Examining the fit: Nate Sudfeld

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers recently made an addition to the QB room, signing Nate Sudfeld. Sudfeld is a big QB at 6’6” 235lbs, but is not mobile and is more of the traditional drop back pocket passer. He played college football at Indiana, where he was a 3-year starter from 2013 to 2015, plus a relief starter his freshman year in 2012 due to injury. Over his college career he passed for 7,879 yards, with 61 TDs and 20 INTs.

Entering the 2016 draft, the scouting report on Sudfeld was that he had the arm talent to make any throw, with the ability to make some elite level throws but maddening inconsistency due to issues with his mechanics, in particular relying too much on being an arm thrower rather than throwing with hip torque. Key strengths were his intelligence, anticipation/ timing and pocket presence, while key weaknesses were his lack of athleticism, inconsistent accuracy and zip, and too many instances of misreading defenses and not reading underneath coverage in the middle of the field. In short, Sudfeld profiled as a backup calibre QB and a lower end version of the starting QBs that Shanahan has typically worked with.

He was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 draft by the Washington Football Team, but never played a snap for them and was waived ahead of the 2017 season. The Eagles signed him soon after, and has been on their roster until this offseason. During this time he saw limited action, attempting just 37 passes (25 completions) for 188 yards, with 1 TD and 1 INT.

Despite limited game time, like Garoppolo, Sudfeld boasts a Super Bowl ring having been the active backup QB to Nick Foles in the 2017 season Super Bowl. He was also thought of highly enough by Doug Pederson that they gave him a second round tender as a RFA in the 2019 offseason, and brought him back once again last offseason.

The move by the 49ers to sign Sudfeld was something of a surprise given the 49ers already had Garoppolo, Rosen and Johnson under contract, and are expected to draft a QB at pick #3 in the upcoming draft. At first this seemed likely to simply be a camp arm signing, however, when news of the contract details broke it was revealed Sudfeld’s contract includes $252K in guaranteed money. This, perversely, makes him the only QB currently on the roster with any guaranteed money owed in 2021.

A potential factor in the 49ers signing Sudfeld may have been Rich Scangarello, who was with the Eagles last year as a senior offensive assistant. Scangarello will know what Sudfeld brings to the table and how he fits within what Shanahan wants to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if Scangarello sees a little of Nick Mullens in Sudfeld, but with a stronger arm, which makes him a valuable backup option.

However, I find it difficult to believe this move changes anything with regards to what the team is thinking when it comes to Garoppolo. Sudfeld doesn’t profile as a bridge QB – he is to date a career backup and has not shown the traits to be a guy you can rely on to win games over a stretch of time.

After reviewing the player, I see Sudfeld as competing with Rosen and Johnson for a spot on the 53 as the third QB, that can be the backup QB on game day until the rookie is ready. Given his guaranteed money, I think the 49ers believe Sudfeld has a decent chance of winning that battle.