Holton Ahlers, QB East Carolina: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Ahlers was a three-star recruit from D.H. Conley High School in Greenville, N.C. in the class of 2018

East Carolina quarterback Holton Ahlers is an overlooked prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft class. The fifth-year college quarterback pairs ideal mobility with a large, physical frame.

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Holton Ahlers, QB East Carolina: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth-year senior quarterback from Greenville, N.C.

Background: Ahlers was a three-star recruit from D.H. Conley High School in Greenville, N.C. in the class of 2018. He was the No. 543 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 518 for On3.com. Ahlers was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals. He was an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. Ahlers left high school ranked among the most statistically accomplished quarterbacks in North Carolina history. He ranked third in passing yards (11,198), second in total offensive yardage (14,784), third in passing touchdowns (145), third in total touchdowns (201), fifth in completions (670), and sixth in pass attempts (1,157). Throughout his high school career, Ahlers amassed 3,586 rushing yards and 56 rushing touchdowns. He threw 28 interceptions. Ahlers earned First-Team All-Conference honors three times and was the Conference Player of the Year twice. In 2017, the Associated Press named him the North Carolina Offensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-State selection. As a high school senior, Ahlers completed 223 of 358 pass attempts for 3,763 yards, 61 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He added 933 rushing yards and 14 more scores on the ground. As a high school junior, he produced 5,414 total yards. He completed 284 of 460 passes for 4,503 yards, 51 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Ahlers rushed for 911 yards and 15 scores that season. He threw for 2,457 yards and ran for another 1,142 as a high school sophomore while amassing 42 total touchdowns. Ahlers earned MVP honors in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. He earned two varsity letters in baseball and basketball. He twice earned All-Conference honors in baseball. Ahlers has served as a captain at East Carolina since the 2019 season. He’s a four-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection. Ahlers graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication in December of 2021. He has three older brothers.

2021 Production: 12 games, 414 attempts, 256 completions, 3,126 yards, 18 touchdowns, 10 interceptions + 116 carries, 204 yards, 6 touchdowns

2020 Production: 8 games, 269 attempts, 165 completions, 1,927 yards, 18 touchdowns, 9 interceptions + 54 carries, 109 yards, 1 touchdown

2019 Production: 12 games, 442 attempts, 264 completions, 3,387 yards, 21 touchdowns, 10 interceptions + 108 carries, 359 yards, 6 touchdowns

2018 Production: 10 games, 263 attempts, 127 completions, 1,785 yards, 12 touchdowns, 3 interceptions + 119 carries, 592 yards, 6 touchdowns

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed one game in 2018 with a knee injury, battled shoulder injury in 2022, founder and co-owner of the Christian-based apparel company Built When Broken

Awards: Four-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection

Pros: Time to throw meets NFL parameters, limited manufactured production on screens, consistent production on downfield throws, mobility to extend plays and punish defenses with his legs, large frame helps generate yards after contact, keeps his eyes downfield on extended plays, downfield passes display excellent touch, comfortable throwing on the run, 50-air-yard pass against SMU (2019), surprising number of successful plays when rolling right, applies touch at all levels of the field, avoids getting stuck when working through reads, throws with anticipation, generally throws from a good base in the pocket, trusted to alter and adjust ECU’s offense depending on what he sees from the defense, stands and delivers in the face of pressure

Cons: Age, penalized three times in 2019 and 2021, nine fumbles in 2021, benefits from playing lesser competition, his scrambling will be less effective in the NFL, eight passes batted at the line of scrimmage in 2021, throwing motion dips into a loop before the release, release is delayed, sometimes quick to drop his head in the pocket and run, lacks elite velocity, doesn’t have the velocity to consistently drive throws to the sideline, salesmanship on RPOs and play action is weak, needs to learn when to throw the ball away and live to fight another down, too much hero ball, pocket awareness is questionable, overthrows on short to intermediate routes because of his release, throws off his back foot when pressured, feet appear heavy and footwork is rigid, doesn’t have the arm talent to consistently unlock the deep third of the field

Overview: Ahlers is unofficially listed at 6'4", 230 lbs. The North Carolina Native displays good mobility for a quarterback his size. He’s able to extend plays and punish defenses with his legs when they leave him alone in space. Ahlers doesn’t have much wiggle as a runner, but his large frame helps generate yards after contact. He keeps his eyes downfield on extended plays, which has helped him consistently generate downfield production. Ahlers is comfortable throwing on the run, and he puts excellent touch on his passes to all levels of the field. Despite being a left-handed passer, Ahlers has a surprising number of positive plays rolling out to his right. He usually doesn’t get his feet around and set on these throws, but his accuracy and touch allow him to complete passes on the run with his chest open parallel to the line of scrimmage (instead of open and parallel to the sideline like normal). Ahlers avoids getting stuck when working through his reads and shows flashes of throwing with anticipation. When in the pocket, he generally throws from a good base. If he’s facing pressure, Ahlers is willing to stand in the pocket and deliver with defenders in his face. ECU trusts the former three-star recruit to handle a lot of responsibility at the line of scrimmage and allows him to alter or adjust plays based on the defense’s look. Ahlers benefits from playing lower-level competition, but he has kept ECU in some close games against teams like BYU (2022) and North Carolina State (2022). His scrambling will be less effective at the NFL level where defenders are faster and more disciplined. Ahlers’ mental clock will need to speed up on plays. He currently has questionable pocket awareness at best, which contributed to his nine fumbles in 2021. Ahlers plays too much hero ball. He needs to learn when to throw the ball away and live to fight another down. There are too many plays where he holds the ball too long in the pocket or scrambles around looking for an open man downfield when the best option is to throw the ball away. Ahlers’ throwing motion dips into a loop before the release. The loop in his motion delays his release and gives defenders time to react. Ahlers doesn’t have the velocity to consistently drive throws to the sideline with the pace to match small windows. He doesn’t have the arm talent to consistently unlock the deep third of the field. Ahlers is sometimes quick to drop his head in the pocket and run when he still has plenty of time. His salesmanship on RPOs and play action fakes is weak. Ahlers’ feet appear heavy and his footwork is rigid. He suffers from his fair share of poor ball placement, possibly because of his release. Ahlers sometimes makes the poor decision to throw off his back foot when pressured, which creates easy potential turnovers for defenses.

Overall, Ahlers is a large, mobile quarterback who extends plays for large gains downfield, but his throwing motion and arm talent put limitations on his upside as a prospect. Ahlers projects as an undrafted free agent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s more heavily courted by NFL teams after the draft than UDFAs from larger programs.

Role & Scheme Fit: Mobile passer in a spread offensive scheme

Round Projection: UDFA

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 11-03-22