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