2017 East-West Shrine Game: 5 Players who hurt stock
By John Buhler
Not everybody had a great day in the 2017 East-West Shrine Game. Here are five players who hurt their 2017 NFL Draft stock by how they played on Saturday.
The 2017 East-West Shrine Game saw the West team beat the East team in a low-scoring affair 10-3 on Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. It was a great day for defensive players who saw their 2017 NFL Draft stock rise.
However, not every player in Saturday’s glorified exhibition in the Tampa Bay Area had a great showing. Some players cost themselves some serious money with lackluster offensive performances. Here are the five players that have to be kicking themselves for an opportunity they failed to take advantage of on Saturday afternoon.
Gunner Kiel
Quarterback, Cincinnati Bearcats
The 2017 East-West Shrine Game was an opportunity for six quarterbacks on the fringe of getting drafted elevate their draft stock. One guy that may not have what it takes to play professional football is Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Gunner Kiel.
Kiel was once a prized recruit by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He ended up transferring to Cincinnati and his Bearcats went a miserable 4-8 in the final year of the Tommy Tuberville era. Kiel was expected to carry this team and Cincinnati struggled.
While he completed four of seven passes for 57 yards and a game-best 8.1 yards per attempt, Kiel’s mechanics were tremendously sloppy. His footwork was horrendous and outside of a few big passes, Kiel struggled mightily against strong pass rushes.
It was a common theme across all quarterbacks in the Shrine Game that despite playing mostly out of shotgun, they couldn’t handle the constant pressure from the pass rush. Kiel might have had the best arm strength of his competitors, but a lack of precision has cost him his shot at getting drafted.