ROUND 5: Iowa QB Nate Stanley
6-4, 235 – Senior – 4.81

PREVIOUS PICK: Iowa QB Nate Stanley

Stanley stays in PewterReport.com’s mock draft as the team’s fifth-round pick. He’s a young, developmental quarterback that can learn behind Tampa Bay’s starter – whoever it is in 2020.

The Bucs a big decision to make with starter Jameis Winston, but they aren’t drafting Stanley to be a starter in 2020. Stanley would be the backup quarterback whether it’s Winston or another veteran quarterback like Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr under center.

Stanley is a big, strong-armed pocket passer with the ability to throw the deep ball, which is a must in Bruce Arians’ vertical passing game. Stanley, who had an informal interview with the Bucs at the NFL Scouting Combine, thrived in Iowa’s play-action offense and shows nice touch on his intermediate passes, as well as deep passes. Has nice zip on short throws in the red zone that really gives the receiver a chance to win.

Stanley also has enough mobility to maneuver in the pocket, similar to Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Stanton – two quarterbacks that Arians coached in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis/Arizona, respectively. His 4.81 time in the 40-yard dash was faster than Winston’s.

Stanley’s Iowa Career Passing Stats
2016: 5-of-9 passing (55.6 percent) for 62 yards
2017: 196-of-351 passing (55.8 percent) for 2,432 yards, 26 TDs, 6 INTs
2018: 235-of-396 passing (59.3 percent) for 2,852 yards, 26 TDs, 10 INTs
2019: 237-of-399 passing (59.4 percent) for 2,951 yards, 16 TDs, 7 INTs

The one concern about Stanley is that he has a career 58.3 percent completion percentage, and that goes against the league’s QB evaluation tool – the “Rule of 26-27-60.” If you’re unfamiliar with the “Rule of 26-27-60” it’s based on the success rate for QB prospects that post a 26 on the Wonderlic, have at least 27 college starts and have a minimum career completion percentage of 60 percentage.

Stanley comes close, having hit 59 percent his last two years as a starter, but there have been some notable QBs that didn’t have a 60 percent benchmark in college, including Boston College’s Matt Ryan (59.9 percent) and USC’s Carson Palmer (59.1 percent). Yet Stanley was successful at Iowa without ever having a 1,000-yard receiver, and he lost tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant to the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and still managed to help guide the Hawkeyes to a 10-3 record during his senior campaign.

Stanley’s record as a starter improved every year from 7-5 in 2017 to 9-4 as a junior to 10-3 last season. And he managed to go 3-0 in all three bowl games, posting wins over Boston College, No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 22 USC – throwing six touchdowns and one interception in postseason action. Stanley’s overall record as a starter was 26-12.

While Stanley’s less-than-ideal accuracy and the fact that he didn’t play in a prolific offense (he didn’t throw for 3,000 yards in any season) may be cause for concern for some scouts, he did have a few eye-opening moments as a passer. During his sophomore year, Stanley completed 20-of-31 passes (64.5 percent) for 226 yards with five touchdowns and zero interceptions in a 55-24 win upset over No. 6 Ohio State. Stanley also engineered a 44-41 overtime win against Iowa State by completing 27-of-41 passes (65.9 percent) for 333 yards with five TDs and no INTs.

Among Day 3 options like Florida International’s James Morgan and Princeton’s Kevin Davidson, both of whom were in the East-West Shrine Bowl, Stanley would be an ideal candidate for Tampa Bay. Stanley skipped both the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl to work with a quarterbacks coach to improve his mechanics prior to the draft.

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