It's easily Mayfield simply due to the fact that he has to make up for being much smaller than the other QB's and isn't particularly athletic. He also has to transition from a spread offense to an NFL offense, and will have to get used to actual defenses that can cover receivers. Darnold is next, followed by Allen, then Rosen.
If we pick Mayfield and his bottom is grabbing Mehta by the back of the head and slamming his face into a table I'm good with that
Not sure how that play ended up, but he spun out of the blitzer, which was impressive. Definitely did not read the coverage correctly to start the play though. Watching all 4 of the QB's, Allen was the toughest to judge for me. He has the worst tape, his team did the worst too and he played weak competition. He does have a rocket arm and looks the part of a Big Ben or Cam Newton. Definitely the Boom or Bust of these 4 guys to me.
I could see Darnold being a turnover machine with a slightly higher completion percentage than Sanchez when all is said and done. He'd have been a wonderful prospect in the 80's as Elway was but the game has changed in the intervening 30 years and now it is very important not to turn the ball over and not to miss 3rd down throws that should have been completions.
Allen. Allen could be, and I think this a lazy comparison but could happen, the next Jamarucs Russell in terms of having all the talent, but just not putting it together. I do think, unlike Russell, Allen will try and actually give a damn, so I don't think he will be that bad if he hits his floor, but he could be nothing more than 5-7 year back-up. Mayfield's floor I think is Rex Grossman / bad Mark Sanchez. Rosen I see his floor as Cutler. Darnold's floor I see as, here's a blast from the past, Testaverde.
Allen scares me the most on the mental side of the game, which is why I don't see him as being in the top 3. There is plenty of evidence that the translation from his eyes to his brain just isn't as sharp or fast as the other three. Players who survive on raw physical talent in college don't make it in the NFL. High wonderlic or not, he needed to show in the face of (weak) pressure he could handle it and it is too inconsistent for my liking. Everyone was enamored with his combine performance, yet that does nothing to dissuade the notion he won't be able to handle it when linebackers are charging in. In the NFL, he doesn't escape that blitzer. I'll be happy with whatever QB we take so long as it is Mayfield, Darnold, or Rosen.
Thought this was interesting, relating to the thread. Funny how there's such a difference of opinion on the ceiling for Baker. I do agree that besides attitude and durability, Rosen would be number 1 overall.
I had somewhat similar reaction to that of Klatt when reading Rosen's interview last week. My impression is Rosen is thoughtful, full of himself and immature and caught up in his opinion. I thought the McDonald line in the interview was just him being an immature kid. He needs to learn to shut up and develop some empathy for others. Rosen's 21 years old. Fr all intents and purposes he is a child with a lot of developing and maturing to do. Children say and do stupid things. That's what they do. That is what Rosen does and will likely continue to do for many years. Like any 21 year old he assumes the world revolves around his own thoughts. I give him credit for having lots of interests and trying to be honest and thoughtful. I would not hold his comments against him. But he does need to learn to shut up and keep his answers short or the press will eat him alive. The only thing I can see being relevant from this is does Rosen have too many interests outside of football that will distract him from focusing on football? In that sense I prefer a guy with a single mindset who is much less thoughtful and aware of the outside world.
I just want to say I don't know how to read and I selected Rosen as I thought he had the "highest floor." I could see Allen/Darnold/Mayfield all busting pretty spectacularly, so it is a 3 way tie for me.
Ceiling/Floor Rosen - Ken Anderson/Tim Couch Darnold - John Hadl/Richard Todd Mayfield - Ken Stabler/Johnny Manziel Allen - Steve McNair/Kyle Boller *Obviously, I'm more pessimistic than most about these prospect's ceilings.
Honestly, this Rosen story line is probably the most overrated angle any of these prospects are facing. GMs need to make a decision: if they draft Rosen, based on what they know, will he cause the locker room to unravel? If they reach the conclusion that yes, he will, then 1) they will remove him from their draft board and 2) unless they themselves select a gem, they will be taking a major chance that this becomes fuel for them getting fired when he is succeeding with another team. The only vindication with Rosen is if he goes somewhere and fully lives up to the douche "potential" that people are worried about. If he translates into a Jay Cutler level douche rather than an Aaron Rodgers douche, that is the only way GMs passing on him are vindicated for that call (or getting an equally good QB). Personally, I hated Jay Cutler coming out of college and wanted nothing to do with him as it relates to the Jets. I don't see Jay Cutler in Josh Rosen. I wish Rosen would shut his mouth about the politics, but his outspokenness on money in the college game is good and coming from a position of knowledge and experience. It is relevant, where the politics is not. I know many won't agree there, and someone like JJ Watt would tell me since they have the platform, they should use it, however politics won't necessarily unite a locker room where defending other football players won't be as toxic. I can absolutely see why some GMs would prefer Mayfield as he is singularly focused, where Rosen is not. That said, if Rosen becomes all he can be, then look out those who let him pass.
I agree with you about Rosen's upside. I love his intelligence and desire to understand defenses where he can direct an offense like Peyton did. That really excites me quite a lot. All we see are the fringes of their personalities. The teams will have investigated and dissected everything about their lives and personalities they can. We can only speculate and see some red flag or concerns. But they will know so much than we will ever know. Like you said if teams have issues with Rosen or Mayfield they will remove that player from their draft board and move on. If they are concerned about Rosen's long term durability they could conceivably take maturity or personality concerns as a reason to take him off their board. There are a number of things about both Rosen and Mayfield that scare me. All of the big 3 QBs have red flags. But they all have massive upside and give us a reason to hope.
First off I couldn't even watch the video after that guy said that Rosen is from a 1% family. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/1-percent-in-each-state-map_n_6548222.html It's just nonsense like that which makes television sports programming unwatchable to me at this point. Anyone that signs a rookie contract will automatically be in the 1% lol. If you come out with guns blazing like that I'm going to find it hard to a) want to listen to anything else you have to say and b) believe anything you have to say period. The full question and reply from the ESPN Interview: You're a rich kid who -- extrapolating here -- doesn't need, or love, the game of football. "OK, my family isn't, like, stupid-wealthy. But I'm coming from a place where if football doesn't work out, I don't have to work at McDonald's. Other NFL players had the same opportunities. I just haven't tried to hide it or fool teams into thinking I'm someone I'm not. My passion for this game lies in the game, not my need to play it. Tons of players needed this game, needed the money, played it out of obligation and burned out. I don't need it and still I give everything to it." If this is the McDonalds quote that makes you think he is immature, I guess we have a way different idea of what immature is. To me, he is simply telling it like it is.
Yes. it is immature and quite stupid to say. He comes from a family where his dad was almost named surgeon general. They are not just well off they are super rich. To come from that kind of entitlement and privilege and say it's not like he has to work at McDonalds it is not only naive it can insulting to many people who well have to work for a living. The reason it's immature is it was completely unnecessary and not well thought out. He just said what was on his mind which is what he did the entire the interview. While I applaud his unscripted honesty to survive in a high profile spotlight like a NFL QB he has to realize everything he said will be examined over and over. He needs to to shut up and not create controversy. Not to insult people unnecessarily. To use his brain and think about what he is saying before speaking. Success in life is more often defined by what you don't say more than what you do say. The same can be said for maturity. Often times young people want to tell people how smart they are. Not being to realize that it is in his self interest to shut up and not create controversy is yes a problem with maturity. But to be fair older people like myself to often suffer from this problem as well. The male brain does not fully develop where they can understand a full sense of empathy until around age 25.
