Pros

• Enters the league well filled out with a muscular frame and adequate size

• Athleticism is plus: Cook is able to scramble for first downs and extend plays easily with a Taysom Hill style of running when he turns up-field

• Quick chop thrower that can really spin it in the short and intermediate range.

• Good arc on his deeper throws, can find the basket

• Natural feel for arc and touch on intermediate throws. Can place balls over mid-level defenders and exploit holes in zone

• Competes against high-level competition consistently and grinds every down

Cons

• Mizzou offense has him looking to run too often, and he often tucks early when he could feed the ball to open playmakers around him. NFL defenders will close quicker and he needs to use his arm to exit these scenarios more often.

• Accuracy can just be adequate at times, you’d like to see better placement so receivers don’t slow down, adjust, or wait on longer throws

• Deeper throws to the boundaries can hang a bit lacking top velocity

• Can sometimes drift slowly in his drop-back and gets a bit casual at times while waiting on routes. Needs to keep pace and rhythm more consistently, especially when things speed up at the next level

• Lacking consistency to elevate above his level

• Adrenaline can make him lose tempo

Summary

Cook is a Quarterback to dream on. He’s a very talented athlete with a quick-strike arm but like some Mizzou QB’s in recent years he’s also a victim of a system that asks him to run a lot and not make complex throws. With a team that believes in him and cleans him up he could succeed in the modern NFL, mixing in throws to all levels and QB runs to infuriate defenses. There’s a starting Quarterback here within the assorted tools but the pieces aren’t all together and on display. Cook has especially disappointed this season when it was expected he would take the next step, which doesn’t bode well for his momentum. What looked like a promising QB2 with upside is now struggling to get noticed.