On Saturday, Stanford junior quarterback Tanner McKee was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 6th round (188th overall pick) of the 2023 NFL Draft. McKee was the third Stanford player to be selected in the draft following Kyu Blu Kelly (5th round to Baltimore Ravens). In my breakdown of Stanford’s 2023 NFL Draft prospects, I wrote of McKee:
Tanner McKee played three years on The Farm, leaving after his junior season. At 6’6”, 230 pounds, McKee has good size and knows how make NFL-level throws. His accuracy and arm strength is really good and when given enough time in the pocket, he can really carve up a secondary. He’s a really smart player and has a good feel for the quarterback position, so his IQ is something that should serve him well in the NFL.
His biggest weakness is his mobility. He doesn’t do a great job of evading pressure in the pocket and too easily gets sacked. When he is able to evade pressure and run downfield, he’s able to scramble for a first down and can get going a bit, so it’s really the lateral quickness that is a bigger issue than his vertical speed.
As far as his draft projection is concerned, I think we’re looking at a guy who is going to go as high as the 3rd round and as low as the 5th round. There are some who think he could go as high as the 2nd round, but in my opinion, I don’t see him going that high. At the same time, it would surprise me if he fell into the 6th or 7th rounds. Given his pure quarterbacking talent, someone is certainly going to take him and ensure he doesn’t fall too far.
McKee is one who went lower in the draft than I thought he would go. I had him as a 3rd to 5th round guy and he fell into the 6th round. I think the reason for that is due to the weaknesses that I described above. He’s going to have to show that he can become more mobile and evade pressure in the pocket at the NFL level.
On the positive side, McKee did end up getting drafted and that’s no small thing. The fact that the Eagles selected him shows they think he does have some upside and potential due to the strengths that I outlined above. From a pure pocket passing perspective, McKee is really talented. That’s why I didn’t see him falling as far as he did. In the 6th round, I would say the Eagles are definitely getting a potential steal in McKee. This is a guy who has seen his name float around in the 1st and 2nd rounds of past mock drafts. Getting a guy like that in the 6th round is the definition of a steal.
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