Top NFL QB Prospects for 2018

[Augie]

I heard Daniel Jeremiah on Sirius a little while ago (I enjoy listening to him), and he was higher on Mayfield than I expected. Likes his throwing motion and says he’s more Russell Wilson than Drew Brees. I’ve only seen Mayfield once, and that was against Rudolph with the score resembling a slow basketball game, so I’m not sure what to take away from THAT. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

21 hours ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

 

Just shoot me, stay in Sam

[GunnerBill]

17 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

I absolutely agree with this.  I don't see the Johnny Football comparisons at all beyond the obvious height issue.  Manziel made his hay in college outside of the pocket, on broken plays and Mike Evans circus catches.  I don't know if people remember this but there was a pretty long argument on this board about whether Manziel was making Evans a first rounder or Evans was making Manziel a first rounder.  I thought it was absurd at the time because to me it was obvious (Evans was the guy I wanted the Bills to draft in 2014).  

 

Mayfield can play from the pocket in a way Manziel never could.  Do I worry about a QB who is 5ft11 (listed at 6ft1 but he is NEVER 6ft1) playing from the pocket in the NFL?  Yes, I do.... but I think the accuracy is there, I think the decision making is there and there is no doubt the arm is there.  The one thing that has concerned me a little on my two full game viewings of Mayfield so far is that I haven't seen him asked to run many staple NFL concepts.  I'm pretty clear he is a 1st rounder though at this stage.  

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I absolutely agree with this.  I don't see the Johnny Football comparisons at all beyond the obvious height issue.  Manziel made his hay in college outside of the pocket, on broken plays and Mike Evans circus catches.  I don't know if people remember this but there was a pretty long argument on this board about whether Manziel was making Evans a first rounder or Evans was making Manziel a first rounder.  I thought it was absurd at the time because to me it was obvious (Evans was the guy I wanted the Bills to draft in 2014).  

 

Mayfield can play from the pocket in a way Manziel never could.  Do I worry about a QB who is 5ft11 (listed at 6ft1 but he is NEVER 6ft1) playing from the pocket in the NFL?  Yes, I do.... but I think the accuracy is there, I think the decision making is there and there is no doubt the arm is there. The one thing that has concerned me a little on my two full game viewings of Mayfield so far is that I haven't seen him asked to run many staple NFL concepts. I'm pretty clear he is a 1st rounder though at this stage.  

I don't know what pro concept Mayfield can't execute well. He is not a pure pocket passer but that doesn't bother me. Smart and flexible OCs adapt the game to the qb's assets instead of adhering to a philosophy. Does anyone doubt that the past three Buffalo OCs had to adjust their calls to Taylor's unique talents? 

 

From what I have seen of Mayfield he is the most dynamic qb in the field. That doesn't mean that the other qbs with different attributes are better or not. They are different qbs with different styles who need to be handled properly to maximize their utility. There are a menu of good qb prospects in this draft. Because of our collection of picks the Bills are in a good position to address a major need. Dithering is not a solution---it is a problem that has plagued this faltering franchise. 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

Smile @JohnC

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

I don't know what pro concept Mayfield can't execute well. 

 

Nor do I.  My point is I don't know how many NFL concepts the Oklahoma offense includes, but I haven't seen many.  Mayfield is a good decision maker, which encourages me that he may be able to adjust comfortably to more pro-concept style reads and route combinations.... just that in the two full games I have watched I haven't seen much of it in their offense.  That does make some of the projections difficult.  But I like Mayfield and my grade on him is trending in the right direction.  

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Nor do I.  My point is I don't know how many NFL concepts the Oklahoma offense includes, but I haven't seen many.  Mayfield is a good decision maker, which encourages me that he may be able to adjust comfortably to more pro-concept style reads and route combinations.... just that in the two full games I have watched I haven't seen much of it in their offense.  That does make some of the projections difficult.  But I like Mayfield and my grade on him is trending in the right direction.  

He's got the accuracy that Taylor will never have. What I really like about Mayfield is that he uses the whole field and his ball placement is superb. When watching him he is a galvanizing player. He is far from being a prototypical pro qb. However, any scout that evaluates him with those outdated prototypical standards should be banished to the ash heaps of antiquity. 

[thebandit27]

18 hours ago, Augie said:

I heard Daniel Jeremiah on Sirius a little while ago (I enjoy listening to him), and he was higher on Mayfield than I expected. Likes his throwing motion and says he’s more Russell Wilson than Drew Brees. I’ve only seen Mayfield once, and that was against Rudolph with the score resembling a slow basketball game, so I’m not sure what to take away from THAT. 

 

Doesn't surprise me at all--DJ and I tend to come down on the same side of the fence with many prospects, and Mayfield has been my QB1 for this class for the better part of a year.

 

I think Rosen will be the first QB off the board come April, and maybe the only R1 QB when all is said and done, but I think Mayfield will surprise folks with where he's drafted.  Of course, if his Senior Bowl measurements are a big disappointment (say, he comes in under 6'0" tall and with a hand size below 9"), then he'll probably plummet.

[Augie]

23 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

 

Doesn't surprise me at all--DJ and I tend to come down on the same side of the fence with many prospects, and Mayfield has been my QB1 for this class for the better part of a year.

 

I think Rosen will be the first QB off the board come April, and maybe the only R1 QB when all is said and done, but I think Mayfield will surprise folks with where he's drafted.  Of course, if his Senior Bowl measurements are a big disappointment (say, he comes in under 6'0" tall and with a hand size below 9"), then he'll probably plummet.

 

I’m not saying it’s not real (at all), but sometimes I’ll hold my thumb and forefinger about two inches apart, and wonder how that can make  so much of a difference in evaluation and performance. It’s just.....hard to fathom that so little could mean so much. Where does he get picked at 5’11-3/4”? How about 6’2”? 

[thebandit27]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

I’m not saying it’s not real (at all), but sometimes I’ll hold my thumb and forefinger about two inches apart, and wonder how that can make  so much of a difference in evaluation and performance. It’s just.....hard to fathom that so little could mean so much. Where does he get picked at 5’11-3/4”? How about 6’2”? 

 

Oh I agree--I have a few friends in the scouting community, and one of them says that when he submits his reports, he adds his own box titled "can he play?"

 

For me, I don't care one lick if Mayfield comes in under 6'0".  The hand size thing is something to watch for, but unless he's woefully small in that department, he's not dropping on my board.

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[Woodman19]

I'm surprised there isn't more talk about Clayton Thorson.  He has NFL size, tools and is a McDermott type of character who may declare if he can continue his good season.  This is exactly the type of QB prospect that fits our likely draft position, offensive system and the culture that's being built. 

 

Good mechanics, strong arm, accurate and intelligent with solid athleticism.  Likely to require a year of development time though.

[Laughing Coffin]

I don't think Beane wants to sit at our draft position at get the 4th or 5th QB drafted.  That's a recipe for disaster if the past is any indicator.  IF we identify OUR GUY in this draft, be it rosen, darnold, jackson, mayfield, etc. we will do what is necessary to trade up to get him.

[Watkins101]

On 11/8/2017 at 3:20 PM, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

Isnt taking too long to throw one of our big problems with Taylor?

[26CornerBlitz]

2 minutes ago, Watkins101 said:

Isnt taking too long to throw one of our big problems with Taylor?

 

That's both a yes and a no.

[H2o]

1 hour ago, Laughing Coffin said:

I don't think Beane wants to sit at our draft position at get the 4th or 5th QB drafted.  That's a recipe for disaster if the past is any indicator.  IF we identify OUR GUY in this draft, be it rosen, darnold, jackson, mayfield, etc. we will do what is necessary to trade up to get him.

I really think Darnold returns for another year to try and repair his stock. Jackson is not a QB, he is a more athletic version of EJ Manuel who's NFL position is likely WR. The top 3 QB's will be Rosen, Mayfield, and Allen imo with Falk and Rudolph being in that 2nd tier. This class looks a lot weaker than it did about 6 months ago. Another guy to watch is Ryan Finley from NC State. Very accurate and seems to process info well. Very good on the intermediate timing routes. Seems like a good WC fit. 

[thebandit27]

45 minutes ago, Watkins101 said:

Isnt taking too long to throw one of our big problems with Taylor?

 

Yes, but the real question isn't how long he takes to throw, it's whether or not he can speed things up in the pros.

 

That was the big question with Carson Wentz--who had a long time-to-throw even at the FCS level--and so far he's looked like he can adapt.

[The Now Moment]

Josh Allen reminds me of a young Brett Favre, has an absolute gun of an arm.  Can throw off his back foot...you name it, he can throw it.  Doesn't make the best decisions as he has a terrible cast around him.  Should be considered a high draft pick and placed on the bench to learn for the first year.  Athletic and has an arm.  If he has good interviews, I wouldn't be surprised to see him drafted high by a team that doesn't need to throw him into the fire immediately.

[H2o]

1 minute ago, Buffalo30 said:

Josh Allen reminds me of a young Brett Favre, has an absolute gun of an arm.  Can throw off his back foot...you name it, he can throw it.  Doesn't make the best decisions as he has a terrible cast around him.  Should be considered a high draft pick and placed on the bench to learn for the first year.  Athletic and has an arm.  If he has good interviews, I wouldn't be surprised to see him drafted high by a team that doesn't need to throw him into the fire immediately.

A lot of what I heard going into this year was he is a better version of Patrick Mahomes. 

[C.Biscuit97]

26 minutes ago, H2o said:

A lot of what I heard going into this year was he is a better version of Patrick Mahomes. 

He’s not. He’s one of the most overrated qbs in a long time.  It feels like mcShay has some deal with his agent to pimp him.  I get losing players around you.  But he is struggling in the WAC.  

 

And i gotta say I am switching my opinion on Baker.  He might be as big of a d bag as I thought.  I still would rather have Rosen or Rudolph but I could get with a backup plan of Baker sitting behind TT for a year.  Not close to my favorite scenario but I won’t hate it.  I’m not 100% convince on his nfl talent but he’s a gamer and I think his team loved him.