Weaknesses:
Summary: Bray has all the physical skills to be a good NFL quarterback. He has a powerful arm that can make all the throws in every level of the defense. He has great height to see the field and good pocket presence. There is no doubt that Bray has a powerful arm to beat NFL defensive backs and he clearly has the talent to develop into a starter.
Still, Bray is very much a work in progress. He really has to improve his accuracy and decision-making. If Bray can get more uniform with his feet that would really help him to throw more passes on the money. At times Bray will throw perfect passes downfield, so he has displayed the potential to be an accurate quarterback. If Bray can mimic the feet of Peyton Manning that could go along way to vastly improving his accuracy.
As a junior in 2012, Bray had a bunch of uneven games. He had a great start to the season with a huge game against North Carolina State. He targeted and abused one the nation’s top cornerbacks, David Amerson, with two long touchdown passes. Bray was 27-of-41 for 333 yards and two touchdowns versus the Wolfpack. He had some struggles against Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi State. There was no legitimate reason for it but Bray was benched against Vanderbilt. He had huge performances against South Carolina, Troy and Missouri. In 2012 Bray completed 59 percent of his passes this season, collecting 3,612 yards, 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Bray completed 59 percent of his passes as as sophomore in 2011, totaling 1,983 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. He had a hand/thumb injury that caused him to miss five games and hurt him down the stretch. Bray completed 55.8 percent of his passes as a freshman for 1,849 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
It is clear that Bray is a pocket passer. He is not a mobile quarterback and is not a threat to pick up yards on the ground. His line is going to be under more pressure to give Bray a clean pocket.
In college Bray struggled with his decision-making at times. He was repeatedly hurt by dropped passes and Tennessee’s program had a lot of turmoil over the last few seasons. Bray wasn’t in the best place to succeed and make the most of his physical talents.
However, NFL coaches are going to like the teaching he received from Jim Chaney at Tennessee. Chaney is well regarded in the NFL and has given Bray preparation in a pro style offense.
If Bray is developed well, he could turn into a quality starting quarterback in the NFL. Because Bray is a project with some significant accuracy issues to overcome, he’ll probably fall to the second day of the draft. Bray would be best in a pro-style offense with a lot of downfield passing based off of play-action with a quality running game. A West Coast offense wouldn’t be as good of a fit for Bray.
Player Comparison: Ryan Mallett/Drew Bledsoe. Just like Bray, Mallett is a pocket passer who has good size with a cannon for an arm. Mallett is a backup quarterback who has only really played in the preseason, so if you want another comparison to draw upon, Bledsoe would work. Bray’s style of play is similar to Bledsoe. If things go really well for Bray in his career, I could see him being a quarterback of Bledsoe’s caliber.
NFL Matches: Kansas City, Arizona, Buffalo, New York Jets, Oakland, Dallas, New England Obviously the Chiefs, Cardinals and Bills are all in dire need of franchise quarterbacks. If any of those teams pass on the position in the first round, Bray could be one of their targets in Round 2. It also wouldn’t be surprising if a team that’s desperate feels compelled to trade back into the end of the first round if they fall in love with Bray and absolutely have to have him.
There are a number of teams that could select Bray on the second day of the draft. The Jets have to find a replacement for Mark Sanchez since they wouldn’t give Tim Tebow a chance. Oakland needs a long-term starter and could develop Bray behind Carson Palmer for a year or two.
The Cowboys could consider Bray if he falls to the third round. Dallas may want to think of drafting Tony Romo’s replacement and giving him some time to develop behind Romo while the Pro Bowler finishes out his career.
New England could target a quarterback if they trade Mallett for a team looking for a young signal-caller who already has had some developmental work in the NFL.
RELATED LINKS:
2013 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2013 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2013 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
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2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20
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