There's been plenty of talk about the two big-name ACC quarterbacks expected to get selected in April's NFL Draft. North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky and Clemson's Deshaun Watson will probably both get their names called in the first round. That's no surprise.
Behind those two is a second tier of names like Notre Dame's Deshone Kizer and Miami's Brad Kaaya.
Each of those passers has their own set of positives and negatives, but there's an underrated ACC signal caller that's been gaining hype as of late.
RELATED: Will Chicago Bears Take Deshaun Watson With No. 3 Overall Pick?
It's Pittsburgh quarterback Nathan Peterman.
Peterman closed out his campaign at Pitt with 5,236 passing yards 47 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Almost all of those stats came in 2015 and 2016, Peterman's two years as the Panthers' starter.
Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller casted some interesting insight into how the NFL is viewing Peterman.
"Nathan Peterman, or as one scout told me, this week, 'this draft's best chance at Dak Prescott,'" Miller said. "What the scout meant by 'Dak-like,' though, isn't that he'll lead a team to a playoff run as a rookie. More likely he means a franchise can grab a starter outside the first two rounds. And Peterman can be that if he slips to the third round."
This is really interesting stuff.
I followed Peterman fairly closely while covering the ACC this season and was never wowed by watching him. He felt more of a consistent game manager type, who made very little mistakes and connected on the big play every once in a while. He checks in at 6-foot-2, but I always thought he was undersized, especially interviewing him at the ACC media event leading up to last year's season when he wasn't wearing pads and a helmet.
Maybe that's precisely what the scout meant, though? Peterman could come in, have decent production without blowing anyone away and have a foundation to build on? That's what Prescott did to an extent after all — he just had a ton of help around him.
Take a look at this analysis of Peterman by the folks at NFL Draft Breakdown. When they slowed it down and focused on Peterman's release and mobility, they had me convinced there was a bigger upside than I was seeing when the season was playing out. There was even an Aaaron Rodgers comparison which feels way too premature.
Is Peterman going to be a sleeper and become the next Prescott? You decide.
