North Carolina NFL Draft Preview: Bryn Renner

Feb 22, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Bryn Renner on left talks with North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

In order to prepare you for the NFL Draft, and when and to where some former Tar Heel football players could go, Keeping It Heel has put together a North Carolina Draft Preview series. Leading up to draft day, we will feature different Tar Heels and their chances for the draft. Today we continue with Bryn Renner, and make sure you check back every day until the NFL Draft for more player previews!

Vitals

Height: 6’3”
Weight: 228 lbs.
Position: Quarterback
Arm Length: 30 3/8”
Hand Length: 9 1/8”
High School: West Springfield High School

Carolina Stats and Overview

The sixth rated quarterback coming out of high school by ESPN.com backed up T.J. Yates in his first year at UNC, throwing his first career pass at Virginia. In his sophomore year, he set the single season school record with 26 touchdown passes. The future looked really bright after than sophomore season.

In 2012, he benefited from new head coach Larry Fedora’s up tempo passing attack and earned an honorable mention All-ACC selection while starting all 12 games. He also set the UNC single-season record for total offense with 3394 yards over the 12 games in that season.

Coming into 2013, he was a sleeper pick for All-ACC first or second teams, and was expected to put up big numbers again. However, his final and senior season in Chapel Hill turned out to be a disappointment, as Renner struggled early in the season and had his career cut short to injury on November 6th after undergoing shoulder surgery. Bryn Renner finished his time at Carolina with 8221 yards passing and 62 touchdowns

Combine Results

40 Yard Dash: 4.87 sec
Vert Jump: 25.5 inch
Three Cone Drill: 7.22 sec
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.30 sec
Broad Jump: 108 inch

Strengths and Weaknesses

Renner has the experience and pedigree of an NFL quarterback- his father, Bill, punted for the Green Bay Packers in the 80s. Bryn also has three years of experience at Carolina under his belt and put up some really big numbers. He is a talented short and medium distance passer, and has developed a touch while in the pocket.

Unfortunately, the weaknesses outweigh the strengths for Bryn. His throwing form always came off as a bit awkward for me while he played at Carolina, and his footwork was never the best. Sometimes he throws off his back foot and just kind of lofts the ball up without driving through the throw. He struggles when outside of the pocket and isn’t really a “dual-threat” or “mobile” quarterback prospect. He was never really a good deep ball thrower, and some of those throws would hang up in the air for too long. Also, he is a little bit undersized for the NFL.

Draft Projections

NFL.com lists Renner as a 6th or 7th round pick in the draft later this week. In the 6th or 7th round, Renner is looking at starting as a backup and hoping things break right so that he can see some playing time. An obvious comparison to Renner’s situation is T.J. Yates, who has backed up Matt Schaub while in Houston and won a playoff game for them while Schaub was hurt. If Renner can find the right situation on a team with an established, aging quarterback, he could stick in the league as a backup. The Falcons, Chargers and Steelers are three teams with aging QBs that might be a good fit for Renner.

Bottom Line

Bryn Renner had some really rotten luck at the end of his career when he got hurt and wasn’t able to finish out his senior season. He has some positive attributes that lend me to believe that he can stick in this league, but he has a long road ahead of him if he wants to be a starting quarterback in the National Football league.