After transfering from Michigan and having a productive two years at SEC, Ryan Mallett developed into one of the top pocket passers in the country and for this 2011 NFL Draft class.
But, with his lack of pocket quickness and inconsistent accuracy across the field could limit which teams could find him a lock to be an NFL starter, and his questionable off the field concerns could also, possibly unfairly, drop him substantially on NFL Draft boards. Still, we’ll take a look at where he could end up on draft day and why he will or won’t be a solid NFL starter.
A lot of question marks surround Ryan Mallett’s respect in the locker room and leadership intangibles. I’ve heard some close to the locker room’s he’s been a part of have been frustrated by him at times, and even the Ryan Leaf comparisons are prevalent.
However, it’s unfair to base these claims on rumors, so we’ll just leave it as he’s not squeaky clean when it comes to being a potential franchise quarterback off the field. He can read and dissect the play well, and while Bobby Petrino’s offense isn’t overly complicated, it does take some reads to be successful. However, he has yet to be able to understand defensive rush schemes and still holds onto the ball too long.
He has taken a solid amount of hits in his college career because of his lack of quickness in the pocket Finally, Ryan Mallett has failed to capitalize late in games and is too turnover or sack prone when the game is on the line.
As far as quarterbacks are concerned, if an NFL team doesn’t feel a guy can evade pressure in a pass-rush focused league, can’t win the turnover battle, and can’t be a leader and a high character guy off the field, then he’s not going to be looked at as an NFL franchise quarterback.
I am not going to say that is the case with Ryan Mallett necessarily because he still can improve his mobility, he has gotten better at keeping the ball away from defenses, and I don’t know enough about his background to completely comment on it, though I’m sure NFL teams will by the draft. He has a great arm, he’s very confident in the pocket throwing to the middle of the field and deep, and he has the play reading and recognition skills to be a successful pocket passer. But he’ll need to really improve his mobility and comfort level on the move and in reading the blitzes.
He could be as productive as Jay Cutler and that’s probably the most accurate depiction of him, minus Cutler’s better running ability. However, the Derek Anderson comparison will concern many teams as well. Overall, Mallett could be a very productive pocket passer over his career and the right NFL coaching could develop his mobility and rollout techniques to the point where it isn’t a huge hindrance.
But there are quite a few athleticism and off the field concerns for a team to really bite in the Top 15 picks of the draft, and I think his value could quickly fall like Chad Henne’s did and make him a early to middle 2nd round selection, which could be great for him, as he will have less pressure on him and more time to develop his NFL skill set.
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