Jake Coker helped lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to a national championship during his lone season as the program's starting quarterback. However, that didn't help his 2016 NFL draft stock, as the quarterback wasn't selected by any team.
Connor Cook, Dak Prescott and Cardale Jones all went off the board in the fourth round, with Kevin Hogan following in the fifth. Nate Sudfeld, Jake Rudock, Brandon Allen and Jeff Driskel were also selected in the sixth round with Coker still on the board.
Coker eventually signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent, per Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News.
Beyond the fact that Coker is a national champion, he looks the part of a professional quarterback at 6'5" and 236 pounds with one of the strongest arms around.
As an added bonus, Coker is among the more agile signal-callers in this year's draft. While that may sound strange for someone so large, Coker flashed an uncanny ability to break tackles in the pocket and improvise on the run throughout his starting stint with the Tide.
"I think Jake is going to do just fine," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said after Coker's pro day, per AL.com's John Talty. "I think he's going to need to continue to develop. He's got a great arm who can make all the throws. For his size he is very athletic, and I think a lot of people are going to like that."
Coker's not an upside-laden prospect, but he appears to be worthy of a flier in the latter stages of the draft based on his arm strength, size and short-area toughness alone.
But even if that's the case, Coker has a solid foundation he can build on as he seeks to fine-tune his game at the next level.
