Our “Why the Slide” series parallels and grew out our “Why Undrafted” series. The latter was created a number of years ago in response to your questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For both series, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”
Both series are back this year. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
The TCU Horned Frogs had an incredible 2022 season, rolling through the Big XII before beating Michigan in the college football playoff to get into the National Championship against Georgia. Duggan was the heart and soul of the TCU team, showing incredible toughness while leading a point-machine offense. In 2022, Duggan completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,698 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also had 423 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. Many around the league thought that Duggan could go in the early rounds of Day 3 and had an outside shot of sneaking into the second day, but Duggan fell all the way to the seventh round before getting drafted.
Sources shared with WalterFootall.com that Duggan simply slipped through the draft and could have gone earlier, but teams had evaluted that he was a limited backup for the NFL. Some sources viewed Duggan as “Sam Ehlinger 2.0” thanks to inconsistent accuracy and ball placement. They also said Duggan was not a natural thrower of the ball. Hence, he was viewed as a backup at best and might only ever be a third-stringer.
The Los Angeles Chargers ended Duggan’s slide in Round 7, and they were a mixed landing spot for him. On the plus side, Duggan should be in line to be the third-string quarterback for the Chargers. He also is awarded developmental time thanks to the franchise having an established starter. On the negative side, Justin Herbert will be the Chargers’ starter for a long time, so Duggan is blocked on the depth chart. Duggan will need to play well in the preseason games to earn a backup spot and then play well if injuries force him onto the field. If Duggan does well, he could end up playing himself into starting competition for another team in a few years.
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