I’m generally of the mindset of being in one or two camps when it comes to drafting a QB. Either do it very early or don’t do it at all. But if you subscribe to a third school of thought, something in the middle, then QB Jamie Newman might be your guy. On a recent conference call, ESPN’s Draft Analyst Mel Kiper Jr. suggested that Newman is someone who should be on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ radar during Day Two of April’s draft.
Though he transferred to Georgia for 2020, in a surprise move, Newman opted out of the season and did not play. He cited the concerns over the COVID pandemic as the season to sit out.
But that left him without much recent tape to go off of. He did get invited and participated to this year’s Senior Bowl. However, Newman predictably looked rusty and struggled during the week, getting outplayed by guys like Mac Jones and Kellen Mond. Here are some of the notes we had on Newman throughout the week of practices:
“– And Wake Forest’s Jamie Newman’s [two minute drill] chance ended quickly. On the third play, he was picked off deep down the right sideline by Central Florida’s Richie Grant. Looked like miscommunication between Newman and WR Shi Smith. Smith ran the corner route at a sharper route, getting less depth than Newman’s throw.”
“– Wake Forest QB Jamie Newman stacked a couple of bad reps. After getting picked by Davis on that aforementioned overthrow, Newman’s next rep was worse. Stared down WR Cornell Powell on a short curl route, who was blanketed by Georgia’s Mark Webb. LSU safety JaCoby Stevens was in zone underneath and Newman threw it right to him.”
In his defense, Newman had an impressive 2019 season with Wake Forest. That year, he threw for nearly 2700 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while leading the Demon Deacons to an 8-5 record. Though they lost in the bowl game to Michigan State, three of his 12 completions found the end zone.
Newman is a Tier 2/3 quarterback likely to go somewhere in the late second to early third round. At best, he’s probably the 7th quarterback off the board behind some combination of: Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, Mac Jones, and Kyle Trask. He’ll battle the likes of Kellen Mond and Sam Ehlinger for that seventh spot.
Kevin Colbert nor Art Rooney II have ruled out adding another QB this offseason. As of right now, the only one in the room under contract for 2022 is Dwayne Haskins. The last time the Steelers took a QB, it came in the third round, trading up for Mason Rudolph. All those things makes it possible they could target someone like Newman. Looks for a full scouting report on him before the draft.
