Michigan State’s Connor Cook could drop out of the first round while North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz might go as high as No. 1 in the NFL draft. Credit: File photos

Green Bay — The rise of North Dakota State's Carson Wentz and the fall of Michigan State's Connor Cook underscore the fleeting nature of scouting reports and how perceptions of quarterbacks can change dramatically in less than a year.

Last May, Cook was ranked second and Wentz 13th among the class of senior quarterbacks by National Football Scouting Inc., the largest of the two scouting combines that serve NFL teams.

Next week, Wentz could be the Los Angeles Rams' selection with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, whereas Cook might fall all the way to the second round and possibly even the third.

NFS, whose members include the Green Bay Packers and 19 other clubs, gave Wentz a priority free agent grade of 4.91 entering his senior season. It represented the opinion of one area scout who went to Fargo, N.D., watched tape and wrote a report that was later disseminated and discussed with personnel from all 20 teams.

Among the quarterbacks rated far ahead of Wentz were USC's Cody Kessler and Arizona State's Mike Bercovici. Wentz also trailed Liberty's Josh Woodrum, Massachusetts' Blake Frohnapfel, Florida State's Everett Golson and Western Kentucky's Brandon Doughty, who, like Bercovici, might be pleased just to secure a free-agent contract after the draft.

"The scout missed him," said a personnel director for one of the NFS member teams. "It was just one scout's opinion."

Meanwhile, Cook received a grade of 6.01, making him a late first-round pick.

"In the summer time he was highly regarded," said an AFC personnel man. "He was overvalued."

Blesto Inc., the other combine, provided its eight member teams with spring grades from two scouts. Using a far different scale, Wentz received grades of 1.7 (seventh round) and 1.3 (third round), whereas Cook received grades of 1.4 (fourth round) and 1.18 (first round).

Everyone knows that preseason grades represent little more than a starting point for scouts exhausted from one draft and now having to switch gears and prepare for another. The measurements and other basic information are more important for teams than the grade, which will be superseded by team scouts.

Still, it's rather startling to see how far Wentz and Cook moved in opposite directions. A poll by the Journal Sentinel of 17 personnel men with national orientation reflects the change.

In the survey, scouts were asked to name their five favorite quarterbacks in order, with first place worth five points, second place worth four and so on.

Jared Goff, the junior from California, edged Wentz, 73 to 711/2. Goff had eight firsts, one more than Wentz.

Third was junior Paxton Lynch of Memphis with 52 points (one first) and fourth was Cook, who also had one first and totaled 29.

Following, in order, were Christian Hackenberg (11), Dak Prescott (61/2), Jacoby Brissett (four), Jeff Driskel (31/2), Kevin Hogan (21/2), and Cardale Jones and Nate Sudfeld, each one.

Wentz' ascension is more the result of his impressive performance on the field and in interviews during the Senior Bowl and combine than a senior season in which he missed eight of the Bison's 15 games with a broken wrist.

A small-town guy from the North Dakota capital of Bismarck, Wentz seems to have captivated his audience.

"He's a humble kid that was raised right," an AFC personnel director said. "He has high ambition, a good mind and a high likability factor. I think very highly of him."

Of the 69 quarterbacks drafted in the first round from 1984-2015, just two — Steve McNair from Alcorn State in '95 and Joe Flacco from Delaware in '08 — hailed from non-FBS colleges.

If Wentz turns out as good as McNair and Flacco, his employer probably would be ecstatic.

Several scouts said their main reservation concerning Wentz was caliber of competition and North Dakota State's overwhelming march to five straight FCS championships and a 71-5 record.

Wentz walked on and redshirted in 2011, backed up Brock Jensen for two seasons and then started just 23 games (20-3) the past two years. Jensen, from Waupaca, Wis., didn't last long as a Dolphins free agent in 2014 before finding work in the CFL.

"He has skyrocketed this postseason for a guy being hurt most of the year," said an NFC personnel man. "It took three years to start in I-AA. I know he had a hell of a career.

"He couldn't beat out Brock Jensen and now he's going to be the (top) pick in the draft? He's just got a scary profile."

Sixteen of the 17 scouts agreed to pick the best candidate to bust from among the leading passers. Cook led the way with six votes, Lynch garnered five, Hackenberg had three, and both Goff and Wentz had one.

Cook sat out Michigan State's finest victory (at Ohio State) with a shoulder injury but was MVP of the Big Ten championship game for a second time and broke some of Kirk Cousins' school records. His rating of 93.3 was in keeping with his first two seasons as a starter, but the more scouts saw the less they appeared to like.

"He's certainly not a front-line starter that can win you games," an NFL personnel chief said. "Put him on against Iowa and Alabama if you think this guy can do it. Their biggest win, Ohio State, he didn't even play."

Many personnel people have called into question Cook's "makeup" and ability to become the face of an NFL team.

"Like to have a better work ethic out of a quarterback," an AFC scout said. "He knows it. I talked to him. He's a smart kid, a college kid. He liked to hit the streets and chase.

"He wasn't voted team captain. But, he wasn't going to get it over (center) Jack Allen no matter what happened."

That personnel man compared Cook to retired journeyman starter Kyle Orton, and it wasn't intended as a compliment.

Cook could become the Big Ten's first quarterback drafted in the first round since Penn State's Kerry Collins in 1995 when the Nittany Lions had just concluded their second season in the conference.

The Big Ten produced first-round quarterbacks Art Schlichter, Tony Eason, Chuck Long, Jim Everett, Jim Harbaugh and Jeff George from 1982-'90. None of them compared with Tom Brady (sixth round), Drew Brees (second round) and Russell Wilson (third round), who have combined to win six Super Bowls.

"Depth-wise, it's a good group, but I don't see the premier guy in there," an AFC personnel man said. "I would take (Jameis) Winston and (Marcus) Mariota over these guys. They're Pro Bowlers. These guys are solid starters."