Will Brosmer be the first Gopher QB drafted since 1972?
The NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night with the first round from Green Bay. Rounds two and three will take place on Friday night, and rounds four through seven will take place on Saturday. The Minnesota Golden Gophers are likely to have several players hear their name called in the final four rounds of the draft on Saturday. Will one be Max Brosmer as he tries to be the first Gopher quarterback drafted since 1972?
Measurables:
Height: 6’2
Weight: 217 lbs
Arm: 31 1/4”
Hand: 9 1/2”
Brosmer played great for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in his one season in Minneapolis. He played four seasons in New Hampshire and was the runner up for thee Walter Payton Award in 2023 for the Wildcats. He transferred to Minnesota and one of the best quarterback seasons in Minnesota history setting a school record with 268 completions to go along with 403 attempts, 66.5 percent completion percentage, 2,828 yards, 18 TDs, and 6 INTs.
Max isn’t going to blow away people with his arm, but he is a small quarterback who can find holes in the defense and work off of a gameplan. He projects to be a perfect backup QB who can come in and do enough to get teams wins, but won’t win a game by himself.
Max is better at picking apart zone coverage and finding the holes the defense provides but will need more work on placing balls in tight man coverage. As Minnesota fans saw, when given time Max can be excellent, but when rushed and forced to make quick decisions his accuracy decreases rapidly and is more prone to mistakes. Brosmer’s lack of mobility and second-reaction playmaking hurts his chances, but he should be appealing to a play-action based offense utilizing levels route concepts. He also can use his feet and is not a true pocket passer who is beholden to his offensive linemen to protect him. He can escape the pocket and make throws when needed. It’s pressure right up the middle and in his face that limits his success greatly and forces him to make poor decisions and throw errant passes. But none of Brosmer’s weaknesses are major red flags.
What Do the Mocks Say?
Whether Brosmer gets drafted or not will depend if a team liked him enough during the process that they want to spend a 6th or 7th round pick on him rather than trying to outbid everyone during UDFA time. The Minnesota Vikings were the only team to bring Brosmer in for a known visit, and it didn’t count towards their 30 total as he was a local. Unfortunately the Vikings don’t have much draft capital so its not too likely they draft him, hoping they can woo him as a UDFA. But, Brosmer does show up in several mock drafts. If Brosmer’s name is called, he will become the first Gophers quarterback drafted since 1972, when Craig Curry was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the eighth round.
Matt Miller ESPN.com New York Jets R6 P 186
SI Indy Indianapolis Colts R6 P 189
Sporting News Los Angeles Rams R6 P 195
Jordan Reid ESPN.com Indianapolis Colts R 7 P 232
Dane Brugler The Athletic San Francisco 49ers R7 P 249
Final Prediction:
Brosmer is the consensus #12 quarterback on the bg board. Two went in the first round on Thursday and at least two or three more will go on Friday. If the QB run Saturday starts early, I think Brosmer goes late 6th or early 7th round. But if there is a big QB gap and the 7-10 QB’s on the board don’t come off until the 7th round, then its going to be really really close.
He will be taken by a team who likes cerebral quarterbacks. The Rams are a definite possibility with their coaching staff, as are the 49ers, and frankly the Vikings. But again unless the Vikings get a ton more picks, I don’t see them using one on a QB. While not quite the same skill set the name Brock Purdy has been thrown around a lot with Brosmer in the same cerebral, smart, get the most out of his semi-limited skills type of game. So…
With the 227th selection in the NFL Draft in the 7th Round, the San Francisco 49ers Steelers select Max Brosmer from the University of Minnesota.