The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen Talks Myles Garrett, Sorsby & More

The NFL calendar is supposed to slow down in the summer. It never does, and Texas Tech and Brendan Sorsby just threw another wrench into the offseason.

The Athletic's senior NFL writer Ted Nguyen joined guest host Kirk Morrison to break down a sudden new evaluation: Sorsby, now eligible for the league and a possible name in an NFL supplemental draft. The tools jump off the screen.

"He has a lot of arm talent," Nguyen said. Sorsby can change arm angles, throw from multiple platforms, and does not need to set his feet to make a great throw. He is also "a legitimate runner," dangerous enough that Nguyen expects a team will have to install option plays for him.

The cautions are real, though. Sorsby has an off-target rate over 33 percent on throws of more than 20 air yards, and his footwork "can get a little messy at times." Nguyen thought another college season would have cleaned up those rough edges. There are off-field questions too, the kind that ask whether you can trust a player to be the face of a franchise.

That mix could actually fit the supplemental path. As Morrison framed it, a team might part with a future third-rounder and stash Sorsby as a developmental player rather than crown him an immediate franchise quarterback. Nguyen agreed, and noted he saw a quote from an anonymous NFL team that did not mind the prospect of Sorsby being suspended for some games, because it would give him time to sit and clean up the footwork.

The conversation moved to one of the league's most dominant interior players, Jeffrey Simmons, who just became the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. Nguyen called him a player who "could do it all," with a fast get-off and power. Simmons has thrived in three-four schemes, but Nguyen is intrigued to see him in Robert Saleh's four-down, attacking front, which should ask him to get up the field and make him "even more disruptive."

Nguyen also dug into the new wave of play callers and a leaguewide trend back toward under-center offense. He singled out Eagles offensive coordinator Shawn Manion, whom he watched play high school football, as one of the most interesting hires. Manion is expected to ask Jalen Hurts to throw over the middle more and play under center more.

On why under center matters, Nguyen got specific. In the run game it changes the running back's downhill angle and removes the shotgun "tell" of which way the back will go. In play action, when the quarterback turns his back to the defense, "you have that extra one and a half seconds where the defense does not know what you're doing." That indecision, he said, creates explosive pass plays.

The headliner was Myles Garrett in a Rams uniform. Nguyen described the Rams as a team that needed "a true closer." Jared Verse is a very good, cost-controlled end, but more of a high-end number two who takes a while to finish. Garrett is the ace who gets to the quarterback quicker, and with upgraded corners in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson playing press coverage, quarterbacks will hold the ball longer.

Garrett also lifts everyone. Last season he was chipped and double-teamed at roughly 20 percent higher rates than Verse, which means more one-on-ones for the rest of the line. Add a potential Aaron Donald return, Nguyen said, and the Rams could pair the number one defense with the number one offense.

His sleeper to watch on offense: Saints receiver Jordan Tyson, who Nguyen believes has number-one qualities if he can stay healthy.