What About Him? DJ Uiagalelei, QB, Oregon State

First Round Mock’s William Yanish looks at a college quarterback (QB) not many are talking about in the 2024 NFL Draft, Oregon State’s DJ Uiagalelei.

In the NFL lately, there has been an influx of big prototypical quarterbacks that not only have huge arms, but they can move. We can call this the Cam Newton generation.

At 6-foot-4, 252 pounds, David John “DJ” Uiagalelei is an interesting subject. He’s a force to be dealt with. An offseason transfer from Clemson put him in the driver’s seat at Oregon State.

With all the other quarterbacks in the Pac-12, he seems to be a forgotten commodity.

Uiagalelei has pro potential written all over him. The Los Angeles Dodgers even drafted him, but he declined to sign.

Uiagalelei

After transferring, Uiagalelei has had quite the season after leaving Clemson in his rear-view mirror.

Currently, he has the No. 13 ranked QBR according to espn.com (81.4). Numbers are just numbers by themselves. When we put that number into context, that’s higher than North Carolina’s QB Drake Maye (78.3), Texas QB Quinn Ewers (77.7), and Tennessee’s Joe Milton III (69.1). Maye, Ewers, and Milton are all names high on the draft radar.

He’s also been winning.

Uiagalelei has quietly won all but two games for Oregon State this season, which currently ranks No. 12 (CBS).

The Yanish Report

Big-bodied QB. Strong feet and heavy-handed. Moves well while on his feet. Dangerous scrambler. Takes more than one to tackle on a good day. Not a great vision of the field. Tries mechanically. Strong, strong arm. Ball placement, eh… Misses wide-open targets. He does work at it. Deep ball speaks. Accuracy can be good, but not great. Gets behind on some routes. The speed of the NFL will test him. Might sell out some receivers. Will stare down receivers. Knows tight ends. Good athlete. He will win some games. Quiet leader. Generates some excitement.

For the win

Nothing is more satisfying than having a draft with so many QBs. It just makes me wonder what the future will look like. A cookie-cutter mold seems to be in the works with the QBs, though.

Quarterbacking is more than just physical traits. A lot more. It is leadership, charisma, and belief. Uiagalelei will need to break out of the pack somehow and show more of the aforementioned qualities, otherwise, he will be just another backup QB somewhere with starter traits.

As much as he does excite at times, I like writing about more exciting ones.

Uiagalelei deserves a shot in the NFL – – in a round that will give him a chance to prosper without the pressure of the masses that high draft picks get.

He has all the talent and potential to make it to the next level, but he will need to prove it. That is all up to him when the opportunity presents itself.

My BIG three questions

1. I have never been so curious about this question, but what can he do to break away from this class of QBs?

2. Will he even declare for the NFL Draft this year?

3. Will he get a chance to have a decent mentor in the league?

How Uiagalelei stacks up and game film reviewed

My 2024 NFL Draft Value: Fourth-Round

2022 Game Film Evidence (Clemson No. 5)

Florida State

Georgia Tech

North Carolina State

2023 (Oregon State No. 5)

UCLA

Utah

Washington State

William Yanish III is a lifelong football fan. He’s from the little town of Crawford, Colorado. Along the way, he’s lived in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and Brookings, Oregon. Quarterback Joe Montana was his idol growing up. A little bit of CTE from life’s adventures killed his dreams as a football player. Now, he is an aspiring writer and Draft Analyst at FirstRoundMock.com. He’s a fanatic with a dream, which is coming true.