Where does Pittsburgh QB Phil Jurkovec fall in the 2024 NFL Draft QB class? Can he earn a draft selection with a good year in 2023? Here’s a look at where Jurkovec stands and what he offers as a 2024 NFL Draft prospect.
Phil Jurkovec Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 235 pounds
- Position: Quarterback
- School: Pittsburgh
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Now with his third team at the collegiate level, Jurkovec has had a tumultuous college football career. He started his journey at Notre Dame in 2018, where he played sparingly across two seasons. He then transferred to Boston College, where his ascent as an NFL Draft prospect steepened.
2020 was Jurkovec’s career-best season. Benefitting from the presence of future first-round pick Zay Flowers, Jurkovec completed 205 of 336 attempts for 2,558 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. He’d carry the starting job into 2021 and 2022, but injuries and inconsistent play caused him to regress.
MORE: Top QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft
In the 2022 offseason, Jurkovec transferred to Pittsburgh, enlisted by the Panthers to provide stability at QB after the Kedon Slovis experiment failed the previous year.
Phil Jurkovec Scouting Report
Strengths
- Good athlete for his size, with solid speed and durability in open space.
- Possesses the necessary agility to sidestep rushers in the pocket and slide up.
- Can slide diagonally away from pressure and give himself time to survey the field.
- Has enough arm strength to generate good short and intermediate-range velocity.
- Has flashed the ability to anticipate fleeting windows up the seam.
- Able to place end-zone fades to the back shoulder, enabling WRs to make plays.
- Has shown he can use controlled shoulder tilt to add loft on a situational basis.
- Tough and poised pocket operator who can step up with the rush closing in.
Weaknesses
- Visibly lacks high-end arm strength, as velocity stalls farther down the field.
- Average elasticity and flexibility greatly reduces his utility off-platform.
- Relatively slow processor who can get tunnel vision on initial reads.
- Has a late trigger at times when receivers are breaking open and needs space.
- At times, attempts to force ill-advised throws he doesn’t have the arm to make.
- Sometimes tugs his release point too far, causing throws to drop early.
- Sometimes widens his base too far, locking his hips and preventing drive.
- Mechanics when navigating the pocket can be rickety and staggered.
- Stiff hips, unstable mechanics, and volatile release point all lead to inaccuracy.
- Will turn 25 years old in November of his rookie year.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Currently, Jurkovec grades out as an undrafted free agent QB prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, outside of the priority free agent range. With a strong finish to the 2023 season, he could potentially work his way into PFA territory, but it’ll take a lot for Jurkovec to command a draft selection, especially in this QB class.
Jurkovec has above-average tools — but only that. He’s a decent creator with good size-adjusted agility and speed, and he has a decent arm with above-average strength and velocity generation in the short ranges. But he doesn’t have the arm strength to consistently sustain outside the numbers and downfield, and his hip stiffness limits both his creation capacity and off-script utility.
Jurkovec’s tools are non-elite, and he has a lot of work to do on the operational side as well. He’s a solid pocket navigator, but his mechanics can be clunky and inefficient. On release, he’s fairly volatile — a trait that invites inaccuracy. And as a processor, he’s often a tick too slow on progression throws.
A redeeming quality for Jurkovec, along with his size, is his competitive toughness. But right now, he doesn’t have great operational utility as a pocket passer or a quick-game thrower — even as an eventual 25-year-old rookie — and he doesn’t have the elite physical ceiling to ensure capital investment, either. He has enough talent to earn a camp opportunity, but he’ll need more development to stick.
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