Buffalo continued their parade of draft prospect visitors at One Bills Drive as they welcomed Arizona QB Matt Scott and Tennessee WR Zach Rogers to the team facility Tuesday.
Scott (6-2, 214) said the Bills were one of the team he felt was most interested in him at his pro day last month. At the NFL Combine his athleticism was on display. He ran a 4.69 40-time good for third among quarterbacks behind only Geno Smith and E.J. Manuel. He had the third best vertical leap (31"), the best three cone time (6.69), the second-best broad jump (9'10") and set a record with a 3.99 20-yard short shuttle time.
The stigma Scott is trying to change however, is the label of being a running quarterback because of that athleticism. Part of the problem are the better than 1,100 rushing yards he rolled up while at Arizona.
"I think a lot of people have a notion that I'm a scrambler, not really much of a passer," said Scott. "I feel like I'm a pass-first, and then scramble if that's the case."
Scott, who started just one year after playing behind current Eagles QB Nick Foles, doesn't regret his decision to stay at Arizona rather than transfer to another school.
"It was pretty difficult," Scott admitted. "Obviously, a lot of other quarterbacks would have taken another route, gone to another place to play. But I feel like I committed to Arizona for a reason. Running from my problems instead of facing them was not going to be a good option for me. I felt like if I stayed and competed with a great quarterback like Nick Foles that would just make me better."
Blessed with a solid throwing arm, Scott has had some impressive come from behind victories in his limited starting career (17 starts) including his last college game, a 49-48 comeback win over Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl when he threw two touchdowns in the last 42 seconds for the victory.
"Matt Scott is kind of in that mid-round range," said ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper. "He's probably in that four to five, four to six round area, and he's probably going to go to a team that doesn't have as critical a need but wants to look at a young quarterback that maybe feels like, okay, let's see if we can develop him, put him off the radar for a couple years and develop him old school way and see what happens there."
WR Rogers also visits
The Bills also hosted Tennessee WR Zach Rogers. Rogers (6-0, 182) was part of Buffalo's private workout with a handful of former Volunteers last weekend.
Rogers was Tennessee's third receiver operating mainly out of the slot. He set career highs his senior season with 32 receptions for 491 yards and seven touchdowns.
At the Tennessee pro day, Rogers ran a 4.49 40-time and had a 32-inch vertical and a 9'7" broad jump. Rogers is viewed as a day three draft prospect.
