T.j.
Yates.
T.j.
Yates.
North Carolina· 6'3"· 219 lb· 5.06s 40
West Coast timing and rhythm passing offense that prioritizes anticipation, intellectual processing, and ball placement over arm strength and mobility.
Year 1: backup and scout team QB, ceiling: quality spot-starter and long-term clipboard holder.
Spread option or vertical-attack passing schemes that prioritize off-script playmaking and mobility due to his limited athleticism and average arm strength.
Yates' best fit is in a system that can mask his athletic deficiencies and maximize his high football IQ and accuracy on timing routes and intermediate throws.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.06sp50
- Vertical
- 29.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 104inp50
- Three-cone
- 6.96sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.12sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | North Carolina | 12 | 218 | 365 | 2655 | 14 | 18 |
| 2008 | North Carolina | 7 | 81 | 135 | 1168 | 11 | 4 |
| 2009 | North Carolina | 13 | 214 | 355 | 2136 | 14 | 15 |
| 2010 | North Carolina | 13 | 282 | 422 | 3418 | 19 | 9 |
| Career | — | 45 | 795 | 1277 | 9377 | 58 | 46 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.