Taylor Elgersma is looking to make an impression in the 2025 NFL Draft (Photo by CP)
Taylor Elgersma made history at the Senior Bowl as the first Canadian quarterback to ever participate in the event, and now he’s looking to make a strong impression in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The signal-caller from London, Ontario, is set to become the first NFL quarterback out of Canada in roughly two decades. Over his career at Ontario University, he completed 70.4% of his passes for 7,742 yards with 54 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. While he recognizes the difference between the Canadian game and the American game, the gunslinger believes he has what it takes to be successful at the NFL level.
“Leadership is something I bring. I think I bring a ton of toughness as a passer, and you need a lot of that to play this position at a high level,” Elgersma said in a one-on-one interview with RG. “You have to pair that with being the operator and chief communicator within your offense.”
Being respected as the leader of the team comes not only with presenting as the authority figure within the offense, but also understanding it on a very deep level.
Elgersma feels he does.
“That comes with knowledge, and building a high level of trust with the guys around you is something that is important to me,” Elgersma said. “Letting them know that I understand this playbook inside and out and that I can help them and direct them when they need it.”
Cleaning Up Mechanics and Footwork
From a physical perspective, Elgersma certainly won’t receive any flack in terms of fitting the bill on “prototypical size” at 6-foot-5 and 212 pounds. There are other areas he’s lacking in, though, and he’s working to correct those in draft prep.
“I have the frame and the size for the NFL level, and I think I have the arm talent,” he said. “So, for me, I think that things to improve on is cleaning up my mechanics, cleaning up my footwork and continuing to improve and adjust to this American game.”
One of the biggest questions surrounding Elgersma in Mobile was as to if the level of competition in Canada was one that could truly hang with the level of competition across college football in America.
College Level Experience
Despite some of the differences between the game he is accustomed to and the game he is heading into, one thing that is for certain is that Elgersma knows how to handle a situation in which the offense is heavily leaned on the quarterback.
He was not lacking in pre-snap and post-snap responsibilities at the college level.
“My coaches have a lot of trust in me to make checks at the line of scrimmage. To check protections, to check routes,” he said. “There were some coverages that I was seeing, so that’s something that has really helped me throughout this process.”
That’s not to discount the pure adjustment, though.
“Coming down here [to Mobile], it’s 11-man football, so it’s going to take some reps to completely get back to that spot that I was in in Canada,” he said. “But that’s a challenge that I’m embracing and I;m just trying to get better day by day.”
Elgersma says he hasn’t worked a lot under center, “at all really”, in his words. That was a major thing he was able to experience during the Senior Bowl that he didn’t get the experience of in college.
He got that at the Senior Bowl and will continue to learn how to function in offenses like that as he works with QB Country to refine his game in multiple aspects.
“I’ve been down in QB Country in Birmingham, Alabama working with those guys. Some of the things I am working on here are similar to what I’m working on over there,” he said.
Mechanics are a point of emphasis, as they should be, considering that accuracy is directly derived from sound mechanics within a quarterback.
“I’ve got to get depth in my first step under center, making sure my base is underneath me when I get to the top of my drop, and making sure the ball is coming out with good timing. It’s going to take some reps, it’s not going to happen in just one day. But continuing to get better is where my mindset is at.”
It will be interesting to see where Elgersma ultimately lands in April, but there is no questioning that he will be one of the most intriguing prospects to watch given his incredibly unique background and the way he can continue to make history.
Crissy Froyd is a sports reporter of over 10 years who specializes in quarterback analysis at the high school, college and NFL level. She was mentored by Mike Leach and learned the Air Raid offense and quarterback evaluation largely under the legendary head coach. Froyd has appeared in and worked with multiple publications, including USA TODAY SMG, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and Saturday Down South. She also covers canine journalism for Showsight Magazine and resides in Wisconsin with her three dogs -- two German Shepherds named Faxon and Bo Nix, and one Siberian Husky named Stetson "Balto" Bennett.
