Why the Slide?: Michael Pratt, QB, Tulane

This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, 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.

For a lot of the run-up to the 2024 NFL Draft, there were projections of Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt being a potential mid-round pick. Pratt was a consistent quarterback for the Green Wave over the last four years. He completed 66 percent of his passes in 2023 for 2,406 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. In 2022, he completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,010 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 217-pounder has quality size to him, but he did not stand out while participating at the Senior Bowl. Still, many were surprised when Pratt slid to the seventh round before getting drafted.

Multiple sources told WalterFootball.com that they did not view Pratt as having really slid in the 2024 NFL Draft. A couple of teams had him projected as a very late-round third-string quarterback competitor, while a couple of others had him in the undrafted free agent ranks. They said they did not feel Pratt was worth drafting and felt using a pick on him was a reach.

The Green Bay Packers ended Pratt’s slide in the seventh round, which was a very good landing spot. The Packers are set with Jordan Love as their starter, but they lack an established backup. Pratt will enter as the No. 3 quarterback behind Sean Clifford, but Clifford has not proven to be a good backup yet after being a fifth-round pick in 2023. Thus, Pratt should have a shot at beating out Clifford for the right to be the No. 2 quarterback. Green Bay might add a fourth quarterback for competition in training camp and the preseason though. Still, Pratt landed with a team that could easily decide to keep him as its third-string quarterback, and that is a lucky situation to walk into for a seventh-round pick.