NFL Draft Preview 2023: UCLA Football QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

After breaking all of the Bruins' passing records, DTR is moving up draft boards with interest building from several teams.

The NFL Draft is taking place in Kansas City next week, and a handful of Bruins are set to hear their names called.

UCLA football has 15 former players in the pool of potential future pros, which is one more than the team sent to Las Vegas last year. Only six Bruins were drafted from coach Chip Kelly's first three teams in Westwood, but six wound up getting drafted in 2022 alone.

This year's draft class could be just as UCLA-heavy, with even more prospects who made waves in blue and gold now on the board in 2023.

All Bruins is breaking down scouting reports, stats and predictions for the biggest names who could go the highest. Next up, quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

April 20 – RB Zach Charbonnet

Stats

2018: 9 GP, 112-for-194, 57.7% completion, 1,311 passing yards, 7 passing TD, 4 INT, 122.3 passer rating, 50 attempts, 68 rushing yards

2019: 11 GP, 216-for-362, 59.7% completion, 2,701 passing yards, 21 passing TD, 12 INT, 134.9 passer rating, 118 attempts, 198 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns

2020: 5 GP, 90-for-138, 65.2% completion, 1,120 passing yards, 12 passing TD, 4 INT, 156.3 passer rating, 55 attempts, 306 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns (All-Pac-12 Second Team)

2021: 11 GP, 176-for-283, 62.2% completion, 2,409 passing yards, 21 passing TD, 6 INT, 153.9 passer rating, 130 attempts, 609 rushing yards, 9 rushing TD (All-Pac-12 Second Team)

2022: 13 GP, 266-for-382, 69.6% completion, 3,169 passing yards, 27 passing TD, 10 INT, 157.4 passer rating, 118 attempts, 645 rushing yards, 12 rushing TD (All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, Davey O'Brien Award Semifinalist)

Measurements

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 203 pounds

Arms: 30 5/8 inches

Hands: 9 7/8 inches

40-Yard Dash: 4.56 seconds

10-Yard Split: 1.56 seconds

Bench Press: N/A

Vertical Jump: 32.5 inches

Broad Jump: 10-foot-1

3-Cone Drill: 7.28 seconds

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.44 seconds

What The Experts Are Saying

Dane Brugler, The Athletic: "With his live, accurate arm, the ball spins clean off his hand and his dualthreat skills allow him to create off-schedule plays. Thompson-Robinson handled quite a bit in Kelly’s offense, but he is still prone to youthful mistakes, especially when things get hectic. Overall, Thompson-Robinson plays panicked at times and must take better care of the football, but he has an NFL-quality arm with the toughness and ability to create that will appeal to pro teams. His veteran presence will help him compete for a backup role very early in his NFL career."

Lance Zierlien, NFL.com: "Five-year starter with below-average size, above-average mobility and a recent history of improvement at the position. Thompson-Robinson played in a favorable scheme for quarterbacks, but he also improved as a field-reader over time. While he can extend plays and create opportunities for himself outside of the pocket, he’s at his best when he’s throwing on time and utilizing possession throws as his base. He has lapses in vision and judgment against zone and when pressured, so he must cut down on ill-advised throws. Thompson-Robinson has the potential to find a home as a QB3 with a QB2 ceiling."

Ian Cummings, Pro Football Network: "There’s an abundance of quality backup, spot-starter prospects at QB in the 2023 NFL Draft, and Thompson-Robinson is a part of that group. He grades out as a mid-to-late Day 3 pick, but he’s a safe bet to be drafted and hold down a spot in a QB room with his physical tools. The story of Thompson-Robinson’s collegiate career has been one of stagnation. He showed promise early on, but he lingered at the collegiate level and often failed to sustain functional growth. He took a few steps in the right direction in 2022, but he largely remains the same prospect — one with both exciting strengths and concerning weaknesses."

Derrik Klassen, Bleacher Report: "Thompson-Robinson has the experience, athleticism and baseline accuracy to all three levels to be an ideal QB2. Size, arm-strength concerns and pocket-management inconsistencies hurt his potential as a legit starting quarterback, but he has enough room to grow to emerge as a steady spot starter, a la Taylor Heinicke. Thompson-Robinson would fit best in a West Coast-style system that embraces a quick game and his strengths as an athlete." 

Mason Smoller, Last Word on Sports: "Taking the fact that Dorian Thompson-Robinson is 23 years old, and showed steady improvement under Chip Kelly, it is easy to see why countless teams have met with him in the pre-draft prospect. As a rookie, Thompson-Robinson may not see much action as he sits and learns. As a matter of fact, it makes take a few seasons during his rookie contract to truly develop into at least a quality NFL backup quarterback. But it is hard to envision a world where without the right coaching, Thompson-Robinson’s athleticism paired with his development as a passer won’t find a role in the modern-day NFL offense."

Rankings

The Athletic: QB 12, No. 236 overall

Sports Illustrated: QB 13, No. 261 overall

CBS Sports: QB 9, No. 193 overall

Walter Football: QB 11

Prediction

Thompson-Robinson is much more than a running quarterback, demonstrating good decision-making, improved accuracy and high IQ as both a pocket passer and improvisor. While he certainly has his drawbacks – his size and deep accuracy chief among them – teams seem to have been impressed by what they've seen out of the now-former Bruin over the past year.

At the East-West Shrine Bowl, Thompson-Robinson delivered some real strikes. He also threw the fastest ball and ran an impressive 40-yard dash with a top-tier 10-yard split at the NFL Scouting Combine, and those baseline tools will surely be enough to get him drafted.

There are plenty of NFL teams in need of a quarterback, but there are also plenty of franchises that are likely to take ones in the first or second round. Thompson-Robinson is not on the tier of Bryce Young or Anthony Richardson, neither will he go as high as Hendon Hooker.

Teams looking for a long-term option, or even a steady and exciting backup, will be the ones in the market for Thompson-Robinson next weekend.

Between the combine, individual workouts and pre-draft meetings, several teams have expressed interest for Thompson-Robinson's services.

The Philadelphia Eagles may have just signed Marcus Mariota, but they still don't have a young option to stash behind Jalen Hurts beyond this season. The San Francisco 49ers have also been connected to Thompson-Robinson – which could align with their potential trade of 2021 first rounder Trey Lance – as have the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals

The New Orleans Saints held a private workout with Thompson-Robinson earlier in April, and they invited him down to the team facility for a visit on Wednesday as well.

Even though they just swung a big deal for Derek Carr, the Saints might make since as a destination for Thompson-Robinson. The former Raiders franchise quarterback is effectively only locked up for two years, and current backup Jameis Winston is set to become a free agent himself in 2024.

Thompson-Robinson won't be depended upon to be a starter – or even a backup – right off the bat, but he will have plenty of upward mobility in New Orleans' depth chart.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson: New Orleans Saints, No. 165 overall (Round 5)

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