There isn’t a position more important than the quarterback, and since we already previewed the class here, instead of doing another breakdown of the position, we’re going to grade out the traits of each of the top six guys in this loaded 2018 NFL Draft class.
After grading our 10 most important traits for each quarterback, you’ll see our overall score for each prospect below.
Note: Our grading scale is 1-10, but if a prospect is special or has a trait that is generationally great, they received an off the chart 11.
Accuracy
At this stage in their development, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield are by far the most accurate, though Sam Darnold has shown promise.
What gives Rosen the edge over Mayfield is that he’s done it in tighter windows, in a tougher offense, and with less talent on his team. That being said, Mayfield’s right up there with him. Being consistently accurate is a big part of this and the top two on this list have shown that. Rosen and Mayfield are fairly accurate deep-ball passers as well.
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 9
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 8.5
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 7.5
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 6
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 6
Josh Allen, Wyoming: 4.5
Arm Strength
Allen’s arm strength is easily amongst the strongest of any quarterback prospect in the last 10 years. The throws he made in college, are throws that maybe only Aaron Rodgers could make in the NFL. He has a true rocket launcher of an arm and is far and away the QB with the best power of anyone in the class.
Darnold and Rudolph aren’t that far behind, as far as the mere mortals are concerned.
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 11
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 8.5
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 8.5
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 8
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 7
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 7
Footwork
This is one of the most important traits in a quarterback and Rosen is head and shoulders above the rest. Mayfield is actually quite promising and already shows high-end maneuverability in the pocket, he just needs to improve on his drops—which is to be expected as he’s coming from a spread offense.
Allen is third, but significantly behind the top two, though he does have the advantage of coming from a pro offense and has shown nice improvements this offseason. The rest of the group all have intriguing upside but have plenty of work to do.
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 9
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 7.5
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 6
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 6
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 6
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 5.5
Touch
This was an interesting battle between Mayfield and Rosen, who are clearly the most polished QBs in the class. Mayfield wins out as he’s pretty special with his touch, though Rosen’s not that far behind.
Much like his accuracy, this is an area in which Allen needs to drastically improve.
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 9.5
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 8.5
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 6.5
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 6
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 6
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 4.5
Poise under pressure
Being poised under pressure doesn’t just mean being athletic and being able to escape the pocket, but its the ability to keep your head up, reset your feet and still complete passes under duress. This is where Rosen stands out. Jackson is otherworldly in his ability to avoid pressure and reset, and if he can be more consistent passing out of such situations, he has unlimited potential. Mayfield and Darnold aren’t too shabby themselves when it comes to this.
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 9
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 8.5
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 8
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 8
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 6.5
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 4
On the run
Darnold and Allen are both pretty special, though in different ways. Darnold can throw it on the move and zing it into tight windows regularly, while Allen can be falling backward and unleash 60-yard bombs from impossible platforms. This is a big part of why both are said to be the first two quarterbacks taken in the draft.
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 10
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 10
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 9.5
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 9
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 6
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 4
Throwing in tight windows
This is a huge part of evaluating a college quarterback as they transition to the NFL, where windows get a lot tighter. Darnold has shown the ability to zing balls in there with consistency, especially deep and on the run.
Rosen isn’t that far off, either. While he’s not the most consistent, Allen has made some high-level throws in traffic as well.
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 9.5
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 9
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 8
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 7.5
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 7
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 6
Athleticism
Athleticism isn’t just running ability, but it factors in the size and the elusiveness in the pocket a player possess. Jackson is probably the best at this since Russell Wilson or maybe even Michael Vick. The way in which he can avoid sacks that any other QB in the world would take is unreal. He might not just be the best athlete in the class at QB, but best athlete period, at any position. He’s that special.
For his big frame and weight, Allen is pretty darn athletic, too, as is Darnold, who moves really well. Mayfield moves nicely but he’s small and far from an athlete of the caliber of Wilson or even Johnny Manziel.
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 11
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 9.5
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 9
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 6.5
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 5.5
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 4
Pro-readiness
A lot of this comes from a familiarity with pro concepts and the ability to execute them. Rosen is far and away the most ready for the next level, as he’s also the most polished and familiar with pro concepts. Coming from the same pro offense that groomed Carson Wentz, Allen has a natural advantage as well.
After those two, no one’s all that ready and will need an offense to be adapted to them as rookies.
