Why is The NFL Draft Weary of Boise State Quarterbacks?
Ryan Finley left Boise State because he couldn't beat out Brett Rypien for the starting job at quarterback yet Finley, who finished his career at North Carolina State, was drafted in the 6th round while Rypien went undrafted and later signed a free agent deal with the Denver Broncos.
So the question is...would Finley have been drafted had he stayed a Boise State Bronco?
Aside from the ancient NFL Drafts which went 15 rounds and drafted every player with even the slightest chance of making an NFL roster, no Boise State quarterback has come close to be drafted, not even Kellen Moore who was a Heisman finalist.
Aside from Eric Guthrie and Jim McMillian, who would have easily been free agents in the days of 7 not 15 NFL rounds, no Boise State quarterback has heard his name called.
We thought Rypien would change all that. His statistics at Boise State, except for overall career wins, are for the most part better than Kellen Moore, a Boise State legend.
The irony of this 2019 Draft was most mock drafts had Rypien in the 4-7 rounds while most mock drafts ignored Boise State running back Alexander Mattison who went in the 3rd round to Minnesota...What the heck?
Apparently Mattison had the luxury of BSU backs that went before him and made big impressions like Jay Ajayi, Doug Martin and Jeremy McNichols...even Brock Forsey!
Look at the Dallas Cowboys, they had good luck with one Boise State defensive player and just keep putting their hands in the BSU cookie jar to get more, even a franchise tag in Demarcus Lawrence.
Unfortunately no Boise State quarterback has ever paved a yellow brick road former BSU signal callers can walk into a career.
Even the greatest Bronco QB of all time, Kellen Moore couldn't get any respect in Detroit or Dallas and even now will have to prove himself worthy as an offensive coordinator.
With all respect to Ryan Finely it makes no sense how he and not Rypien could be drafted. Is it just a conference bias as many say?
I watched as many North Carolina State games as I could and was impressed with Finley in part because of the perceived increase in level of competition. I wondered out loud if BSU had made a mistake in anointing Rypien before Finley had a chance to recover from the injury that set all things in motion.
The bottom line is pretty simple....Hopefully Rypien will tear it up for Denver and make that NFL roster and like wise Finley will have a great NFL career. Maybe that's what it will take for future Boise State quarterbacks to get a fair shake in a game, the draft game this is, that seems to make very little sense.
Just ask NY Giant Fans!