Michigan Football: Mel Kiper grades Shea Patterson as undrafted

Former Michigan football Shea Patterson received a bad grade from Mel Kiper Jr. and it doesn’t seem like the NFL draft will be kind to the Wolverine.

When it comes to Shea Patterson and Michigan football, there are generally two schools of thought.

There are the Michigan football fans that see Patterson as a massive disappointment, despite his 19 career wins as Wolverines starter and his high place on most Michigan passing lists.

However, there is another segment of the fanbase that always sort of viewed Patterson as overrated and won’t forgive his big-game blunders.

One side always said Shea would prove himself in the NFL, while the other segment, the one that didn’t view Patterson favorably always sort of scoffed at that.

Well, this week, Mel Kiper Jr., the well-known NFL draft analyst, has weighed in and his final grade for Patterson isn’t too flattering. In fact, Kiper says the former Michigan football quarterback will be lucky to hear his name called during the 2020 NFL draft.

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“Patterson, I have an undrafted free agent grade on,” Kiper said via MLive after he conducted a conference call with reporters. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he was a sixth- or seventh-round pick. I have a priority free agent grade on him.”

Patterson was hoping to make an impression during the Senior Bowl last month, but his play was up and down just like it always was for the Wolverines. He threw a touchdown pass in the game but also an interception as he went 6-of-10 as a passer.

Ultimately, it seemed to just reinforce what most already knew about Patterson, which is that he’s a flawed prospect. The QB does have some quick twitch in him and he can make some things happen, but his accuracy just isn’t good enough and neither is his arm strength.

The biggest issue with him might be his decision making. It’s hard to say what his bigger fault is, the fact that he misses wide open guys he should throw to or that when he does throw to them, he often misses the target.

It’s possible that with some time in the NFL he could develop into something, but it’s hard to see him ever being anything more than a backup. If Patterson is your starting quarterback in the NFL, that can’t be a good sign.

However, he has some skills worth developing and in the quarterback-needy NFL, some team might take a shot on him in the seventh round.