into tight windows and then he can miss some throws that he should make. I also noticed he has trouble at times attacking downfield with his passes. I think he needs to learn to make better reads and he needs to not get caught staring down the receiver.
At this point, I would put Finley in the Day One category. He will need to improve his accuracy if he wants to have a long career in the NFL. He probably could have come out last year, but may have been overshadowed by guys like Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold. I think another year will make him a more polished prospect.
