Ricky Stanzi NFL Draft Scouting Report

Ricky Stanzi

6'4, 221 pounds | Quarterback | Iowa

Accuracy: This is an area of Stanzi's game that has seen substantial improvement throughout his career.  However, overall he still remains inconsistent hindering opportunities for extra yardage.  In the underneath passing game, Stanzi typically gets the ball out in front of his target allowing them to make a play after the catch.  On intermediate passes, he has a tendency to deliver the ball low and drive it into the ground.  Stanzi really struggles with his deep accuracy often under-throwing his target.  He appears to get too much loft on the football which allows the defense to get a good jump.

Arm strength: Stanzi has adequate arm strength with the ability to make all the throws.  However, he doesn't throw a clean and crisp football.  The ball appears to flutter and that is due to his tendency to throw flat footed and not drive off his back foot.  Stanzi needs to work on generating power from his back foot and torque from his hips to get more zip on his passes.  Overall, the potential and arm strength is present he just needs to refine some of this technique to maximize his results.

Decision making: Protecting the football and making sound decisions is an area where Stanzi struggled while at Iowa.  While I mention his struggles I have to make everyone aware of his improvements.  During his Senior season, Stanzi worked to protect the football and dropped his interception total from 15 to 6.  However, you still need to be aware of his tendency to force the ball into coverage.

Field vision:  While watching several Iowa games I got the sense that Stanzi didn't properly identify pre-snap blitz keys.  This was especially noticeable during the Arizona game where the pressure resulted in several sacks.  Stanzi's lack of pre-snap reads led to him not identifying his hot read and holding the football to long.  He also struggles to diagnosis the post snap information in a timely manner.  Stanzi's lack of anticipation allows defenders to get a jump on the football.

Mechanics: Stanzi has a balance and quick drop from under-center while keeping eyes down the field.  He keeps the football above his chest and tight to his body.  While going through his progressions, he struggles to set and reset his feet towards his target.  He possesses enough athletic ability to reset his feet and body but mental lapses make him inconsistent in this area.  Stanzi has a nice overhead delivering and he gets the ball out of his hands quickly.  However, he doesn't routinely step in to his throws and generate power from his hips.  This lack of proper footwork impacts the zip he gets on this throws. 

Pocket awareness: When faced with pressure, Stanzi stands tall in the pocket and remains calm.  He possesses good athleticism and lateral movement which allows him to avoid the rush.  Stanzi keeps his focus down the field searching for open targets.

Games Viewed: Arizona, Michigan State, Senior Bowl, Georgia Tech '09

Final word: There are a lot of people out there that like Stanzi a lot but I am just not one of those people.  There are things to like about his game but he is plagued with inconsistencies.  That being said, I do feel that he is a 4th round prospect with potential.  He needs to fine tune his mechanics and improve his decision making if he hopes to develop into a starter in the NFL.