Best QB? Top sleeper? Covering four NFL draft topics with NFL scouting sources

The NFL draft starts Thursday night.

In advance, On3 polled Senior Bowl executive director and former NFL scout Jim Nagy as well as two additional NFL scouting sources on some NFL draft-related topics, including top sleeper and best quarterback prospect outside of the projected top five at that position.

Here are the questions and their answers:

Which player outside of the projected top 10 or so picks would you bet the most money on to have a highly successful and productive NFL career?

Nagy: I’d probably say (offensive lineman) Cody Mauch from North Dakota State. He’s the only guy in the draft that can play all five spots. Whoever drafts him is going to have a spot for him. Highly, highly athletic. Nastiest guy in this year’s draft. Great character guy. Great locker room guy. I think he’s going to be a really good pro. And he can play five spots, so he’ll play right away and he’ll be a really good player wherever he plays at. That question kind of lends itself to offensive line because when you’re talking offensive linemen up high, it’s not much of a bust rate up there for those guys.

NFL scouting source 1: Not a sexy pick, but Joe Tippmann, the center from Wisconsin. I just think Joe, he’s kind of undervalued in the internet world, but I think he might sneak into (round) one. If not, he’ll go in the first few picks in the second round. I just think he’s not getting talked about enough. I think he’s really good.

NFL scouting source 2: Peter Skoronski, but I guess he would be a top-10 consideration. So no, he doesn’t count. I really like the kid from Ole Miss, the receiver, Jonathan Mingo. I think he’s going to be a solid pro. He’s like your classic second-round pick. It’s just going to be a solid pro. Those guys (Skoronski and Mingo), they’re very consistent. They play and practice and prepare like pros already. They’re already very mature on the field. You can tell that they have a high level of understanding of the game. And it comes out with very consistent play. And then you combine that with, for their positions, they both play very strong and they’re just the kind of guys that are good immediate fits into the NFL. They’re just the type of guys that you can see that will come in and the game won’t be too big for them. They’ll be able to fit in right away and be consistent at that.

Which quarterback would you bet on to ultimately have the best NFL career?

Nagy: It would be Bryce (Young), but I think the highest ceiling guy is (Anthony) Richardson, and he’s not as big of a project as I think people are making him out to be. I don’t see that significant of a project. You’ve got a chance to hit on Anthony Richardson higher than any of these guys. He’s got a much higher ceiling. But I think that the safest one right now is Bryce and the best one right now is Bryce.

NFL scouting source 1: Bryce. I like Bryce as a player and I think he’s the best one. And I bet on the ability and the person on that one.

NFL scouting source 2: Bryce. Two of the most important traits, and he has them, are really accuracy and instincts. Really all the other guys are below him in those things, so yeah, he’s the smallest of all the top quarterbacks, but he’s the top in terms of the most important traits, quarterback intuition and accuracy. So you’ve got to bet on that in this game where you have to win from the pocket.

Outside of the projected top five QBs — Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson and Hendon Hooker — which of the other quarterbacks do you expect to end up having the best NFL career?

Nagy: Jake Haener from Fresno State. He’s a gamer. He knows how to play the position. He’s mobile. He can move around. He’s clutch. He’s accurate. He’s just a great kid. He’s the guy that some team’s going to draft him to be a backup and that kid’s going to figure out a way to start in the league and be a good starter.

NFL scouting source 1: I think Jake Haener is probably going to be the next one after Hooker’s taken. I think he’s got some kind of Gardner Minshew type qualities. I think he’s really smart and he works really hard. I think he’s going to go higher than people think.

NFL scouting source 2: I like Max Duggan. Max checks the boxes for being a great backup for sure. He’s a pro. He’s got the size to be durable long-term. He’s played in a big program and played in big games with pressure.

Who’s a player that may not go in the first three rounds that you’d bet on to have a highly productive NFL career?

Nagy: Michael Wilson, Stanford (wide receiver). I think he’s going in the fourth round. If he didn’t have the play history stuff for the last couple of years, he’d go top of the second (round).

NFL scouting source 1: Chandler Zavala, the guard at NC State. He didn’t even get a combine invite, which blows my mind. I just think he’s got make-it traits. He’s got starter traits. He’s a good guard. He’s scheme versatile. Can play in a gap scheme or a zone scheme. He understands leverage. He’s got those qualities of the guys that make it that are gritty, tough and it’s not always pretty but he finds a way to win consistently. I don’t know why he didn’t get more play leading up to the draft.

NFL scouting source 2: Jammie Robinson at Florida State. Not a top three round guy, but he’s got a definite ability he can hang his hat on, which is playing nickel. He’s tough and he’s competitive.