Evaluating Clayton Tune's Roller Coaster Cardinals Debut

Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Clayton Tune took the field for the first time in his preseason debut - here's what we saw.

Rarely has a fifth-round rookie quarterback made noise after being drafted, though circumstances around the Arizona Cardinals led to a bit of intrigue when the team drafted Houston QB Clayton Tune months ago. 

From telling reporters he felt like he was the best quarterback in his class to receiving compliments left and right during rookie and mandatory minicamp, Tune entered Arizona's training camp with considerable buzz. 

Colt McCoy is fully expected to be the starter until Kyler Murray regains full health - whenever that may be. Yet that doesn't mean Tune can't make the conversation interesting, if not push for a competition during the preseason.

Tune played majority of Arizona's offensive snaps in their 18-17 win over the Denver Broncos, going 13-23 for 135 yards and one touchdown with one interception. He also rushed four times for nine yards.

Tune admittedly looked nervous during the first half of play, taking over for McCoy on the second drive of the game and playing through the first plays of the fourth quarter before David Blough relieved him.

When asked what he saw out of Tune, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon shared the same sentiment:

“A rookie in his first NFL game, he probably wants a couple throws back just like I want a couple things back. ... but I thought he settled down. I thought he made some plays with his legs, which is huge in today’s NFL. He’s a mobile guy.

“He placed a few throws in there, but like I said, he’ll go back in there and all our guys will go back in there and say, ‘Alright, let’s get into details and how can I get a little bit better?’. I was pleased with the operation from him.”

Tune went from a clear nervous passer to finishing with a touchdown pass on the final throw of his night - here's what we made of the rookie's pro debut:

The Good

• Tune is extremely athletic, and unfortunately had to put that on display one too many times as Arizona's offensive line did him no favors. His speed at the quarterback position, though not Lamar Jackson-like, could be of use down the road. 
• When he made himself a runner, he knew when to give himself up rather than risk a turnover or injury for a potential few extra yards. 
• Adding to that, Tune has a very good feel for the pocket. He displayed a good sense of pressure and showed he was capable of climbing the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. He keeps his feet moving and didn't allow himself to become a statue behind the line of scrimmage. 
• Though not preferred, he did show the ability to make an off-balance throw with pressure in his face. His arm talent isn't elite but it's easy to see how he threw for so many yards at the college level. 
• Generally speaking, accuracy and timing wasn't a problem inside the numbers, as most throws were on schedule and where they needed to be. 
• Though defenses will be vanilla in preseason, Tune showed a basic grasp of recognizing coverages before the snap. 
• Sometimes rookies - especially down and looking to erase a deficit - can try to play "hero ball" and force throws when unnecessary. Tune didn't show that trait at all during his debut. 
• Finally, he finished with a crisp throw on a post route - with a blitz coming at him - in the red zone for a touchdown to finish his night. Tune shook those early game woes off and showed visible improvement, responding well to his early interception. 

The Bad

• When assessing the negatives, perhaps the biggest red flag was Tune's inability to progress through reads. On his 23 attempts, we identified 13 passes where Tune had an obvious first read. 11 of those 13 passes were stare-downs and went to his target. 
• Touching on that, Tune missed several checkdown options that were easily open thanks to him not seeing the field. 
• Tune seemingly settled on a pre-determined target for each play prior to the snap based on his read from the defense, which is standard - unless that read wasn't open. He was sacked once after panicking and missed open options, similar to the note above. 
• Tune's accuracy outside of the numbers was nothing to write home about. Three routine throws sailed over the head of an open receiver trailing to the sideline - two of which were targets to Greg Dortch on the same exact play/concept. 
• Though a small detail, Tune seems to be somewhat rushing through his delivery when simulating a handoff on play-action. 
• Tune's mobility (and lack of protection) saw him scramble out of the pocket often, though his lack of awareness near the sideline to throw the ball away rather than run out of bounds and take sack yardage can find improvement. 
• Inconsistent is perhaps the best way to sum his night up. Tune would deliver a run-of-the-mill slant route before overshooting a similar concept soon after. 

The Verdict

There was quite a bit of excitement for Tune's first action in preseason - which ended up being the definition of roller coaster. Overall, Tune displayed a nice ability to bounce back from his shaky start and put some of the that talent Arizona saw when they drafted him on tape.

From one game, Tune is athletic and checked a handful of boxes that are important to be a quarterback in this league while also showing important hurdles to overcome in that process. 

His interception wasn't quite his fault thanks to Rondale Moore slipping, though he was largely inconsistent when commanding the offense. 

Overall, Tune's debut could be overall classified as successful - though both critics and fans of him should take his initial few drives with a grain of salt. 

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