STATUS: UNKNOWN
Mystery still surrounds how draft will play out
ARLINGTON, Texas— Thick smoke screens and endless rumors, mock drafts changing by the minute, prospect stocks rising and fading so fast it would make your head spin.
This year ’s quarterback-loaded NFL draft is about as certain as the weather, leaving most experts merely guessing ahead of what should be an entertaining and unpredictable first round Thursday night at AT&T Stadium.
“There are a couple of wild cards in the draft in the top f ive with a couple of teams that no one has any idea what they’re doing, and they have the ability to trade out,” said UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, one of the draft’s top prospects. “With this draft — I haven’t really paid very close attention to any other drafts — it just seems like nobody has any idea what’s going on.”
Rumors have run the gamut for weeks of what the Browns will do at No. 1, and there was still plenty of debate on the eve of the draft. It seemed like a certainty for months USC quarter back Sam D arnold would go No. 1 until recently, when several reports claim Cleveland will pick between Wyoming quarter back Josh Allen and Oklahoma’s Heisman Trophy signal-caller Baker Mayfield.
Most view the top prospects in the draft as versatile and dynamic Penn State running back Saquon Barkley — the player believed the Giants will take No. 2 — and N.C. State edge rusher Bradley Chubb. Rosen has reportedly tumbled down draft boards while Mayfield has risen, for the moment.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I have to fill out a mock draft tonight, and I’ll take any and all suggestions,” NFL Network analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah said. “You’ re trying to build a house and you can’t pour the foundation. You don’t know who the first pick is going to be. So when you don’t know who the first pick is going to be, it’s a trickle-down effect. It can go in a million different ways.”
The f ive quarterbacks are an interesting group, a much acclaimed and accomplished quintet who have been torn down during this long process, each roundly criticized for different def iciencies. There are the injury concerns about Rosen, who suffered two concussions last year and had a shoulder ailment the year before that cost him several games. Accuracy issues and limited success against subpar competition with Allen. Questions about Lamar Jackson’s ability to be a pocket passer in the NFL, with some even suggesting he should move to wide
receiver. Darnold is viewed as the safest pick, but he was hardly impressive this fall for underachieving USC after starting the year as a Heisman Trophy favorite — and committed 36 turnovers in two seasons of action at the Pac12 power, raising questions about his ceiling. Then there is Mayfield, a lightning rod with an outsized personality and doubts about his size at a generously listed 6-foot-1.
“That’s just motivation to me,” Jackson said, speaking generally of the criticism. “It’s going to separate you from being a man or a little boy. You’re going to take it or you’re going to cry about it. You just got to perform.” Said Darnold: “I don’t really care if anyone says anything bad
about me. It’s entertainment. I understand people have a job to do.”
A combative Rosen insisted he doesn’t pay attention to mock drafts and the constant stream of rumors. Asked about the uncertainty of the draft, which he later addressed, the former UCLA star said, “You guys got to stop asking me about who is going 1, 2 and 3. I don’t care. I just want to play football and belong to a team. That’s all it is.”
When told about Rosen’s stance, Darnold laughed.
“I don’t believe it,” he joked, and later said, “When people say, ‘I haven’t been paying attention to it,’ we don’t
have a ton to do right now. We’re looking at our phones. We’re watching NFL Network, or whatever it is. I try not to, but it’s out there. It’s hard to ignore sometimes.”
For years, the f ive quarterbacks will be compared against one another, much like the 2004 quarterback class of Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger.
“That’s regarded as one of the best classes to do it,” Allen said. “We’ll find out in 15, 20 years if we’re able to hold up to that standard, and I’d like to think we can.”
In 2004, Manning went first overall to the Chargers, and was flipped to the Giants in exchange for Rivers, and three draft picks. Roethlisberger was taken 11th by the Steelers. The three have combined to win four Super Bowls and reach 17 Pro Bowls.
Thursday night could bring similar drama, and possibly
future success, too.