Tanner McKee 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Stanford QB

Tanner McKee, Stanford: 6’6”, 230 pounds; RS JR.

A top-50 overall recruit in 2018, Tanner McKee served a two-year Christian mission in Brazil, to put his collegiate career on ice.

He saw action in one game (at Auburn) in 2020, before taking over for Davis Mills as the full-time starter the following season. He completed 65.4 percent of his passes for over 2300 yards, 15 touchdowns versus seven INTs, plus another four scores on the ground, across ten contests.

Last year, calling the shots for yet another 3-9 Cardinal team, all of Tanner McKee's numbers got slightly worse (62.0% completion percentage, 6.9 yards per attempt and 13 TDs vs. eight INTs). He was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection in 2021 and earned team captain status in ’22.

Tanner McKee scout report: Strengths

Tanner McKee #18 of the Stanford Cardinal fakes a handoff during the first half of their game against the Utah Utes

+ Tanner McKee operates from a wide base and is very clean in his mechanics, with a smooth release and delivering a very catchable ball.

+ Will gladly work that one-on-one matchup with his X receiver, if you leave that on the backside for him.

+ Consistently places the ball away from the closest defender, so those guys can’t rake at it the opposite side, and often times active intentionally makes his targets reach low, to not allow passes to batted up for grabs in crowded areas.

+ Is able to defeat tight man-coverage and corners trying to play the back-shoulder, by just placing the ball over their head, where the receiver can make a play on it.

+ His best throws come on in-breakers, hitting them right in stride to make them run through the catch.

+ Is willing to drive the ball towards tight windows as well, firing skinny posts as the safety stays flat-footed (on the hash).

+ Yet he also understands when to take speed off the ball and make the job easier for his targets out in the flats or running backs still getting ready it.

+ Gladly throws the ball up to his big targets and allows them to make plays on it by climbing the ladder.

+ Tanner McKee looks comfortable scanning the field, whilst maintaining a consistent base and maintaining a throw-ready posture.

+ Really excels at attacking space underneath with the quick pass game, identifying advantages based on defensive looks (pre-snap), particularly working levels concepts and putting those hook defenders into conflict.

+ The footwork and ability to play with timing are already at an NFL level, and he posted a swift time-to-throw mark right at 2.5 seconds as a starter.

+ Stanford used a lot of slow mesh points on play-action and their RPO game, where he consistently made the right decision and delivered the ball on the money with little wasted time getting it out.

+ Tanner McKee effectively works in subtle shuffle–steps, hitches up inside the pocket and stays ready to release.

+ Displays the anticipation and ball-placement to let the ball go before receivers have cleared the coverage and put it where defenders can’t even react quickly enough to attack the catch-point (such as post routes/seams, where the trailing DB/LB is still right there at the inside hip).

+ Actively stops his receivers in the window against zone-coverage and doesn’t make them hang up to dry, with incoming hits.

+ Tanner McKee understands when the play isn’t there and he needs to throw the ball out of bounds. Only 1.5% of his dropbacks were counted as turnover-worthy plays, compared 3.3% big-time throws.

+ Shows calm under pressure, to kind of slither through creases and at least be able to get back to the line of scrimmage.

+ If one side is caved in, he’s pretty light on his feet drift the other way and flip the ball to his checkdown.

+ For somebody labelled as a pure pocket passer, Tanner McKee’s accuracy whilst rolling to the right is actually pretty impressive, putting it to where guys can run through the catch or putting it over ancillary zone defender.

+ When he does take off or when he was tasked with QB sneaks in short yardage situations, McKee has been fairly effective, with 18 first downs on 70 non-sack carries.

+ Down seven with just one-and-a-half minutes left in regulation against Oregon, Tanner McKee got sandwiched by two D-ends and stayed down for a while, before getting back up and leading them to an awesome comeback win in overtime.

+ Played during the weakest two-year stretch of Stanford run games I have witnessed to complement him. The coaching staff didn’t do him many favors in terms of schematic advantages created on a weekly basis, where there legitimately wasn’t anybody open.

Tanner McKee scout report: Weaknesses

Tanner McKee #18 of the Stanford Cardinal scrambles out of the pocket past Laiatu Latu #15 of the UCLA Bruins

– Tanner McKee has that lanky type of build and over-the-top throwing motion, which elongates his delivery and doesn’t allow him to impress with sudden movement. Had seven passes batted down at the line each of his two seasons as a starter despite his high release point.

– With defenders having that extra split-second to react to the release and McKee not having enough mustard on his drive-throws, the number of undercut routes near the numbers will only increase against NFL athletes.

– I would define him as having general accuracy and pin-point throws are missing from his game. Could stand to add a little more air under his deep balls, as they come up just short or too far regularly, with a pretty flat arc.

– Lacks the suddenness to make rushers miss inside the pocket. Had a pressure-to-sack conversion rate of 27.5 and 27.0% respectively these last two years

– Tanner McKee finished his career with a negative 90 yards rushing and just two missed tackles forced as a runner, without the burst or shake to really challenge opponents when he gets out.

Tanner McKee scout report: Grade

Tanner McKee #18 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates a touchdown run by Casey Filkins #2 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

If this was the year 2000, Tanner McKee might’ve been a first-round pick. When kept clean and operating in rhythm, there’s a lot to like about him as a pocket passer. He’s a mature decision-maker, anticipates at a high level and puts the ball onto the frame of his targets with consistency.

Unfortunately, he seems like too much of a statue back there for what we see succeed in the NFL today. When plays aren’t there or the defense gives him a look he’s not comfortable with, there’s just not really anything he can provide off-script, and his pocket presence isn’t at a level for him to get away without that.

So I look at Tanner McKee as somebody who can be a spot-starter, but if he were to end up with a team that gives him a chance, they will probably be looking to upgrade soon, because you’re not getting enough from the position to compete for championships.

If I had to find two recent comparisons, I would say the guys he reminded me of are Mike Glennon and to some degree the guy he replaced at Stanford in Davis Mills. Since both of them were drafted early in the third round, that’s where I could see McKee go as well, although I value him more so in the fourth.

Grade: Fourth / fifth round.

You might like other 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports: Tyree Wilson (EDGE), Texas Tech; Will Anderson Jr. (EDGE), Alabama; Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR), Ohio; Zay Flowers (WR), Boston; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Quentin Johnston (WR), TCU; Zach Charbonnet (RB), UCLA; Bijan Robinson (RB), Texas.

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