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Best quarterbacks in NFL draft are all underclassmen
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 2/10/2009 5:50 PM
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock spoke at length about the quarterbacks in this year’s draft Tuesday during an hour-long conference call with the media.
Mayock’s top four rated quarterbacks—Georgia’s Matthew Stafford, USC’s Mark Sanchez, Kansas State’s Josh Freeman and Ball State’s Nate Davis—are all underclassmen. His top-ranked senior quarterback is Sam Houston State’s Rhett Bomar, a “third-round pick at best,” according to the analyst.
Georgia's Matthew Stafford could be selected by the Lions with the first pick.
While it’s still early in the process, Mayock is predicting that the Lions will select Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick, while Sanchez could go third to the Chiefs, eighth to the Jaguars or 10th to the 49ers.
“If you’re sitting there at 10 and Sanchez is available, I think you’ve got to be looking at him,” Mayock said. “He’s a kid who only started 16 games. But he’s got the ability, the toughness and the arm strength to learn the pro game and be a starter.
“This is a draft year where I believe if you want to get a starter, you have to get him early.”
While Mayock feels that Sanchez should have returned to USC for another year of seasoning, he also thinks that the Chiefs should thoroughly investigate the possibility of drafting him.
“If I’m building a franchise, the first thing I’m going to do is underwrite the quarterback position, and this year the two guys you’ve got to evaluate are Stafford and Sanchez,” Mayock said. “I’m not trying to tell you they should take him at 3, I’m saying they better understand what he is at 3.”
Mayock compares the 6-6, 250-pound Freeman to Commanders quarterback Jason Campbell.
“He’s got great ability, but he’s a project,” Mayock said. “He’s a big, strong guy who can throw the football. He makes every throw. The problem I have is that he’s got to process information more quickly. He waits until his receiver comes open. He will not throw the football until the receiver comes open. In the NFL, you’ve got to anticipate it and you’ve got to be willing to throw it into small windows.
"That’s the [transition] he’s going to have to make; anticipating windows and having the confidence in his accuracy to throw it. I think he’s going to be a little bit of a project that way.”
Mayock thinks that Freeman will be drafted late in the first round.
“Somebody’s going to fall in love with his arm,” Mayock said. “It happens every year. Teams fall in love with big-armed quarterbacks, and he’s got that.”
There isn’t a more intriguing quarterback in the draft than West Virginia’s Pat White. The 6-foot, 190-pounder capped a highly productive college career by being named the offensive player of the game in the Senior Bowl. But some still feel that he doesn’t possess the arm strength or size to be a NFL quarterback.
“Pat White is one of my favorite guys in this entire draft,” Mayock said. “To me, he has the ‘it’ factor. I don’t care how big he is or how small he is or whether or not he’s accurate as a thrower. I want him on my team."
Mayock would utilize White on 10-15 snaps per game in a variety of different ways.
“I don’t think he’s a full-time quarterback," Mayock said. "But to me, today he’s the best wildcat quarterback in the NFL. [He has] the ability to run the option, the ability to throw the football better than any wildcat in the game right now. That’s tremendous value.
“As long as he buys into the whole I’ll-play-the-slot, I’ll-return-punts, I’ll-do-whatever-you-need-me-to-do … If he buys into that wholly, I think he’s a second-round player. I don’t think there are a lot of people who have him valued that high, but I would take him in the second round because he’s a leader and he presents problems for a defense.”
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 2/10/2009 5:50 PM
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock spoke at length about the quarterbacks in this year’s draft Tuesday during an hour-long conference call with the media.
Mayock’s top four rated quarterbacks—Georgia’s Matthew Stafford, USC’s Mark Sanchez, Kansas State’s Josh Freeman and Ball State’s Nate Davis—are all underclassmen. His top-ranked senior quarterback is Sam Houston State’s Rhett Bomar, a “third-round pick at best,” according to the analyst.
Georgia's Matthew Stafford could be selected by the Lions with the first pick.
While it’s still early in the process, Mayock is predicting that the Lions will select Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick, while Sanchez could go third to the Chiefs, eighth to the Jaguars or 10th to the 49ers.
“If you’re sitting there at 10 and Sanchez is available, I think you’ve got to be looking at him,” Mayock said. “He’s a kid who only started 16 games. But he’s got the ability, the toughness and the arm strength to learn the pro game and be a starter.
“This is a draft year where I believe if you want to get a starter, you have to get him early.”
While Mayock feels that Sanchez should have returned to USC for another year of seasoning, he also thinks that the Chiefs should thoroughly investigate the possibility of drafting him.
“If I’m building a franchise, the first thing I’m going to do is underwrite the quarterback position, and this year the two guys you’ve got to evaluate are Stafford and Sanchez,” Mayock said. “I’m not trying to tell you they should take him at 3, I’m saying they better understand what he is at 3.”
Mayock compares the 6-6, 250-pound Freeman to Commanders quarterback Jason Campbell.
“He’s got great ability, but he’s a project,” Mayock said. “He’s a big, strong guy who can throw the football. He makes every throw. The problem I have is that he’s got to process information more quickly. He waits until his receiver comes open. He will not throw the football until the receiver comes open. In the NFL, you’ve got to anticipate it and you’ve got to be willing to throw it into small windows.
"That’s the [transition] he’s going to have to make; anticipating windows and having the confidence in his accuracy to throw it. I think he’s going to be a little bit of a project that way.”
Mayock thinks that Freeman will be drafted late in the first round.
“Somebody’s going to fall in love with his arm,” Mayock said. “It happens every year. Teams fall in love with big-armed quarterbacks, and he’s got that.”
There isn’t a more intriguing quarterback in the draft than West Virginia’s Pat White. The 6-foot, 190-pounder capped a highly productive college career by being named the offensive player of the game in the Senior Bowl. But some still feel that he doesn’t possess the arm strength or size to be a NFL quarterback.
“Pat White is one of my favorite guys in this entire draft,” Mayock said. “To me, he has the ‘it’ factor. I don’t care how big he is or how small he is or whether or not he’s accurate as a thrower. I want him on my team."
Mayock would utilize White on 10-15 snaps per game in a variety of different ways.
“I don’t think he’s a full-time quarterback," Mayock said. "But to me, today he’s the best wildcat quarterback in the NFL. [He has] the ability to run the option, the ability to throw the football better than any wildcat in the game right now. That’s tremendous value.
“As long as he buys into the whole I’ll-play-the-slot, I’ll-return-punts, I’ll-do-whatever-you-need-me-to-do … If he buys into that wholly, I think he’s a second-round player. I don’t think there are a lot of people who have him valued that high, but I would take him in the second round because he’s a leader and he presents problems for a defense.”