The three year starter did not hear his name called in the draft but was signed immediately afterward as an undrafted free agent.
Lewerke is not a flashy quarterback as he only through for 17 touchdowns in 2019. What Lewerke is, is an accurate game manager who knows how to study film and do what's asked of him. In all honesty, Lewerke is a younger and better version of Brian Hoyer.
Before the draft, an NFC personnel director told NFL.com “(Lewerke) is gonna do everything right in terms of coaching."
The director went on to say Lewerke isn't the strongest arm or the most accurate. However, that's not why you bring him into a roster. Think of Chad Pennington. He wasn't always the most accurate and he wasn't the strongest arm. What he was , was intelligent, he could expose holes in a defense. That's what Lewerke is. Especially as a practice squad quarterback.
According to Matt Howe, A coach who chose to be anonymous said "He got crushed because he played with a bad shoulder two years ago. I thought he played really good his freshman year. And last year they had a terrible scheme and no talent. He had moments of greatness and moments of bad play, but there was nothing that helped him."
Back in the spring I wrote an article on Lewerke where I said that he was another quarterback with questions due to circumstance, and that he was either a mid level starter or a career backup. Lewerke was one of the best quarterbacks in Michigan State history.
Lance Zerlien of NFL.com wasn't exactly kind when he spoke of Lewerke but he kinda says what I was getting at. “Scouts have gone from bullish to bearish on Lewerke after his dismal two-year run following a promising 2017 campaign. He looks the part from an operational standpoint with good size and mobility, but he's been unable to inspire confidence in his ability as a field leader. If coaching improves his footwork and follow-through, he might see some improvement from an accuracy standpoint, but it's hard to say if it will be enough. The traits and talent are absolutely worth a look, but the spotty confidence and issues with ball placement could be hard to overcome.”
Look Lewerke is not going to be the starter on day one, in fact he probably won't even be on the final 53 man roster. However, it will make sense for the Patriots to keep a quarterback on the practice squad due to the pandemic. We have seen nobodies become household names in the NFL due to fluke circumstances. If Lewerke can make the practice squad in 2020, he has a solid chance of being the team's back up in 2021 if Newton goes elsewhere.
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