How did Todd McShay determine the draft stock of the top QBs in 2021 NFL Draft?

Todd McShay has been a college football and NFL Draft analyst for ESPN since 2006. He joins Mel Kiper Jr. in providing NFL Mock Drafts every year. Currently, McShay is the director of college football and scouts for ESPN's Scouts Inc. He has played a role key in covering the NFL Draft for ESPN since 2006.

Before joining ESPN, Todd McShay worked full-time for 'The War Room', which at the time was a start-up scouting publication created by NFL scout Gary Horton. Todd McShay has become one of the top NFL Draft analysts. On that note, let's take a look at how Todd McShay grades the talented QBs in this year's NFL Draft.

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How did Todd McShay grade the talented QBs in the 2021 NFL Draft?

NFL Draft Analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay

ESPN's Dianna Russini announced on her Twitter account that NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay explained to her how much stock he puts into the talented quarterbacks in this year's draft.

Russini asked Todd McShay if he uses more of the scripted workouts at the Pro Days or the game film itself when it comes to grading the quarterbacks.

I asked Todd McShay today how much stock he puts into these QBs scripted workouts vs. the actual game tape?⁰He says 99% tape. 1% pro day. Keep that in mind when you check out his mock drafts.

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) April 2, 2021

Todd McShay said that he uses 99% game film and 1% Pro Day workouts to evaluate the quarterbacks. This revelation is interesting, especially when looking at his mock drafts for the 2021 NFL Draft. It also makes one wonder if this is how NFL scouts grade the quarterbacks in general.

Colin Cowherd mentioned on his podcast that he doesn't buy into Pro Days. Here is what Cowherd had to say about College Pro Days:

"Anybody notice the least talked about pro day so far? It's Trevor Lawrence — easily the best prospect. Do you remember anything about Andrew Luck's pro day? I loved him, I don't."— @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/r4uWydHXMr

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) March 31, 2021

It looks like Todd McShay isn't the only one who doesn't buy into Pro Day performances when it comes to players' draft stock. If one of the best NFL Draft analysts only uses 1% of Pro Day performances to grade quarterbacks, what does that say about Pro Days in general?

When watching quarterbacks work out at Pro Days, they are not being rushed by defenders and don't have to make reads. This is one main reason why Todd McShay probably goes to game films rather than Pro Days. It makes sense because, like Cowherd said, no one is talking about Trevor Lawrence's Pro Day any more.

After Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Justin Fields and Trey Lance put on huge performances. Lawrence got lost in the mix, but he's the best quarterback prospect in this year's draft. Pro Days are going to take a huge hit because more fans are watching them now, as the NFL Scouting Combine was cancelled.

It will be interesting to see how the 2021 NFL Draft turns out for the top five quarterback prospects. Where they get selected would tell us if an NFL scout pays more attention to game film like Todd McShay or buys into their performances on their Pro Days.

Also check out: Complete 2017 NFL Draft Results