Mayfield’s touch outdoes Allen’s
MOBILE, ALA.» The worst pass was thrown before most could see — before the stands filled with NFL scouts, before the lights turned on at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, before the real test began.
It was Day 2 of practice for the North team, and before Broncos coach Vance Joseph could take over, the four quarterbacks took the field for warm-ups. The drill was basic target practice: Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Luke Falk and Tanner Lee were tasked with moving over blocks, forward and the backward behind a makeshift line of scrimmage, before tossing the ball to the net.
Mayfield took the first rep, moving back and forth over the blocks at the direction of quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan before nailing his target. Allen was next. Back and forth he moved, before tossing the ball over the top corner of net and into the end zone. Not even close.
Although the sample size was small and relatively unimportant, it painted the picture of not just the ensuing two hours of practice but the general assessment of the two headlining quarterbacks ahead of the draft:
Mayfield, while smaller, is consistently accurate and leads his receivers to the ball.
Allen, who can wow with a deep ball in the corner of the end zone, has a tendency to throw a pick or miss a receiver by 7 yards on the next play.
Allen did just that Wednesday, hitting Colorado State receiver Michael Gallup for a deep touchdown along the right sideline. The pass led Gallup, as a safety trailed, and was undoubtedly one of the most impressive completions of the day.
“That’s a great throw, because the safety’s coming,” Joseph said. “He put enough pace on the throw to get it there before the safety could get there.
“That’s important with those double-move deep balls. He drove the ball in. Great throw and great finish.”
But Allen followed with a string of misses. During 7-on-7 drills, Mayfield garnered a chorus of “oohs” after going 3-of-4 in a series and connecting on passes all over the field. As he moved, his throws remained the same — on point. Allen’s rotation was streaky, at best.
The two-hour period flashed the risk and reward of drafting a quarterback, with Allen’s size and potential propelling him to near the top of the charts — if not the top — among quarterbacks. But his completion percentage continues to create pause, and improving accuracy when making the leap from the Mountain West to the NFL is a tall task.
For the Broncos, the week-long assessment is an advantage as they enter another offseason in search of a starting quarterback and help at multiple other positions. The work this week is only a fraction of the evaluation that will be used ahead of the draft, but it’s a significant piece nonetheless.
And although no player has been perfect, the Broncos have said they’re impressed by the quarterback play thus far.
“They look good,” Broncos general manager John Elway said of Allen and Mayfield on Wednesday. “It’s always good coming down here, throwing to people you’re not familiar with and new routes, so I thought the first two days have been really good. Very strong arms. It’s been fun to watch.”