The University of Notre Dame has put plenty of quarterback talent into the NFL during its rich history. Names like Joe Montana, Joe Theisman, and Brady Quinn come to mind, but one name that is flying completely under the radar at the moment is quarterback prospect Sam Hartman.
One reason Hartman is drawing a lot of attention throughout the draft process is his obvious lack of arm talent compared to his future peers in the NFL. The lack of velocity coming from his arm could even outright remove a handful of vertical concepts completely from the playbook.
Yet, Hartman still had one of the best QB ratings in the country on deeper passing attempts in 2023, which suggests there is a possibility he could manage to be an outlier in that category, but still makes the landing crucial to maximizing his potential in the NFL.
After pulling the data from the PFN Mock Draft Simulator, here are the teams that could be the best potential landing spots for Hartman in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Which Teams Could Draft Sam Hartman?
Chicago Bears
The odds of the Chicago Bears not selecting a quarterback at No. 1 overall feel about as likely as the city of Chicago itself not seeing a single day of snow during winter. However, the possibility of the franchise selecting two quarterbacks at different points in the 2024 NFL Draft still exists.
Hartman’s path to becoming a valuable backup in the league is to excel in the quick game. Fortunately, the Bears added exceptional safety blanket options this offseason with Keenan Allen and D’Andre Swift.
If he can manage to pick up the playbook and process new Bears’ offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s system quickly, he could prove to be a valuable backup to whichever QB Chicago selects in this draft.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The reason why most are so certain the Bears are selecting a quarterback with the first overall pick in this draft is the fact the Pittsburgh Steelers just acquired Justin Fields via trade. In addition, the Steelers traded Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles shortly after signing veteran Russell Wilson this offseason.
Well, the Steelers may not be done making moves at the quarterback position this offseason, which is why Hartman has been popularly tied to Pittsburgh in our mock draft data.
Arthur Smith is the new offensive coordinator, which means we can expect them to run a lot of play action — Smith called play-action passes at the fourth-highest rate last season — and could benefit a quarterback with a lack of arm velocity like Hartman by widening passing lanes.
New York Jets
Stylistically, Aaron Rodgers and the Notre Dame prospect have very little in common. Rodgers has made a living off of exceptional arm talent and is one of the best vertical passers in the league. Hartman would have to find other ways to make an NFL roster.
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Hartman’s football IQ and ability to hang in the pocket could come in handy behind one of the worst offensive line units in the league, but the odds of him seeing the field in 2024 with Rodgers under center are highly unlikely.
Minnesota Vikings
One of the better situations a young signal-caller could fall into would be with the Minnesota Vikings. Kevin O’Connell is a talented play-caller, Justin Jefferson is in the conversation for the best receiver in the league, T.J. Hockenson is a plus-level security blanket at tight end, and the running game should be vastly improved with Aaron Jones joining the offense in 2024.
Unfortunately, the team has a glaring need at the quarterback position after losing Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. The team signed veteran Sam Darnold, who will serve as a one-year stopgap, and they could choose to address the position in the draft.
The Vikings own the 11th and 23rd pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but Hartman could provide an experienced game manager option to develop behind Darnold if Minnesota doesn’t address the position early in the draft.
Similar to the Steelers’ landing spot, the Vikings are a heavy play-action passing team, calling these concepts a league-leading 191 times in 2023. Wider passing lanes created by such play calls could create wider windows to mask Hartman’s arm strength limitations.
New England Patriots
The Bill Belichick era has come to an end in New England. The Patriots have a new head coach, new offensive coordinator, and a potentially completely different culture heading into 2024.
Speaking of the offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt is a bit of an unknown from a play-calling standpoint, but his influences from prior coaching stops could give us a blueprint of how the offense might look next season.
Van Pelt worked under Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski last year, who ran play-action passes at the third-highest rate in the NFL last year. Now, the Pats are highly likely to select a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.
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They signed veteran Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal and traded Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, which has cleared the runway for the team to select a young franchise quarterback.
Yet, Hartman still presents the type of skill set to operate within the pocket that has been so popular in New England for the vast majority of the past 25 years and could greatly benefit from a heavy play-action scheme in the pros.
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