Wild card in the Dekk(ers)

By: Josh Frey-Sam

The most interesting quarterback prospect in this class likely won’t hear his name called at the NFL Draft later this month.

Hunter Dekkers — it’s a name you’ve probably heard but have likely forgotten by now.

The 23-year-old redshirt senior declared for the draft as a player from Iowa Western Community College, but his card was always supposed to read Iowa State University.

Dekkers was a four-star recruit out of high school and touted as an outstanding multi-sport athlete. Those closest to him believe he could’ve made it pro on the gridiron, basketball court, or baseball diamond— he was that good.

Dekkers redshirted his freshman season at Iowa State and backed up Brock Purdy in 2021. When Purdy left for the NFL, Dekkers was named the Cyclones’ starter in 2022 — he flashed in 12 starts, tossing for over 3,000 yards and 19 touchdowns.

He expected to take a significant step the following year but never got the chance. In August of 2023, Dekkers was indicted on charges related to sports gambling and forced to step away from the Cyclones program.

The charges permanently revoked his eligibility from the NCAA and forced him to take a season off. By a stroke of luck, he found his way to Iowa Western Community College last year. Dekkers went on to lead the Reivers to the NJCAA national championship game.

That’s all to say: Dekkers has taken the long route to the NFL.

It’s worth noting he appears remorseful for his actions and has accepted full responsibility for what he did, which is important when teams are searching for any character issues.

Silly decisions aside, Dekkers’ skill set presents an intriguing prospect to evaluate. The left-handed thrower checks a lot of boxes.

A couple of my notes:

*Stands tall in the pocket at a solid 6-3, 225 pounds, and presents as a strong individual who can take a hit.

*Natural thrower. Tight spiral. The ball jumps out of his hand, and you can see the baseball background.

*Mobility is a strong suit. Has the athleticism to outrun defenders and the toughness to bowl them over.

*Gunslinger. Has the arm talent to make any throw on the field, and made tons of NFL-calibre throws, but is also prone to taking a few more risks than you’d like — he had 24 interceptions in his two collegiate seasons as a starter.

*Footwork feels fairly clean.

*Displays a good feel in the pocket. Does a good job of sensing pressure and when he needs to take off.

Now, I need to be transparent. This is an incomplete scouting report — in fact, it barely scratches the surface of Dekkers. There isn’t a ton of tape for me to look at, so it would be wrong for me to project what he could be at the next level.

The other thing — and this will be one of the biggest issues NFL talent evaluators have — is assessing Dekkers’ tape against poor competition. Keep in mind, we’re talking about community college, where a lot of former Division 1 guys can look good.

Scouts will likely put more stock in his 2022 tape when trying to project his upside. Then they will look at his 2024 tape to see if the flaws he demonstrated three years ago are still prevalent.

In my opinion, Dekkers’ tools are very apparent, and he looks like an NFL quarterback. His skill set is enough to warrant a roster spot in training camp at the very least.

Dekkers feels like a sixth-round pick at best, given his past and how difficult it will be to evaluate a guy who hasn’t played against NFL-calibre competition since 2022.

More likely is he will be a high-priority undrafted free agent signing. From there, he will have an opportunity to show he deserves a spot on a team’s practice squad.

He could be the joker in this year’s Dekk(ers) of NFL prospects.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh