Despite a need for quarterbacks in the NFL, Vernon Adams isn't being talked about as a first-round, or even early-round draft pick in 2016.
But the Oregon playmaker wants you to know he belongs.
"I feel like I'm as good as everybody else, or better than everybody else in this draft," Adams told USA TODAY Sports.
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Adams, who spent three years at Eastern Washington and one at Oregon, has received limited draft hype due to his lack of size.
He checked in at 5-foot-11 at the NFL combine, the shortest in the class.
“I've played Jared Goff. They always want to talk about my hands being too small, but my hands are bigger than his.
"I've played in snowy games. I've played in rainy games. I've played in negative-15 degree games. Look at my wins to losses, look at my touchdowns to interceptions. Look at my career yards," Adams said. "I'm not a cocky dude, I just want everybody to know that everything that everyone else is doing, I can do it as well. It’s just so much on my height."
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Adams in 2013 earned the College Football Performance Awards FCS National Performer of the Year. He was a two-time first-team All-Big Sky Conference, and two-time Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year (2013, 2014). In 2014, he was first-team FCS All-American.
After leveling up and joining the Ducks, Adams was an All-Pac 12 honorable mention. He was also named the East-West Shrine Game MVP in 2016.
"Put on the film when I wasn't playing, and put on the film when I was playing and see how much of a game-changer I was," Adams said, regarding his penchant for making plays.
"Honestly, those words aren't just mine, it's my teammates that have told me that. They'll say, ’Man, forget your height, this is what you should tell the scouts.’ That's what they say, and it really is the truth."
In his one year at Oregon, Adams finished with 26 passing touchdowns to six interceptions, and was limited to 10 games. He also charged for two more scores on the ground.
The 2016 NFL Draft starts Thursday, April 28.
