Jake Fromm may not have been the biggest, nor the fastest quarterback. Nor, perhaps, does he have the strongest arm.
But that didn’t keep the Buffalo Bills from having the confidence to take the former Georgia quarterback with the 167th pick in Saturday's fifth round of the NFL Draft.
Fromm admitted the wait was tough, but not much for him.
"It (the wait) was probably harder on my family than it was on me," Fromm said during a teleconference on Zoom with reporters. "Yes, it was lower than expected, but I'm so excited and so blessed to be in this position and get this opportunity. I'm beyond thankful and couldn't be more grateful."
Fromm surprised some by leaving Georgia a year early, and while he didn’t necessarily wow on-lookers during February’s NFL Combine, he excelled in other areas.
His work ethic and intelligence obviously impressed the Bills enough that he will join Josh Allen, Matt Barkley and Davis Webb as quarterbacks on the roster.
According to Fromm, Allen has already already reached out via text and the two quarterbacks hope to get together soon.
"I'm looking forward to building a relationship with all of them," said Fromm, who revealed he's also got the same agent as Allen. "I told him let's get together and play golf. I can't wait."
Projected by many to go as early as the third round, seven other quarterbacks saw their name called before the Bills turned to Fromm.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane told ESPN his organization had not planned to draft a quarterback, but when Fromm was still available, he was just too good to pass up.
Fromm said he's used to being doubted.
"You know my entire career, I've always been the guy kind of left out, the guy who's not quite tall enough, not quite strong enough, can't do this can't do that," Fromm said. "But for me, all I've ever tried to do is show up, work hard, compete and just do whatever I can to win so I'm excited to do that again here."
One of four permanent team captains in 2019, Fromm passed for 8,224 career yards, which ranks fourth on Georgia’s all-time list. His 78 touchdowns rank second.
A former five-star, Fromm took over as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback in Georgia’s season-opener three years ago against Appalachian State, when Jacob Eason went down with an ankle injury.
After making his first career start the following week at Notre Dame, Fromm led the Bulldogs all the way to the national championship game against Alabama, after helping Georgia to a dramatic double-overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.
As a sophomore in 2018, Fromm started all 14 games for the Bulldogs, finishing 5th among all FBS quarterbacks in passing efficiency (171.2) and 12th in completion percentage (67.3). Statistically, Fromm enjoyed his finest season, completing 206 of 306 passes for 2,749 yards and 30 touchdowns with just six interceptions.
Those numbers would take a slight dip in 2019 after the Bulldogs lost their top four receivers from the previous year. After completing 20 of 30 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-17 win over Florida, Fromm went five straight games in which he completed less than 50 percent of his passes before regrouping in the Sugar Bowl to complete 20 of 30 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-14 victory over Baylor.
