In his "way-too-early" 2017 NFL mock draft a few months ago, Todd McShay of ESPN had Gophers QB Mitch Leidner as a potential first-round pick.
Gopher Nation, which remains skeptical about Leidner as he enters his senior year, reacted to that tidbit as if McShay had channeled the heat of 1,000 suns into one scorching hot take.
It's now mid-August, and perhaps the take has cooled down a bit based on a projection from Scouts Inc. — done by McShay and two other colleagues — after a summer spent more closely evaluating game film.
That said, they still have Leidner as the sixth-best QB prospect in the 2017 draft — and second in the Big Ten behind only Iowa's C.J. Beathard.
In their write-up, it said Leidner "does not have a big arm," but his running ability was praised while he was said to have "elite intangibles."
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
