The San Francisco 49ers were one of the winners of the 2017 NFL draft.
However, one pick that had some draftniks scratching their heads was the selection of Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard in the third round.
Most experts had him going in the fifth or sixth round. But Beathard has one influential fan that showered him with the highest of praises.
From an ESPN report:
Moments after drafting Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch explained their hope for Beathard is he could come in as the No. 3 quarterback, learn from the guys in front of him and eventually develop into a starter.
But on Jan. 26, 2016, President Donald Trump offered a far grander idea of what Beathard could become in the NFL. According to the Ceder Rapids Gazette, during a campaign event at the University of Iowa Field House, Trump — who was then a candidate for the Republican nomination — repeatedly referred to Beathard as the second coming of Tom Brady, the New England Patriots’ five-time Super Bowl champion.
“We’ve got the next Tom Brady right over here, the quarterback, he’s going to be the next Tom Brady,” Trump said, pointing to Beathard. “The next Tom Brady, come on. And I know Tom, and he’s a great guy, I want to tell you.”
Beathard went on to a middling senior season but was coming off of a strong junior year in which he led Iowa to a Rose Bowl appearance at the time of Trump’s comments. The 49ers traded back into the third round of the draft on Friday night, taking Beathard with pick No. 104 overall…
The idea of Beathard becoming the next Brady is undoubtedly a long shot, but the Niners would be more than happy for Trump to be right in his evaluation. Brady, after all, was a sixth-round pick with mediocre stats from a Big Ten program and is now the standard-bearer for anyone hoping a quarterback taken late can become a superstar.
Trump was obviously stumping for votes, but perhaps his analysis of Beathard as a promising prospect is warranted.
Anonymous scouts said the following about Beathard to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“…he’s got a good arm, he’s accurate and has intangibles. Athletically, you want a little bit better…”
“He’s smart as (expletive) and a great kid. His grandfather [former General Manager Bobby Beathard] should be in the Hall of Fame…”
“He did play hurt. In the bowl game they beat the crap out of him and he kept coming back.”
Accurate. Smart. Intangibles. Tough. These adjectives are certainly reminiscent of Brady.
Beathard’s former college coach Kirk Ferentz had this to say about him:
“All of a sudden we had a pretty good quarterback with nobody to throw it to. I think the smart people found that out. He has all the intangibles you want. I think he’s going to do really, really well…It’s no secret our passing game last year left a lot to be desired. I would attribute that to two of our guys from ’15 being in the NFL and the other two guys being hurt a majority of the season. We don’t have them stocked up like at Ohio State. We don’t have a four-deep at receiver. That really affected his numbers. But if you’re looking at tape and looking at players and delving in there a little bit, to me, smart people figured this one out. I really give San Francisco a lot of credit, because I think guy is a really good football player.”
Hoping for Beathard to develop into a Hall-of-Fame quarterback is pie in the sky. But Trump’s positive evaluation of Beathard is warranted.
The progressive hotbed that is San Francisco finally has a Donald Trump opinion it can fully embrace.