The Seahawks attended former Alabama QB Greg McElroy's pro day on Tuesday, and were the only NFL team on hand. The Seahawks representatives were southeast scout Derrick Jensen and Quarterbacks Coach Carl Smith. The fact that they were on hand could mean anything, but it can be guessed that the Hawks are doing their due diligence and have McElroy in mind in the later rounds if their first couple of options don't work out.
Even if the Hawks do take a QB early in the draft, that doesn't necessarily preclude them from taking another one later on. Keep in mind the Seahawks have only one QB signed at the moment and so the idea of drafting a second, developmental QB in the late rounds is not out of the question. John Schneider's Green Bay Packers did that in '08 when they drafted Brian Brohm in the 2nd and Matt Flynn in the 7th.
The 6'2, 225lb QB threw for 2,982 yards with a 70.6% completion rate, with 19 TDs to only 5 interceptions his senior year at Alabama. His QB rating was 168.98 on the year. His high completion rate and knack for taking care of the ball could be a very attractive trait to Pete Carroll and company - and they may be willing to take a flier on the signal caller. He is a semi-mobile QB - he ran the 40 in the 4.8 range - not terrible, so he could handle the bootlegs and half rollouts expected to be omnipresent in the Hawks offense next year. He throws accurately on the run for the mid-range throws but lacks a lot of zip on his deep ball, according to scouting reports. The main knock on McElroy is his throwing motion, and many experts believe that NFL teams will want him to change it, much like was done with Tim Tebow. This has hurt his stock immensely.
One thing that McElroy possesses is intelligence - he scored 43 out of 50 on the Wonderlic and got the best score of any QB in the draft this year, was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist last year and already has finished his Master's Degree in Sports Administration with a 4.0 GPA. In other words, you won't have to worry about him learning your offense or putting in the time in the film room
Here is what Brad Noel of CBSSports had to say about McElroy:
Positives: A winner, even a national champion, both in high school and college. Can be very accurate with good footwork. Two-year SEC starter demonstrates good ability to read coverage and make the right decision. Excellent TD/INT ratio. Has a nice touch on deep throws. While not blessed with a cannon arm, has enough arm strength to make most throws. Decent pocket presence and ability to detect pressure.
Negatives: Has a hitch in the throwing motion, where the wrist turns the ball almost 180 degrees right before his elbow starts moving forward. Most NFL teams will insist on correcting that. Not fast, agile or mobile. When pressured, has a tendency to lose his footwork, and that is when his accuracy fails. May have disproportionately benefited from superior supporting casts in both college and high school.
I personally like that the Seahawks were on hand for McElroy's pro day. The first reason being that they may have also been there scouting South Alabama WR Courtney Smith, a small-school mid to late round guy with off the charts physical potential that I've mentioned before. The second reason is that I actually like McElroy. I don't think you want to draft him with the hopes that he comes in to be your franchise QB, but he's a guy that could come in and be a very solid backup QB with the potential to be able to run your offense. He would come at a relatively cheap price if he were to go in the 6th, and if he slid even farther he'd be a great PFA signing.
To me, McElroy is a similar quarterback to say Andy Dalton or Christian Ponder - everyone describes these guys the exact same way they describe McElroy - good leader, smart, accurate throwers, good on the move in the intermediate range but lack elite arm strength for the deep passes. I know I'm oversimplifying it for sure and selling both Dalton and Ponder way short - as they have both been mocked into the first round these days, but if you're going to want a guy that can just 'run your offense', like many people think the Seahawks will be doing if they draft Ponder or Dalton, why not get it at a discount? Why give up a first or second round pick for a player with limited upside but a solid ability to run your offense, when you can get a player with a similar skill-set late in the draft. I'm not just talking about McElroy either - Ricky Stanzi, Nathan Enderle and Scott Tolzien all fall into this category as well.
Either way, I'm sort of ranting now so I'll stop. It's interesting to say the least though that the Seahawks were the only team to attend.
Here's a video of his workout with WR Courtney Smith catching passes as well.