Ryan Mallett's Draft Stock has fallen for some off-the-field issues (AP Photo)
Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett has very little left to prove on a college football field. The Razorbacks‘ starting quarterback for the last three years, Mallett completed 63.6% of his passes last season. This is considered to be an elite completion percentage, and his other numbers are right along those lines across the board.
But are his off-the-field issues enough to curtail his draft stock?
The Good: There’s very little not to like about Mallett the quarterback. His size (6’6″, 238), arm strength (after a great Combine) and accuracy have drawn almost universal from NFL scouts. The physical tools are there for Mallett to have an extremely successful career at the professional level, and he’s also drawn comparisons to Joe Flacco for his command of an offense and big-time arm.
The Bad: The only real knock against Mallett’s playing abilities would be his questionable footwork. Scouts have pointed to his lack of mobility, which caused a lot of issues during the Razorbacks’ 2009 campaign. No one seems to be overly concerned about this, however, because footwork is a teachable fundamental.
The Ugly: This is where Mallett’s draft stock has taken an enormous hit. Widespread reports of Mallet’s drug use have cause several teams to be turned off by the young star. Even worse was his NFL Combine interview. Mallett frequently offered a “no comment” response, and hardly appeared professional in an interview setting. This has caused a number of teams to be fearful of potential baggage that Mallett will bring in the event that he is drafted.
DRAFT PREDICTION: Late first/Early second round. Mallett is almost certainly not going to fall further than the fourth overall pick in the second round to the Cincinnati Bengals, who have to find a new quarterback with Carson Palmer getting serious about his retirement threat. That being said, Mallett’s tools and potential could make him an enormous steal at this spot. My guess is he’ll find his way onto a team that trades up into the latter part of the first round to grab him.
PREDICTION: Boom. This kid is no joke. No matter what his off-the-field issues are, they typically can get corrected by the right people and the right situation. My feeling on this is that if a team is going to invest a tremendous amount of money in Mallett, they’re going to do their part to make sure Mallett doesn’t screw up their commitment.
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