Second year QBs still finding their footing, throwing

Given the many variables that go into developing an elite quarterback, Jim Kelly can’t even imagine assessing what to make of last year’s group of five firstround draft picks as they enter their sophomore seasons.

That doesn’t mean the Pro Football Hall of Famer won’t get questions regarding Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield and Co.

“Good class, but yeah, it’s definitely too early,” Kelly said.

“Every time there’s a good class that comes out and they start off good, everybody starts comparing them to the class of ‘83. But until they’ve done it ...” he added, pausing, before praising the accomplishments of the 2004 rookie QBs: Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger.

Kelly, a member of the NFL’s most celebrated quarterback draft class, didn’t begin getting an inkling of how good he and the Bills could be until around his third season in Buffalo. That was when the Bills began forming a balanced identity on offense with the additions of running back Thurman Thomas and receiver Andre Reed.

“Bottom line, when I came into the league I knew I could play,” said Kelly, who spent his first two professional seasons in the USFL. “But I knew also that we were going to have to get the right players in here. Because I don’t care who you are, you have to have the right players, you have to have the right system that is set for your skills.”

If that’s the case, Mayfield, the No. 1 pick, the Jets’ Sam Darnold, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Miami-viaArizona’s Josh Rosen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson have a long way to go before drawing comparisons to Kelly’s draft class, which included fellow Hall of Famers John Elway and Dan Marino.

Mayfield, Darnold and Rosen are all adapting to new coaching staffs — never mind Rosen, who’s dealing with the humbling reality of being discarded by the Cardinals after just one year.

Then there’s Allen and Jackson, who are in the same offensive systems but face questions of whether they can develop into consistent passers after relying too much on their dynamic running abilities.

Former quarterback Boomer Esiason said the expectation is for quarterbacks to improve dramatically entering Year 2.

“Poise and accuracy. You should understand pocket presence more,” he said. “The ability (to do these) leads to being a true leader.”

And yet Rich Gannon, another former quarterback-turned-broadcaster, noted the expectation doesn’t always hold true, especially for those forced to learn new systems.

“When we talk about and we see a lot of progress from Year 1 to 2 with a lot of quarterbacks, there’s a footnote to that,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the case with young quarterbacks that undergo significant change in Year 2. In fact, in a lot of cases we see quarterbacks regress.”

Gannon compared a quarterback’s development to that of a 16-yearold learning to drive.

“All he is looking at is the road in front of him and the car in front of him. He’s not seeing anything that’s going on to the side or behind,” he said. “By the second year, your vision expands. You see more and recognize more.”

Though each is different, it won’t prevent comparisons from being made, especially given three are in the AFC East and two in the AFC North — and because the schedule could have all five facing each other this season.

“I don’t know what to make of that,” Gannon said of the scheduling quirk.

“I never got into comparing things so much. I just think it’s how good are you or your team? Are you a player that’s ascending?” he added. “Those guys I would say have a lot to prove.”

And that includes Mayfield, whom Gannon calls the most intriguing player of the class.

“I was really impressed with his poise, his presence, his command. He’s been in big games before, so the attention is not too big for him, obviously,” he said.

Kelly sidestepped a question about Mayfield, and shifted the conversation to another young quarterback entering his third season, but second as a starter.

“I think the guy I see as a heck of a quarterback, because I coached him at the Pro Bowl this past year, is Patrick Mahomes,” Kelly said, referring to the Chiefs budding star and 2018 league MVP. “Right now, I’d have to put Patrick Mahomes above everybody in the NFL because he looks to me like a very special quarterback.”

Here’s a scouting report of the five first-round picks entering their sophomore seasons, listed by draft order: be me,” Mayfield noted, in response to the buzz he generated for downing a beer while attending the Indians game against the Los Angeles Angels.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING >> “There’s a lot of hype around him right now, and he’s got some swagger. I just want to see how much better he can be, and how much better that team can be,” said Gannon.