Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke reportedly asserted himself well at the NFL Scouting Combine. That wasn’t good enough to get him drafted, however.
The Patriots signed Lewerke as an undrafted free agent on Sunday. Anonymous NFL scouts were not kind to Lewerke during the pre-draft process.
“He’s got some talent but he had a terrible, terrible year,” a scout told The Athletic in Bob McGinn’s yearly Draft Series. “He looked good in 2017. Then he had a rough year in 2018 and this year was awful. It’s like he had the yips. He couldn’t make routine throws. It was tough to watch. Can he play better? Yes, but if you have to make a decision right now I’m saying he’s not going to be a good NFL player.”
It wasn’t … all bad?
“He got worse each time I saw him,” another scout told McGinn. “He looks scared to death back there. I’d take him over (Michigan quarterback Shea) Patterson. He’s a big guy, and he’s mobile. He can run around. The coaches say he’s a terrific person.”
McGinn also noted that McGinn scored a 25 on his Wonderlic test and had the biggest hands (10 5/8 inches) of the quarterbacks he highlighted.
The Patriots signed Lewerke and Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith as undrafted free agents. They didn’t select a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer atop their quarterback depth chart.
Another positive about Lewerke: He was 20-of-41 on deep passes for 605 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
