Combine Numbers

Height	Weight	40 (Hand)	40 (Electronic)	Vertical Jump	Long Jump	Shuttle
6-2 7/8	223	4.75	4.76	31.75	9'7	4.2

Unheralded small-college passer completed an outstanding senior season that has him rising up the draft charts. He played well in two all-star games, the Blue-Gray and Senior bowls, which further improved his value.

Rivers impressed in his only season at the Division 1-AA level after playing his first three seasons as a backup at Virginia. He is a lean athlete with a good throwing arm and the setup and the mechanics to deliver an accurate pass with good velocity. As a senior, he threw for 2,878 yards on 208 completions of 350 attempts for 17 TDs and nine interceptions. It was his most extended playing career of his career.

At Virginia, he backed up Dan Ellis most of his career with limited opportunity to play. In his most playing time at Virginia as a junior in '99, he had a strong game against Georgia Tech when he lead the Cavaliers to an amazing comeback, 45-38 win after trailing by 24-7. In the victory, he threw for 228 yards and three TDs subbing for the injured Ellis.

He has a nice understanding of the QB position, combining good vision, quick feet and good passing mechanics. He shows the talent to make all the throws with the smooth delivery and the arm strength to deliver the ball consistently on time. He has a good touch with the accuracy to hit receivers in stride to break plays. He displays fine vision and has learned to take what a defense gives him. He can throw the deep ball well and make the big play, but needs further work on his footwork to hit on the long pass more often. He moves fairly well in the pocket, with the ability to throw on the move accurately.

At the two all-star games, he gave good efforts as a passer. He showed the ability to read defenses and pick up the new system quickly. Over the week at the Senior Bowl, he displayed a nice touch on his passes with good mechanics. He needs further work on reading reading coverages and finding secondary receivers. He has developed the talent to read his high-low progressions with the ability to hit the secondary receiver. He is an accurate passer with interesting upside. He needs to develop further physically, which will enable him to take hits in the pocket. He does need further refinement and development in his reads and footwork, but he will receive the critical learning time necessary as a club's third-string passer his first few seasons. At the combine, he ran a 4.78 and had a 31.5-inch VL. Good second-day pick, with a starting grade if he proves he can progress as quickly as he did as a senior.

Draft Projection: Fifth-Sixth Round

Passing

Year	G	Att.	Comp.	Yards	Pct.	TD	Int.	Rating
1997	3	2	1	4	50.0	0	0	66.8
1998	3	0	0	0	---	0	0	---
1999	4	46	25	333	54.3	4	2	135.2
2000	11	350	208	2,878	59.4	17	9	139.4
Totals	21	398	234	3,215	58.8	21	11	138.5