2016 NFL Draft: Why 49ers Should Steer Clear from Connor Cook

The San Francisco 49ers will likely select a quarterback in the upcoming 2016 NFL draft. The team should avoid Michigan State’s Connor Cook with every selection.

Unless you believe that the San Francisco 49ers expect either Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert or Thad Lewis to be the long-term solution at quarterback, it’s reasonable to assume they’ll select at least one in the 2016 NFL draft.

The team holds 12 draft picks and could decide that quarterback is the most pressing need and should be addressed first. In that case, they’ll likely be able to select from the top three of Cal’s Jared Goff, North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz or Memphis’ Paxton Lynch. At least one, if not all three, of these players should be available at number seven overall.

San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke could, however, believe that the best quarterback for head coach Chip Kelly’s system can be found later in the draft. After the top names, many of the rest could be grouped in the same category with little separation between the majority.

One quarterback that they should avoid, regardless of when they could select him, is Michigan State’s Connor Cook. I suppose I should qualify that. If he is available in the fifth round and most others are gone, then sure, I’d take a shot with Cook.

For awhile, Cook was close to inserting himself into the top group of quarterbacks in this class but that train has slowed, thankfully. Now he finds himself in the second-tier at best and much lower than that for others.

At first glance, Cook is everything you’d like to see in a quarterback. He’s big enough–6’4″ and 217 pounds–and he played at Michigan State against some of the best competition in the nation in the Big-Ten Conference.  He has a strong enough arm to make every NFL throw and has a quick release that aids in his completions downfield.

For a team looking to rebuild at quarterback, Cook appears to be just what the doctor ordered. Except that the negatives associated with Cook’s game are even more terrifying than the excitement surrounding what he does well.

As a passer, Connor Cook is eerily similar to someone already on the 49ers roster–Colin Kaepernick. Cook doesn’t have as strong of an arm but his deficiencies are nearly identical to the issues that Kaepernick has struggled with over recent years.

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NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein published Connor Cook’s draft profile and the first few sentences of Cook’s weaknesses sound like a carbon-copy of Kaepernick:

"Habit of throwing short passes with too much pepper. Accuracy is a major concern. Often caught flat- footed in the pocket and appears willing to launch throws without proper balance or step to target. Open front hip causes him to spray outside frame of his intended target. Sees throws come open but won’t always cut it loose."

After watching Kaepernick’s development stall, those traits should give you chills that the 49ers might be interested in Cook. And they’re clearly interested.

The 49ers have to do their due diligence in finding a quarterback to grow into the starter for this team but they should avoid Connor Cook completely. The team has seen how poorly it can go when you try to teach a quarterback to improve his accuracy or footwork in a hectic pocket.

Connor Cook’s development would become so similar to that of Kaepernick that the team would be in the same position in a matter of years–holding onto a decent quarterback but searching for a better starter.

Accuracy is arguably the most important trait for a quarterback. Mechanics can often be tweaked to increase performance but expecting a player to suddenly become pinpoint accurate is nearly impossible. Accuracy issues are then compounded by poor footwork under pressure and the result is an inefficient passer.

In the above graphic, Cook’s completion percentage is average when he isn’t pressured. However, under any pressure, Connor Cook struggles to locate receivers and deliver accurate passes. The 49ers offensive line isn’t exactly a model of consistency or technique currently. Introducing Cook into that environment would only expose his limitations more than they were in college.

The argument that Connor Cook played in big games against great competition doesn’t hold much weight. He went to a top-notch school and was surrounded by elite talent. He’s played with Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, who may be a top-3 running back in the league. He’s played behind one of the best-coached offensive lines in the nation. And Michigan State has a defensive-minded head coach that has built a suffocating defense to protect the offense.

He is a product of his environment, and even then receivers were saving Cook from interceptions on errant passes. If you’ve grown tired of watching Colin Kaepernick stare down receivers and make bad decisions, then Connor Cook is not a name you want to hear the 49ers call at any point in the 2016 NFL draft.

The terrifying thing about Cook is that he’s been built up to believe that he has such a magnificent arm that he can get away with sloppy mechanics and poor decision-making.

Sure, Cook has made some big-time throws before. But they typically come from wide receivers making equally as impressive plays on the ball. We can’t fault Cook for trusting his receivers to attack the ball, but at the next level, when defensive backs are hyper-alert and quick-twitch athletes, some of these throws will be easily intercepted.

If you’re going to be the franchise quarterback, I’d hope to see more consistency in your game. Yes, some of the throws that he makes are absolutely ridiculous and should entice teams to believe they can solve some of the issues he brings along.

If you’re playing with some of the best athletes in college, behind an offensive line that is one of the most consistent and well-taught in college football, a completion percentage lower than 60% just seems odd. For every NFL throw that Cook can make, he makes two or three bad decisions with the ball.

Those bad decisions don’t always lead to interceptions. Sometimes Cook will stand in the pocket with all day to throw and simply doesn’t come off of one receiver. The result is that he’ll get heavy feet, refuse to throw the ball away and wastes time in the process. A sack for a loss of seven is better than an interception but much worse than simply scrambling for a moment to throw it away.

In addition to some of the worries that Cook presents on the field, he’s been scrutinized for his personality off of the field as well.

Connor Cook was never voted captain of the Michigan State football team despite being the starting quarterback for three straight seasons. As much as I’d love to find a way to slam him for it, that would be relatively naive and would ignore the facts. In late August 2015, Michigan Live writer Kyle Austin examined Cook’s absence from the captain’s list for the third straight season.

Essentially, Michigan State only carriers three full-time captains with a fourth rotating. Additionally, the captains have to be on the team’s 12-man leadership council. Although Cook wasn’t voted captain, many of his teammates still believed he had a high position of leadership.

Cook was later demonized for the way he handled a trophy presentation and the way that some viewers felt he disrespected Archie Griffin. Griffin, for those that don’t know, is a former NFL running back and is the only player to win the Heisman Trophy as College Football’s Most Outstanding Player two times.

Cook and Michigan State had just won the Big-Ten Championship, and he was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Unfortunately, the trophy presentation made him come off as rude and pretentious.

Yes, the interaction with Griffin was awkward and Cook probably wishes he could take it back. He’s answered numerous questions since the incident and apologized shortly after for being caught in the moment.

Cook looks the part. Even when he messes up, he says the right things to make you want to excuse his actions. On the field, he is the ultimate Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One moment he is making throws that only elite NFL quarterbacks make and the next he is dangerously careless with the ball.

The San Francisco 49ers have already had a project quarterback. That project, whether we like it or not, has largely failed. We’ve heard the stories about locker room dissatisfaction among teammates and we’ve seen the harsh interactions with media.

In selecting Michigan State’s Cook, the 49ers would be welcoming the same type of player into their facilities to see if this one will pan out. The team should stay far away from Connor Cook.

Next: 5 Positions of Need for 49ers

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN Statistics unless otherwise indicated. Salary cap figures courtesy of OverTheCap.com unless otherwise indicated.