Tommy
Stevens.
Tommy
Stevens.
Mississippi St.
"New Orleans drafted Mississippi State's big, run-first quarterback at No. 240 as a hybrid project, and he found his real stage as a Grey Cup-winning CFL short-yardage quarterback."Pre-draft read
Stevens was a quarterback at Penn State and Mississippi State, a 6-5, roughly 235-pounder who spent most of his career as a gadget and short-yardage player before starting as a graduate transfer. His primary trait was power as a runner: he carried the ball like a big back on designed runs, finishing through contact near the goal line and in the "Lion" package at Penn State.
His secondary trait was arm strength, but his accuracy and processing from the pocket lagged, as his 60.2 percent completion rate in 2019 showed. His athletic ceiling was rare for his size, and his signature was the rugged, downhill running of a quarterback built like a tight end.
Spread option or RPO offense that uses a big quarterback on designed runs and short-yardage packages.
Year 1: practice squad quarterback and gadget player. Ceiling: Taysom Hill-style hybrid and short-yardage specialist.
Pro-style, pocket-passing offense that asks its quarterback to win from the pocket with timing and precise accuracy.
His value lay in his running, not his passing.
II U Played II The Official Senior Highlights of Mississippi State Quarterback Tommy Stevens
His 2019 season at Mississippi State.
Tommy Stevens Mississippi State 2019 Highlights (Welcome to New Orleans)
Reel released after New Orleans drafted him.
Tommy Stevens: Big McFlurry Guy
Stampeders feature from his CFL career.
Stevens projected as an athletic, big-bodied quarterback whose passing never matched his tools, making him a developmental gadget player. Evaluators liked his size, arm and running power, but saw an inaccurate passer with limited starting experience who might fit best in a hybrid role.
He spent three seasons at Penn State as Trace McSorley's backup and a short-yardage specialist, rushing for 506 yards and eight touchdowns there, including a three-touchdown game at Maryland in 2017. He transferred to Mississippi State for 2019 and played nine games, throwing for 1,155 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 381 yards and four scores, but inconsistency kept him from locking down the job. The flags were his accuracy, his limited starting résumé and his slow processing.
Most boards viewed him as a late-round or undrafted developmental passer. New Orleans took him at No. 240 as a possible Taysom Hill-style hybrid, betting that his size and running power could fill a package role while his passing developed behind established veterans.
- 01
Power runner
Finished runs through contact like a big back, scoring eight rushing touchdowns at Penn State mostly in short-yardage packages.
- 02
Rare size
At 6-5 and roughly 235 pounds he had the frame to absorb hits and see over the line from the pocket.
- 03
Arm strength
Could drive the ball to all levels of the field when his mechanics were clean, flashing starter-level velocity.
- 04
Hybrid versatility
Played quarterback, the Lion package and even caught a touchdown pass at Penn State, fitting a gadget role.
- 05
Goal-line value
Rushed for three touchdowns in one game at Maryland in 2017, showing a knack for scoring in tight spaces.
- 01
Inaccurate passer
Completed 60.2 percent of his passes in 2019, missing throws he should make and struggling with ball placement.
- 02
Limited starting résumé
Started only as a graduate transfer in 2019 and played just nine games that season at Mississippi State.
- 03
Slow processing
Held the ball too long and struggled to work through reads against pressure, leading to sacks and forced throws.
- 04
Limited reps
Saw time at quarterback in only four games in 2018 and played nine games in 2019, leaving his passing raw.
| Yr | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Penn State | 7 | 2 | 3 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Penn State | 9 | 14 | 27 | 158 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | Penn State | 7 | 8 | 11 | 110 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | Mississippi State | 9 | 97 | 161 | 1155 | 11 | 5 |
| Career | — | 32 | 121 | 202 | 1459 | 15 | 6 |
Passing lines from Sports-Reference, summing to 121 of 202 for 1,459 yards, 15 TD and six INT. Rushing: 198 (2016) and 190 (2017) yards from Penn State, 2018 derived from his 506-yard Penn State total, 2019 from StatMuse; the four seasons sum to StatMuse's 887 career yards. Penn State credits eight rushing TDs over 2016–2018 without a per-season split.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
The realized outcome: one NFL game, then a CFL short-yardage role.
Big, powerful hybrid quarterback who became a unique offensive weapon.
Backup passer who bounced between rosters without a lasting role.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Stevens began his rookie year with New Orleans, then joined Carolina in 2020, where he played one game and ran four times for 24 yards. After an offseason stint with the Giants in 2021, he moved to the CFL, where he became a short-yardage weapon for Calgary from 2022 to 2024, setting a league record for a quarterback with four rushing touchdowns in one game and leading the CFL in rushing touchdowns in 2024. He joined Saskatchewan in 2025 and won the Grey Cup.
In hindsight the pick returned almost nothing in the NFL, but his career vindicated the running traits evaluators saw. The accuracy problems flagged before the draft kept him from a quarterback role, and the Taysom Hill path New Orleans imagined never opened. In Canada his power running became the whole job, and he turned it into a record, a rushing touchdown title and a championship. His path shows how the right league and role can unlock a player who never fit the NFL's quarterback mold.