Kyler Murray's 20 on Wonderlic means what?

[Oldercoach]

Daniel Jones the 1st round pick of the Giants at #6 scores a 37, Grier a 30, Lock a 26, Haskins a 25, and #1 pick Kyler Murray a 20 which most consider very low for the complexities of the NFL's QB position. With the unquestionable intellectual challenges of instantaneous recognition, reaction, and moving to alternative solutions does the Kyler Murray future potentially find obstacles that his physical skills are not able to overcome?

 

On the other hand, the Wonderlic (a longtime tool of the NFL consisting of 50 multiple choice questions to be answered in 12 minutes theoretically measures intelligence/capacity to respond in a tight time frame) continues to be used and is valued highly by many NFL teams. Does anyone know of data to support the credibility of this tool? We all know of people that are high achievers that have only average(?)/normal (?) intelligence; however, their success might normally be in fields not considered scientific, medical, analytical, etc. I question whether the NFL QB position might similarly fall into that category? Anybody have a clue what Tom Brady, Drew Brees, John Elway, Peyton Manning and other greats wonderlic scores might have been?

Edited April 26, 2019 by bugatti

[Getslow]

There have been some studies on the Wonderlic's effectiveness, but they seem to be behind paywalls... like everything else in academic journals.

 

I don't put much stock into it. Just in a quick Wikipedia search, Jim Kelly, Donovan McNabb, and Jeff George were all 15 or below. That's well below the average for quarterbacks in the league.

 

The wikipedia article even suggested that for certain positions, there's actually a negative correlation; the better you do on the test, the worse your career seems likely to be.

 

FWIW (and this is in no way surprising having spent enough time with how they are expected to see the game and be successful), offensive linemen have the highest average Wonderlic in the league.

[John Anthony]

Nothing.

[TheDeuce]

Fitzpatrick 48

G. McElroy 48

E. Manning 39

Kaepernick 38

Stafford 38

Luck 37

Rodgers 35

Brady 33

Rivers 30

Brees 28

P. Manning 28

R. Wilson 28

[bugatti]

Not sure there is any correlation nor would it prohibit me from drafting a QB if I felt his talents and skill level met what my organization needed. I would be lying though if I said it would not give me a slight pause if a score came back incredibly low (20 is pretty low). Ultimately it comes down to how well a QB can play and how quickly they process information under intense physical pressure; that is not measured by a Wonderlic score. I would be more concerned with the reports that Murray is somewhat aloof and has shown a lack of care for the film room.

[Getslow]

Fitzpatrick 48

 

I guess he did get into Harvard after all.

 

Fun fact: Bengals punter Pat McInally is the only NFL prospect known to have recorded a perfect score. Did it in 1975.

 

He also went to Harvard.

[Oldercoach]

Not sure there is any correlation nor would it prohibit me from drafting a QB if I felt his talents and skill level met what my organization needed. I would be lying though if I said it would not give me a slight pause if a score came back incredibly low (20 is pretty low). Ultimately it comes down to how well a QB can play and how quickly they process information under intense physical pressure; that is not measured by a Wonderlic score. I would be more concerned with the reports that Murray is somewhat aloof and has shown a lack of care for the film room.

 

Wonder if Murray just blew off the test knowing he was a lock for Arizona and their new coach? Does possibly coincide with lack of care in the film room (ala Demarcus Russell).

[Randy Parker]

My low Wonderlic score didn't keep me from becoming a renowned BGPer.

[GrantNKY]

I don’t know if it was mentioned last year, but Lamar Jackson scored a 13 on the wonderlic. It’s no secret I have never been sold on Lamar’s potential as a long term NFL QB, but even I would never point to some meaningless test to bolster my viewpoint one way or the other. So Kyler Murray’s wonderlic score is meaningless to me as well.

[Getslow]

My low Wonderlic score didn't keep me from becoming a renowned BGPer.

 

Resubmitted without further comment...

 

[OlDog75]

My low Wonderlic score didn't keep me from becoming a renowned BGPer.

 

:lol2::thumb:

[TheDeuce]

My low Wonderlic score didn't keep me from becoming a renowned BGPer.

 

My high score explains my general awesomeness.

[Voice of Reason]

Here is wiki's summary of the Wonderlic test.

 

Wonderlic test - Wikipedia

 

If you look to the bottom of the article, it lists the average score by NFL position. I thought that was pretty interesting. If you want to guess before I share that info, click on the link before scrolling down.

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Jeopardy music playing ... James already has the answers.

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Three of the top 4 scoring positions are offensive line. OT is 1st, C is 2nd, then QB 3d and OG is 4th. The 3 lowest scoring positions are WR, FB and HB.

[mcpapa]

I guess he did get into Harvard after all.

 

Fun fact: Bengals punter Pat McInally is the only NFL prospect known to have recorded a perfect score. Did it in 1975.

 

He also went to Harvard.

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My son’s first job after graduate school was teaching at Harvard. He still teaches an online summer school class for them. Maybe he should have learned how to punt at a young age.

 

At at any rate, I’ve always heard that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

[oldgrappler]

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My son’s first job after graduate school was teaching at Harvard. He still teaches an online summer school class for them. Maybe he should have learned how to punt at a young age.

 

At at any rate, I’ve always heard that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

 

My compliments to your wife.