NFL DraftScouting Reports

2016 NFL Draft Film Review: Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State University

2016 NFL Draft Film Review: Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State University

By: Sam Hopkins aka @SamHnfl24

Christian Hackenberg of Penn State is rising up draft boards
Christian Hackenberg of Penn State is rising up draft boards
Christian Hackenberg | QB | Penn State | 6’4″ 220 lbs.

Games Watched: Penn State vs. Nebraska (2013), Penn State vs. Syracuse (2013), Penn State vs. Ohio State (2014), Penn State vs. Central Florida (2014), Penn State vs. Massachusetts (2014), Penn State vs. Temple (2014), Penn State vs. Northwestern (2014)

*All games watched courtesy of Draft Breakdown 


Strengths: 

-Ideal size
-Very strong arm, can make every throw with ease
-High football I.Q., made a lot of reads in a very pro-style offense as a freshman
-Great at precisely going through his progressions
-Terrific accuracy and ball placement when he’s on his game
-Showed a ton of poise and composure behind a bad offensive line last season
-Good feel for pressure
-“Plus” mobility and athleticism
-LeaderWeaknesses
-Can try to do too much at times
-Accuracy sometimes is sporadically streaky
-Flat out didn’t see/recognize defenders at times and threw some interceptions because of it
-Regressed in 2014

Bottom Line: Hackenberg is my number one quarterback right now, but a lot can change in a year. At times, he reminds me of Andrew Luck as a prospect with his combination of size, arm talent, intelligence, poise, leadership, “plus” mobility and experience in a pro-style offense. However, there are streaks where he is far closer to a Jay Cutler-like gunslinger than Andrew Luck. Christian Hackenberg must get back to his freshman form, get a little more consistent with his ball placement and win some more games in 2015.

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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