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In Part 5 of a five-part NFL Draft preview, The Post breaks down quarterbacks.
The rise in Ryan Nassib’s NFL draft stock this spring has been much like his career at Syracuse — methodical and consistent.
Nassib will find out next week, perhaps even as soon as Thursday night, if it’s just as productive.
A three-year starter for the Orange, whose numbers improved every season under new Bills coach Doug Marrone, Nassib has gone from “others being considered” in a weak quarterback class to potentially hearing his name as a first-round selection.
That passer crop still is considered one of the weakest in years, so much so that it also wouldn’t be a shock if West Virginia’s Geno Smith is the only candidate taken Thursday.
But Nassib has done an impressive job — through workouts, interviews and Senior Bowl work — of getting his name included in the first-round speculation.
“There’s no [Andrew] Luck, or [Robert Griffin III] in this draft, so it’s a question of who’s going to separate themselves at the [scouting] combine, in their pro days and in the interviews?” Nassib said at the combine. “I just hope at the end of the day, I put myself in the best position.”
Scouts say Nassib never was going to put himself above Smith (despite throttling Smith’s Mountaineers in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium last December) or USC’s Matt Barkley or even the faster-rising E.J. Manuel of Florida State.
But Nassib, who worked with former Jets offensive coordinator Paul Hackett and ex-Bengals passing star Ken Anderson this spring, by all accounts has distanced himself from the likes of North Carolina State’s Mike Glennon, Landry Jones of Oklahoma, Miami (Ohio)’s Zac Dysert and Tyler Wilson of Arkansas.
While those prospects likely are to fall to the middle rounds, the 6-foot-2, 227-pound Nassib has been so crisp, so impressive and so consistent during the offseason that — when combined with his prolific college career — teams appear likely to scoop him up early.
Nassib visited the Jets, among several teams, and there has been increasing speculation he will be reunited with Marrone on the quarterback-hungry Bills. And that would be fine with Nassib, who completed 60 percent of his passes for 9,190 yards and 70 touchdowns (against 28 interceptions) at Syracuse.
“You don’t get to choose the team you go to, but would I like to play for Coach Marrone? Absolutely,” Nassib said. “We had a great relationship at Syracuse, won some games, and there’s an opportunity there [in Buffalo].”
It’s easy to understand why Nassib is grateful for his time with Marrone. The coach, after all, enabled his quarterback to get experience as a pocket quarterback in a pro-style offense as well as run the read option that is suddenly all the rage in the NFL thanks to Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson and RG3, among others.
Is Nassib a threat to make teams forget about Kaepernick? Of course not. But Nassib now is a lot more versatile than he was just a couple of years ago, and versatility equals greater value for a quarterback in what is a new era at the pro level.
For strategic reasons, Marrone repeatedly has refused to offer an assessment of Nassib as a pro prospect. But with how Marrone’s eyes lit up when Nassib’s name was mentioned at the combine and at the NFL owners meetings last month, don’t be shocked if Nassib has a Bill on his helmet this fall.
Nassib just wants the opportunity, and if that chance comes with the prestige of being an early-round pick, that will merely be a bonus.
“It’s not when you go,” Nassib said. “It’s where you go.”
bhubbuch@nypost.com