Welcome to Purple & Gold Prospects!

This will be an ongoing series to get Vikings fans familiar with upcoming draft prospects. The focus of this series will be to cover prominent prospects entering the upcoming NFL Draft. The series will center on the position groups of highest need on the current Vikings roster, but will also cover stand out players across the spectrum. I hope you will join me on this continuing journey to learn more about upcoming draft classes.

With that let’s discover the possible future of your Minnesota Vikings!

Background

Height: 6010

Weight: 212 lbs.

Jordan Travis was a 3-star recruit out of Benjamin High School. He declared for Louisville in 2018. After one season there he transferred to Florida State where he remained for the next five seasons. At Florida State he has amassed 6627 yards passing, 53 Touchdowns, and 18 Interceptions with a 62.0% completion rate. He has rushed for another 1830 yards and 25 touchdowns. He is a true dual-threat quarterback coming out of college.

Games watched: Boston College 2022, Clemson 2022, Florida 2021, Oklahoma 2022

Strengths

The first thing you notice about Travis is his obvious athletic ability as both a passer extending and creating plays as well as picking up yards on the ground. He is a dynamic runner in space and elusive in the backfield to evade sacks and create plays with his feet. Has good change of direction and can take extremely tight angles to make defenders miss or split defenders to create greater chunk plays. Travis also displays really sound upper body mechanics and decision-making when kept clean. He also has with a nice quick and compact release. Travis is an accurate passer in the pocket or on the run and off platform. He has moments of great accuracy in tight windows and can hit any level of the field. Travis also displays really good touch to drop the ball into receivers along the sidelines. He does a good job of varying ball speeds and trajectories to deliver throws and keep them away from defenders. Travis is a true dual-threat quarterback with the ability to deliver explosive plays through the ground or air. He often delivers in high-pressure situations.

Weaknesses

Travis is not the greatest pocket manipulator. When he gets moved off his spot he tends to tuck and run immediately instead of trying to reset and throw. His mechanics can become a big problem when under pressure. Footwork becomes sloppy and occasionally his release becomes a slow windup. He will commit to the run early instead of keeping his eye downfield looking for an open receiver. Travis doesn’t always display the best ball protection when running, keeping the ball away from his body and creating dangerous plays. He also doesn’t always square himself up to the throw which can lead to some slight placement and accuracy issues. Travis has an adequate NFL arm but it is not the strongest by any means. He can struggle with velocity on deeper throws which can lead to timing and placement issues. Lastly he can tend to drift in the pocket creating unnecessary pressures and sacks.

So far in 2023

Travis is off to a great start in 2023 starting with a big win over LSU in week 1 and an overall 6-0 record through six weeks. Currently, he has a 63.2% completion percentage and an impressive 13-1 TD to INT ratio. He was banged up with an apparent left hand injury briefly late in the first half against Boston College but returned after halftime barely holding off a comeback with a final score of 31-29. The injury hasn’t seemed to affect him going forward in the season. With a big back half of the season we could see Travis sneaking into the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft or at least solidifying a high second-round selection.

Grade

Accuracy: 12.5 / 15

Decision Making/Mental Ability: 12 / 15

Mechanics: 11.5 / 15

Touch/Trajectory: 13.5 / 15

Arm Strength: 7 / 10

Athleticism: 9.3 / 10

Durability: 9.5 / 10

Pocket Presence: 6.5 / 10

Grade: 81.6 – Second Round