June 08, 2023
As we do every offseason, we'll be comparing each of the Philadelphia Eagles' rookies to current or former NFL players. Today we'll try to find a comp for sixth-round quarterback Tanner McKee.
Previous player comp profiles
Jalen Carter | Nolan Smith | Tyler Steen | Sydney Brown | Kelee Ringo
McKee is a big quarterback at 6'6, 231 pounds. He has a strong arm, but has very limited mobility. In two seasons as Stanford's starting quarterback, McKee completed 63.2 percent of his passes on 7.1 yards per attempt. He threw for 28 TDs and 15 INTs in those two seasons.
In the leadup to the draft, there was some speculation that the Eagles could pick a quarterback, but most assumed it would be one with a similar skill set to that of Jalen Hurts and Marcus Mariota. Instead, they basically went with the complete opposite type of quarterback. A look:
A scouting report, via Lance Zierlein of NFL Network:
Long, tall pocket passer with better arm strength than arm talent as a passer. McKee throws with an unorthodox delivery that becomes even more irregular when he feels rushed. He can make all the NFL throws and delivers a tight spiral with good velocity on intermediate and deep throws to the field side. However, his heavy feet and a lack of agility limit his effectiveness outside of the pocket and make him a magnet for pass rushers when protection becomes spotty. McKee clearly improved his throwing process in 2022, but he might lack the decision-making and functional mobility to make it in today’s NFL.
If you watch McKee's highlight reel above, you can see what Zierlein is talking about with his "unorthodox delivery." It actually reminds me quite a bit of former Panthers, Saints, Giants, Raiders, Titans, Colts, and Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins.
Like McKee, Collins had a strong arm, but wasn't much of a threat to run. McKee and Collins also had very similar physical measurables coming out of college:
| Measurable | Tanner McKee | Kerry Collins |
| Height | 6'5 5/8 | 6'5 |
| Weight | 231 | 240 |
| Arm length | 32 7/8" | 32 3/4" |
| Hand size | 9 3/8" | 10" |
Of course, McKee was a sixth rounder, while Collins was a Heisman finalist who got picked fifth overall in 1995 in sort of a different era of football. If it were 1995, McKee probably would have been picked higher than the sixth round, while there's little chance Collins would have gone fifth overall in today's NFL.
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