Who is James Morgan?

With news recently coming out via NFLTradeRumors.co that a third of the NFL teams are doing extra research into Florida International quarterback James Morgan, I figured it’d be best to help you get to know the prospect as we inch closer to the NFL Draft. Morgan is 6’4”, 213lbs. and was a two-year starter at FIU after transferring from Bowling Green after his 2017 season. He was a 61% passer in his two seasons starting for the Panthers after being only a 51% passer at Bowling Green.

James Morgan
MIAMI, FL – NOVEMBER 23: FIU quarterback James Morgan (12) passes in the second quarter as the FIU Golden Panthers faced the University of Miami Hurricanes on November 23, 2019, at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Pros

Morgan has a fairly strong arm, and after watching multiple games he has no problems taking the big shot downfield and doing it with pretty nice accuracy! Thanks to Jesse Fritsch and Hash over on YouTube for the great game action of James Morgan (see below). You see plenty of times where James Morgan is not afraid to stand in a collapsing pocket and make a throw. He’s had plenty of experience starting, and I believe he brings a fair amount of maturity to the quarterback position. He has plus pocket awareness and enough mobility inside the pocket to evade pressure at a good rate, though he won’t beat you outside the pocket with his legs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWS-9XabQkk

Cons

If you read the news piece on NFLTradeRumors, they mention Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle stating some teams see Morgan in a similar mold to a Kirk Cousins or Joe Flacco. When I watch him, the big things I see that could be a problem is the talent he played with (and against for that matter), and the fact that he didn’t take snaps under center, and that will always take some time getting used to. His best game in 2019 was probably against Tulane (see below), and you saw him willing to take a sack instead of put the ball in a position to be turned over. Unfortunately, you also saw him throw a deep pick and make questionable decisions trying to trust his arm to get him out of trouble. The Draft Network always has some great stuff on the players in each class, and their write up on Morgan is a solid read as well. They pointed out some things that I see as cons, especially with his stance and release, that if a QB coach at the next level decides he’s going to try and fix, you could see that taking a few seasons to really get him comfortable with the new motion and release.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgWJOp34T8U
Thanks to Hash over on Youtube for this clip.

Ultimately, he looks like a nice, raw prospect that teams could see as a developmental QB to draft on day three, or even as a priority UDFA. If the news leaking out about a third of the league doing extra work on him is even close to accurate, I’d expect him to be a day three draft pick by one of those teams. If thats the case, he needs to be a guy you look to stash on your taxi squad, as his raw tools and maturity are enough to get him a chance to develop into a possible starter at the next level.

If you want to let me know what you think about James Morgan, hit me up on Twitter! and if you want to know where the community drafts him at, check out the ADP here on RotoHeat.com!

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