Which Shrine Bowl QBs shined on Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft showcase? Austin Reed remains the top passer at the Texas event, but Louisville’s Jack Plummer is gaining steam after a strong Day 3 showing.
Day 3 Shrine Bowl QB Rankings
Neither Jordan Travis nor Jason Bean participated in practice drills on Day 2 of the Shrine Bowl. Bean was ruled out for the week due to an illness, and Travis is still recovering from a severe ankle injury suffered at the end of the 2023 season.
1) Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
Every QB at the Shrine Bowl was a bit more erratic on Day 3, and Austin Reed wasn’t immune to that. His ball placement was streaky at times, as he led a comeback WR too high in 7-on-7s. And on the last play of team drills, an over-throw to a TE led to a pick.
But at the end of the day, there’s simply no denying this: Reed is hooping out there. On Day 1, he was our top-ranked passer for his mechanical and operational consistency. But on Day 3, with more comfort, Reed’s natural arm talent was able to shine through.
Reed has legitimate arm elasticity, which allows him to dish accurate passes from multiple platforms. He delivered a smooth jump pass while evading pressure in the final team session, and he also used his mobility to sense and escape a B-gap pressure from Xavier Thomas.
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Operationally, Reed still displayed the tools to elevate within the system as well. He also recovered well when he needed to. At one point, he was faced with a botched snap, but he didn’t miss a beat, evading a rusher and hitting a crossing tight end with good velocity.
Later, Reed went through his progressions in the pocket, reset his base, and levied a timely laser to an inside whip route on the right side of the field.
If there’s any Shrine Bowl QB who’s consistently solidified his standing as a legitimate mid-round backup candidate — in a similar manner to Aidan O’Connell in the 2023 NFL Draft cycle — it has been Reed. He still has time to drive the point home further.
2) Devin Leary, Kentucky
Devin Leary is still taking risks and testing the boundaries, and he absolutely should with his arm. He has the best arm in Frisco, and that’s led to some impressive throws. On Day 3, a high-velocity seam ball featuring eye manipulation and leading a WR away from contact was Leary’s highlight.
Even with his propensity for taking risks, however, Leary was able to use his discretion and hit his checkdowns more on Monday. He often hit them in stride. Leary was a bit hesitant in the first team session, but he was able to find his groove as a distributor.
There are still fluctuations with Leary’s game. He threw an interception to Omar Brown on a deep 50-50 ball intended for Cornelius Johnson. In general, he could anticipate better on short hitches in tight middle-of-field situations.
Nevertheless, Leary stacked two good days together at the Shrine Bowl after struggling to function on Day 1 with his volatility. He’s settled in as one of the event’s better QBs.
3) Jack Plummer, Louisville
Jack Plummer was solid on Monday. Sometimes, that’s all you need to gain a little momentum.
It wasn’t a perfect day for any of the QBs, Plummer included. At one point, he stared down a slant-stop route and gave Maema Njongmeta an interception. He also fumbled a snap in the second team session, and his tall mechanics and plodding feet still impacted his torque and velocity drive.
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Still, Plummer was actively trying to layer passes and take risks — a good use for the practice setting — and he was able to take more control of the field on Day 3.
In 7-on-7, he did a good job holding the safety with his eyes on a seam route, although his lack of base drive caused the pass to miss low. He executed better on an anticipatory dot to an intermediate crosser later on, using a pump fake to draw the LB out of a window.
Later, Plummer delivered a hefty pass to a deep crosser, earning a chunk gain, and he had generally good placement on RAC throws throughout the day. Plummer won’t be confused for a dual-threat QB, but he can be a good distributor when he’s on his game.
4) Kedon Slovis, BYU
A top-three passer over the first two days of Shrine Bowl practices, Kedon Slovis was more inconsistent on Day 3. His tools still stand out as some of the better ones in the group, but he wasn’t able to string together positive plays on Monday.
Slovis kicked off 7-on-7s well with a beautiful seam throw, layering a pass over the LB to a spot where only his WR could get it. Right away, he seemed to look more comfortable. He wasn’t forcing the issue, he was buying time, and he was very smooth off-platform.
But for Slovis, inaccuracy proved to be a problem on Monday. He led an out route too far in the red zone. He also over-threw a red zone crosser in the second team session, putting too much on it — he did the same on a seam ball one session later.
Elsewhere, slow footwork and a late trigger in the red zone allowed Darius Muasau to key in on a short hitch thrown by Slovis. And during team drills farther back, Slovis sometimes passed up layering opportunities when he was spooked by pressure.
In the third team session, Slovis sensed pressure a bit better, at one point flowing into the flat and delivering an off-platform laser to the end zone. It was a good throw that was only negated by better coverage from Ryan Watts.
For Slovis, the key in the final days of Shrine Bowl practice week will be to attain more consistent accuracy. Trying to put too much heat on throws got him into trouble on Day 3.
5) Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Taulia Tagovailoa had his good moments on Day 3 of Shrine Bowl practices. His mobility stood out as a plus, as did his awareness and check-down IQ on rollouts.
In particular, he placed an out-route touchdown to Blake Watson well. He also had a nice trajectory on a boundary bucket throw — although good coverage from Qwan’tez Stiggers nullified the play.
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That said, underwhelming velocity was an underlying theme for Tagovailoa. He visibly lacks the arm strength to test windows outside the numbers consistently, and when he timed breaks late, that lack of velocity was even more glaring.
Going further, Tagovailoa sometimes tests windows he shouldn’t given his arm. At one point on Day 3, he forced a right boundary throw into triple coverage when pressure squeezed the pocket. Those lapses in decision-making could increase turnover risk in the NFL.
6) John Rhys Plumlee, UCF
John Rhys Plumlee’s athleticism remains alluring, and it comes with some good byproducts as a passer. He has good corrective quickness and twitch, and that allowed him to score a quick-release TD on a red-zone slant in the second team session.
Athleticism aside, however, Plumlee has not been able to build comfort as a passer at the Shrine Bowl. His frenetic mechanics and volatile placement routinely forced WRs to make high-difficulty adjustments, and he also had underwhelming velocity on timing throws.
Beyond his issues with mechanics and accuracy, Plumlee’s field vision past the short range is also concerning. At one point, he missed an open TE on a seam route in the red zone, and he rarely expanded beyond checkdowns.
Plumlee logged experience at receiver in his time at Ole Miss, and his Shrine Bowl showing could be source material for teams to play around with lighter positional boundaries for Plumlee at the next level.
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