Scout's view: South Carolina's Spencer Rattler draws comparisons to this Hall of Famer

Daniel Kelly spent four years in pro scouting with the New York Jets. He is the published author of the book "Whatever It Takes," the story of a fan making it into the NFL. 

I loved what QB Spencer Rattler showed me on 2020 and 2021 game film at Oklahoma. I also loved Rattler on game film last season at South Carolina, the school he transferred to in December 2021. 

Rattler is a gunslinger who conjures up memories of Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre. Now I could do without Rattler's ill-advised passes and sacks that come with this type of QB, but the ice in his eyes and chip on his shoulder cover a multitude of football sins. 

Rattler is my favorite among QBs I have evaluated for the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 NFL drafts.

Over the course of his college career, Rattler has completed 68.4% of his passes. Only top-15 picks in the past two drafts — C.J. Stroud (69.3%) at Ohio State and QB Mac Jones (74.3%) at Alabama — were better.

Among this year's QB class, Rattler's career completion percentage is higher than North Carolina's Drake Maye (66.2), Washington State's Cameron Ward (64.4), Utah's Cameron Rising (64.1), Oregon's Bo Nix (62.9). Washington's Michael Penix Jr. (62.3), Florida State's Jordan Travis (61.2), Texas' Quinn Ewers (58.1) and Tennessee's Joe Milton III (57.8). 

All but Penix Jr. and Nix earned first-round evaluations from me.

His completion percentage is also higher than Southern Cal's Caleb Williams (66), the player who replaced Rattler as the starter at Oklahoma in 2021 under coach Lincoln Riley. (Williams, as you may recall, recently received a second-round evaluation from me.)

Before his benching against Texas, Rattler had led the Sooners to a 5-0 record and completed 76.9% of his passes. 

Williams then followed Riley to Southern Cal and Rattler transferred to South Carolina, where he played so-so before coming on strongly down the stretch last season. After dismantling No. 5 Tennessee, going 30-for-37 for 438 yards and throwing six touchdowns, Rattler earned praise from Pro Football Focus. "One of the best quarterback performances of 2022, if not the best," the outlet wrote.

It's impressive seeing how Rattler overcame adversity with the Sooners before bouncing back with the Gamecocks. It's this ability to acclimate to a new environment and teammates that will serve him well at the next level. 

Here are the top three attributes I see on Rattler's game film, many of which he displays in these 2022 game clips: