Former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who will participate in the NFL scouting combine next week, must show NFL teams that he has the necessary arm strength to be successful in the pros, according to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper.
“The only thing that is going to be on display there, he’s going to have to show that (he has) the necessary arm strength,” Kiper said on a conference call Wednesday. “Because that’s going to determine if he is Aaron Murray (or) is he Andy Dalton? I think that’s what everybody is trying to figure out. ... Maybe he’s more like Aaron Murray? Well, maybe he’s more like Andy Dalton? If he’s Andy Dalton, you’re talking about a second-round or early second-round type quarterback.
“If he’s Aaron Murray you are talking about a later-round quarterback who is now playing in the XFL. So, again, that’s where people will have to make that decision based on arm strength.”
Murray is a former Georgia quarterback (2009-13), who was taken by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He’s spent time with the Cardinals, Eagles and Rams of the NFL, but has never played in a regular-season game. He also played quarterback for the Atlanta Legends of the defunct Alliance of American Football league and currently is with the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL.
Dalton, who played at TCU, was taken in the second round (35th overall) of the 2011 draft by the Bengals. He started 133 games over nine seasons for the Bengals and went to three Pro Bowls. He lost his job last season and currently is on the trading block.
Fromm will go down as one of the more prolific passers in Georgia history.
Fromm’s 8,224 career passing yards rank fourth on UGA’s all-time list. His 78 career touchdown passes put him in second place on UGA’s all-time list, and he ranks fourth and fifth, respectively, on UGA's lists of career completions and attempts.
Fromm led UGA to 37 wins in 43 games over three seasons, starting all but the first one, when he replaced an injured Jacob Eason during the third offensive series of the game. The Bulldogs won an SEC championship, a Rose Bowl and three SEC East titles during Fromm’s career.
Eason, who has a big arm and transferred to Washington, is projected to go 23rd overall to New England in Kiper’s latest mock draft.
“We know he has the smarts,” Kiper said of Fromm. “We know he has the leadership. We know he’s an accurate passer. Forget the numbers (from 2019), he lost all of his receivers going into this year.
“We know he can do all of that, but is the arm good enough? That’s what people are going to be really scrutinizing with Fromm going through this whole draft process leading up and into late April which will determine if he’s a second-round pick or a fourth- or fifth-round pick.
“I think after it’s all said and done that he may fall into the third round. But the second round is a possibility if that arm showcases to be well enough.”
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