Carson Beck = Potential NFL Franchise QB

Georgia’s Carson Beck has all the makings of an NFL franchise quarterback (QB).

In his first full season as a starter for the Bulldogs, Beck was 13-1. He went 302 of 417 (72.4%) for 3,941 yards (9.5 avg.), with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. He looked every bit as good on game film.

One thing quickly became apparent…

Beck didn’t look inexperienced stepping in.

He looked as calm as a fighter pilot as he relentlessly attacked secondaries.

While it’s one thing to be great in college football, it’s another to successfully transition to the NFL. That bridge is widening thanks to the simplification of college offenses in response to player movement in the college transfer portal.

At the same time, the NFL has remained a faster and more complex game making the leap even harder.

NFL traits

With that said, there are still ‘tells,’ (traits) that help when projecting college QBs to the NFL (things that have been proven successful).

• Going through progressions (making multiple reads of receivers and defenders downfield before throwing)
• Quick and accurate throwing decisions
• On-point downfield ball placement (putting the ball in an ideal location for receivers to catch it and pick up additional yardage).

Beck shows all of those traits in spades.

His ability to get the ball out of his hand quickly popped on film. It was also confirmed by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Beck’s time to throw in 2023 was 2.39 seconds.

That’s astonishing.

What does that mean?

Beck is processing what he’s seeing and making throwing decisions, fast.

This has also kept him from getting sacked much (11).

Putting Beck’s time to throw into perspective…

Broncos first-round pick (2024 No. 12 overall) Bo Nix had the fastest time to throw amongst his first-round QB peers (2.44 seconds PFF) ⎯and Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa had the quickest time to throw in the NFL last season at 2.36 seconds (Next Gen Stats).

Spreading the ball around

This is a big one.

When I evaluated Bills’ QB Josh Allen, the thing that stuck out most was how unpredictably he spread the football all over the field.

Beck does the same thing keeping defenses chasing their tails from sideline to sideline.

• Short
• Intermediate
• Deep

Doesn’t matter. He keeps throwing.

Last season, eight different Georgia receivers logged 20+ catches.

Anything he needs to work on?

Yes.

Beck has a strong arm, and he has a lot of confidence in that arm. Even back in high school as a pitcher, he was throwing a fastball at 92 MPH.

Why is this a problem?

His rocket right arm allows him to fit his passes into tight throwing windows. However, sometimes he gets overconfident in his arm and it ends up being a pass breakup (PBU). I charted 34 PBUs in 14 games (2.42 avg.).

The other two big issues ⎯Beck is not as good under heavy pressure and he has tunnel vision that can either cause him to miss seeing defenders or misjudge where they are on the field.

Getting in his face doesn’t always work either, but it’s the only real chance a defense has.

#15 Carson Beck 6-foot-4, 220 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2024 Summer Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 83.1% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of May 9, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Game film reviewed (2023): Alabama, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida, UT Martin, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Auburn, Ball State, UAB, Vanderbilt, and FSU (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2025 NFL Draft Report

Lanky confident field general. Uptempo rhythm. In command. Aggressive, but patient. High football IQ. Smooth operator. QB camp poster child. Fancy ball handling. Some improv. Keeps defenders guessing. Can look off defenders. Killer instinct. Has a quick short game. Prefers attacking downfield. Tendency for throws to sail high when missing. Loves slants and dagger routes. Good throwing anticipation. Can also finesse throws. Deep ball (charted 16/31 51.6%). Fairly accurate on the move. A tough runner who picks up average chunks of yardage out of necessity. Protects his body.

What to watch for during the 2024 college football season:

1. Accurate under heavy pressure?

2. Does he learn how to tame that live arm?

3. Consistently seeing defenders?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.