Coming into the 2023 NFL season, PJ Walker was expected to serve as the Bears’ backup to Justin Fields.
However, the veteran quickly had that role taken from him by an unexpected party during the preseason: Tyson Bagent.
Bagent is a rookie quarterback who played at Div. II Shepherd University. While he starred at the school, racking up 17,034 passing yards and 171 total touchdowns during his career, there were questions about whether he would be able to adapt to the NFL after having faced mostly lower-level competition in college.
Thus far, Bagent has quelled those concerns. He looked good enough to win the backup job in the preseason, and entering Week 10, he is one of just three rookie quarterbacks — along with Will Levis and Jaren Hall — to have won his first start. That’s something none of the league’s first-round quarterbacks could accomplish.
That has led many to ask why Bagent wasn’t selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. Perhaps that question won’t be as prominent if Bagent continues to struggle with interceptions; but if he progresses and backs up his strong debut as a starter, then many will be asking how he slipped through the cracks and into the ranks of the undrafted.
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Here’s what to know about Bagent’s draft profile along with an explanation of the factors that led him to go undrafted.
Tyson Bagent draft profile, scouting reports
There were varying opinions about Bagent in the lead-up to the 2023 NFL Draft. Some viewed him as a quality developmental passers, while others were worried about whether he could do enough to succeed in the NFL.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein noted that Bagent had some wonky mechanics that he would need to clean up at the next level. He also noted that his arm might not be strong enough to compete with the speed of NFL-caliber defensive backs, so he believed Bagent would go undrafted.
Highly decorated and highly confident Division II quarterback with adequate NFL size but mechanical issues that need to be cleaned up. Bagent’s footwork can become erratic under pressure and his delivery is reminiscent of a shortstop’s throw to first base at times. He plays with a good feel for his offensive design and a willingness to attack all intermediate pockets of the field regardless of cover scheme. However, the decision-making and arm strength might not be good enough to beat the window-shopping defensive backs of the NFL.
Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline was a fan of Bagent’s arm strength. His biggest worry was that Bagent’s accuracy — or lack thereof — would hurt him.
He has the arm strength and size to play at the next level, yet Bagent must significantly improve his accuracy and pass placement to ever make an impact on an NFL team.
Still, Pauline gave Bagent a seventh-round draft projection, so he at least believed a team could take a chance on the Shepherd product late.
Pauline wasn’t quite as high on Bagent as Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network, however. Crabbs gave Bagent a fifth-round grade, citing his “live arm” and “above-average athleticism” as reasons to believe in him.
Crabbs’ biggest issue with Bagent was that he felt his field-reading skills would need a lot of work at the NFL level. That, plus his learning curve making the jump up from Div. II, made him a Day 3 value.
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Why wasn’t Tyson Bagent drafted?
That said, it seems like the concerns about Bagent were largely related to the jump in competition he was set to face. He had some warts — namely his accuracy and mechanics, two issues that aren’t always easy to fix at the professional level — so there were a lot of areas to clean up.
And add in that he would be facing a massive jump in competition, and NFL teams ultimately shied away from using a resource on him.
Still, Bagent was at least in the mix for a late-round selection, it seemed. His strong performance at the Senior Bowl helped solidify that he would get a chance to fight for a roster spot whether he was drafted or not.
And given that he ultimately made the Bears’ 53-man roster and took the backup job away from Walker, he has taken a step in the right direction as he looks to prove that NFL teams were wrong to pass on him.
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2023 NFL Draft QBs
Bagent may not have been drafted in 2023, but 14 quarterbacks were chosen. That included all of his Senior Bowl counterparts save for Malik Cunningham, who was signed by the Patriots after going undrafted.
Here’s a look at the players that were selected by NFL teams over Bagent.
| Round | Pick | Team | Player | School |
| 1 | 1 | Panthers | Bryce Young | Alabama |
| 1 | 2 | Texans | C. J. Stroud | Ohio State |
| 1 | 4 | Colts | Anthony Richardson | Florida |
| 2 | 33 | Titans | Will Levis | Kentucky |
| 3 | 68 | Lions | Hendon Hooker | Tennessee |
| 4 | 127 | Saints | Jake Haener | Fresno State |
| 4 | 128 | Rams | Stetson Bennett | Georgia |
| 4 | 135 | Raiders | Aidan O’Connell | Purdue |
| 5 | 139 | Cardinals | Clayton Tune | Houston |
| 5 | 140 | Browns | Dorian Thompson-Robinson | UCLA |
| 5 | 149 | Packers | Sean Clifford | Penn State |
| 5 | 164 | Vikings | Jaren Hall | BYU |
| 6 | 188 | Eagles | Tanner McKee | Stanford |
| 7 | 239 | Chargers | Max Duggan | TCU |
Bagent’s performance in the preseason, his winning of the backup quarterback job and his decent performance in his minimal regular-season action to date indicate that he probably should have been among those selected.
If Bagent can continue his development, then the Bears will have landed a great value. He will just need to cut down on his interceptions to fully establish himself as a solid backup quarterback, but the potential is clearly there.
And if he develops into anything more than a backup? Then NFL teams will be reassessing their evaluations of players like Bagent in the years to come.