Arm Strength:

Kirk Cousins arm strength leaves a lot to be desired. He is capable of making all the throws, and he can sling it 50 yards down-field, but the problem is that his passes lack zip. Even on short and intermediate passes his passes don’t have a lot of velocity. While this is good in that he throws a very catchable ball, he’ll struggle completing these passes in the NFL. His deep balls tend to float as well and he has thrown some ducks over the middle that were easily picked off at the collegiate level. This will be a big issue if he doesn’t improve his arm strength in the NFL.

Grade: 2.0

Accuracy:

Cousins is generally an accurate quarterback but he is not great. His short passes are fairly accurate but I’d like to see him lead his receivers better. He starts to lose accuracy the further he throws down the field. Many of his intermediate passes come close to being broken up by defenders for two reasons. One being that they aren’t as accurate. I’ll touch on the other reason later. He rarely throws deep but when he does he is inconsistent in hitting his receiver in stride. Usually the passes are underthrown or the receiver has to make an adjustment in order to come down with ball.

Grade: 2.5

Mobility:

While Cousins is just an average athlete he shows some good mobility in the pocket. I’ve seen him escape out of pressure numerous times and he does have some nice moves to evade rushers. He’s not really a threat to scramble and that’s just not something he’s good at. He’s much better off in the pocket. Because of the offense he played in, he is used to rolling out a lot and does a good job of setting his feet when he does get out of the pocket.

Grade: 3.0

Decision Making:

I was a bit underwhelmed with Cousins decision making ability. While he generally makes the right read, he really does make some awful decisions at times. He’ll throw balls that have no business being thrown and it’s really concerning. When he’s pressured he’ll hesitate and sometimes throw some ducks that are picked off. Other times he throws the ball away, so it’s not like he panics all the time, he’s just not consistent. He also doesn’t appear to have great anticipation for routes coming open as he routinely makes throws too late. This was the second reason I was talking about. He won’t get away with this in the NFL like he did in college because NFL defensive backs are much smarter and faster and will undercut his receivers. As I touched on earlier, he rarely challenges defenses down-field and he is very much a dink-and-dunk quarterback. Whether he’s been coached to do this or him not trusting himself to make the throws, I do not know.

Grade: 2.0

Mechanics:

Cousins has solid mechanics. There’s nothing about his game that screams elite, but he is solid in some areas. He plays in a pro-style offense and has a lot of experience dropping back from under center. He has a nice over-the-top release, albeit not a quick one, but not a slow one either. His drop backs could use some work as he constantly finds himself with too wide of a base when he reaches the top of his drop. This throws off his balance and rhythm as a passer and leads to some of his passes floating. He could use some work here, but he’s more polished than most quarterbacks coming out of college.

Grade: 3.0

Pocket Awareness:

As I touched on earlier, Cousins has a pretty good feel for the pocket. He can sense pressure and knows when to step up to avoid the rush. He keeps his eyes down-field and will extend plays. He stays in the pocket and won’t scramble unless he has to, which is a good sign. At times though he may hold onto the ball too long trying to make a play but this doesn’t happen often and you have to understand the circumstances.

Grade: 3.0

Intangibles:

A 3 year starter playing in a pro-style offense. Never had any major injuries. Puts up solid numbers against good competition. Known as a good leader but seems too calm in games. I guess he leads more by example than his words. Has won games but has also lost a lot of big games. Never really did take Michigan State over the hump and has suffered through some blowouts. Coaches and scouts have raved about his leadership qualities and his calm demeanor.

Grade: 3.5

Outlook:

I really don’t see anything special in Cousins. He’s average in just about every area of his game and there’s nothing that tells me he will be a great starter in the NFL. I feel as though he is overrated in the draftnik community and will be drafted a lot lower than most expect. He is a game manager that operates a dink-and-dunk offense that lacks the arm to truly be a great NFL quarterback. Right now I see him more as a back-up as opposed to a starter. I don’t know that he will ever be a successful starting quarterback in the NFL, and that does not warrant a high draft pick.