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 10
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 6.5
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 6.5
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 6.5
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 6
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 6
Potential
This isn’t a trait at all but if factors into how high a player will be drafted. Allen has otherworldly upside as the biggest boom-or-bust prospect of the class at any position. Darnold has a pretty high ceiling, as well, and if developed fully, Jackson should be up there too.
People don’t talk about it much, but the big-armed and big-bodied Rudolph, if developed fully and in the right offense, has the goods to be a QB who puts up big numbers.
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 11
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 9.5
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 8.5
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 8
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 7
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 6.5
Total (out of 100)
While they have different strengths and weaknesses, their overall scores reflect our QB rankings which also take into account age, quality of competition, and the performance of each player on tape.
That’s what gives Darnold the slight edge over Rosen on our board and what puts Mayfield ahead of Jackson, and Jackson—who’s only 21—ahead of Allen. Rudolph, who has plenty of attractive skills in an NFL prospect, is lagging behind as he’s too dependant on first reads and a clean pocket right now.
Sam Darnold, QB, USC: 81
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 81
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 76
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming: 76
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville: 76
Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State: 59
0 Comments (4 conversations)
Killertofu17
There is a you tube clip of Lamar Jackson throwing the ball 90yards in the air in high school. He has arm strength better than everyone except maybe Allen. His accuracy may not be pinpoint on long throws but that would fall under the accuracy category not armstrength right? I went to UofL and am a bit of a Jackson Truther if you can’t tell lol.
Killertofu17
Good stuff though Andre appreciate all you do.
I’ll have to check out that high school clip. Arm strength to me isn’t just throwing the ball 90 yards but being able to gas a throw to the sideline in tight coverage when you need to up the RPMs, that’s what I need to see more of from Lamar. He’s got ample NFL arm strength but there are other guys with strong arms in this class too.
Appreciate the insights, thank you for reading and commenting, glad you enjoyed!
Ps: I’m a huge Jackson fan myself he’s in the top 20 on my board (or around there) and I’ve consistently ranked him ahead of Allen during the season.
Killertofu17
Yeah I get that. Thanks for commenting back love the work you guys do. It helps me feel like I’m connected even though I’m 1,000+ miles away. My dream scenario would be a trade back to 12 and 22 and where we were able to Roquan or Edmonds at 12, Lamar at 22, and Hernandez Wynn or Price at 40. I know that is a huge long shot and not going to happen. But I like to dream.lol. keep up the good work
I would not be happy to see a QB drafted in the first round. Until someone proves it’s not solved, John Elway thinks it is. Why would Elway undermine his coach by using a #1 pick on a player that won’t help the coach win? There’s a reason very few people think the best player in the draft is a QB. But we know BFA has nothing to do with the first three rounds if the GM is smart. It has to do with filling the biggest hole. Elway strained last year trying to address the offensive line. I haven’t seen anything to tell me Garret Bolles was a worthy pick. But he can get it right on the offensive line this year with the #5 pick.
JDC15
I think maybe you are under rating Rosen and Mayfield’s athleticism at least a little. None of the top 4 are perfect, Darnold has what seems to me a very elongated throwing motion, Rosen has medical concerns, Mayfield is a tad short and comes from the spread, and Allen who does have accuracy issues. Rudolph to me is Paxton Lynch with less athleticism and I wouldn’t touch him in the 1st or 2nd rd. Jackson is a great athlete, and while he dominated in college 2 games showed serious questions about his overall demeanor the fight against UK, and the Clemson game where he played a defense with pro prospects and he couldn’t just put athlete them. I know it is hard to quantify intangibles but imo there is just something about Mayfield that the others don’t have though Darnold is the closest. Whatever the Broncos do just don’t draft a guard at 5.
I see your point. There are flashes of Rosen showing better athleticism than usual (some are in my film room on him) but generally, for NFL standards, I think it’s fair to say he’s not a great athlete.
Mayfield, I can see your point, but I’d say he’s more elusive and better at navigating the pocket than truly a great athlete, especially when you account for his size.
Jackson’s far from a sure thing agreed, but he also put on some amazing tape against some really talented D’s with NFL talent, see the Clemson game in 2016 or FSU game that year. His supporting cast didn’t help him much in 2017, which I think gets overlooked.
PastorRhett
Is this even a valid evaluation if the haymaker test was not included?
But seriously, great work. You consistently put out fantastic content and you are truly one of the best in the industry at what you do! Thanks for using that talent and passion to give us better Broncos coverage than we get anywhere else!
Wow! thank you so much, humbled by your kind words. I really appreciate that.