Catrell Simpson’s Favorite QB prospects for 2018 NFL Draft

January 4th, 2018:

This year has a unique set of QBs. While the prototypical pocket passers are present, there are a lot of prospects that are mobile and like throwing the ball on the move. There’s question about which QBs are staying and which ones are declaring, but I am about to breakdown the best (my favorite) draft eligible QBs.

Lamar Jackson, Louisville- Ht: 6 ft. 3 in. Wt: 211 lbs

My Draft Projection: 1st Round

There’s a lot of talk that surrounds Jackson. “His best shot to play on the next level is switching to receiver.” You also hear that his mobility won’t translate against NFL talent. I am here to say that both of those things are completely false. Let’s get one thing straight right now. Jackson is a QB and will be a QB in the NFL.

The Good

The best quality is the most obvious one. He is a playmaking athlete. His football instincts are insane. His shiftiness and speed makes him the most dangerous player every time he steps on the field. You see here against North Carolina that when he sees the seam, it turns into six.

The second best part of Jackson’s game is his ability to learn and be coachable. His mechanics have drastically improved since last season. He goes through his reads and keeps his eyes focused down field before he takes off to run. While at Louisville, Jackson did not have the best protection. He would often have to take off sooner than he wanted to because of breakdowns in protection. Because of the shaky protection, Jackson has been wrongly perceived as a running QB instead of a pocket passer that can also take off and run.

The last thing that Lamar Jackson does really well is his ability to sense pressure around him. When it’s possible, Jackson steps up into the pocket and keeps his eyes downfield. Other times, Jackson would bounce it outside and look to make a throw or use his feet to make a play. 

The Bad

Although Jackson is good at evading pressure, he does not feel comfortable with his mechanics when pressure is sensed. I saw in a few different games that after Jackson steps up in the pocket, he does not often reset his feet which almost always leads to an errant throw. Because of these issues with setting his feet, he is inconsistent on his deep balls. You see here he makes the right move by stepping up in the pocket, but he doesn’t reset his feet and leads to a ball that’s well overthrown. (Not the right decision either with the receiver double covered)

Another problem with Jackson is that because he is always trying to make the home run play, he takes bad sacks or bad tackles for loss. It’s good that he doesn’t want to give up on the plays, but at the next level he will have to learn to chalk up his losses instead of putting his team in an unmanageable situation.

The last thing I saw wrong with Jackson was that he takes way too many hits. If he wants to be a durable franchise QB, he will have to learn how to slide and how to get out of bounds. There are linebackers in the league that run sub 4.5. He has to learn that in some games he won’t be the best athlete on the field, and if he tries to do too much it could keep him consistently hurt.

Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma- Ht: 6 ft. 1 in. Wt: 220 lbs

My Draft Projection: 1st Round

Mayfield was recognized as the best player in college football by being presented the Heisman trophy. He has had comparisons to Russell Wilson and as far as Johnny Manziel. We know what his numbers show but lets dive a little deeper into his mechanics.

The Good

Mayfield can make PLAYS using his feet. By no means is he as fast or shifty as Lamar Jackson, but you can use designed QB runs with him, and you can rely on him to go make a play if the pocket collapses.

Next thing that makes Mayfield so special is the amount of touch he can put on a pass. He can float a ball and put it just about anywhere on the field. From the throwing standpoint, this is definitely his best quality. You can see here in the Oklahoma State game, he throws a dime right over the top to catch his receiver in stride.

The Bad

The first thing people see is that Mayfield is a little undersized from your standard NFL QB. With shorter guys like Drew Brees and Russell Wilson competing at a high level, it shows that being undersized doesn’t immediately translate to not being able to make it in the NFL, but teams may be weary about his size.

The second thing that I noticed is that Mayfield throws off of his back foot very often. He makes some good and accurate throws off of his back foot, but those mechanics would scare me. In the NFL, it is hard to get away with having bad mechanics. If he keeps these mechanics at the combine, teams will see this red flag and his stock could drop.

The last issue with Mayfield is that he needs to do a better job of looking off receivers. He only has 5 interceptions on the season, but those 5 could have easily been avoided. People get blown away from Mayfield’s completion percentage or his adjusted completion percentage, but those same people don’t realize the simplicity of the Oklahoma offense. Screens and short passes are easy to complete, especially if you have as much talent as Mayfield.

Quinton Flowers, South Florida- Ht: 6 ft. Wt: 210 lbs.

My Draft Projection: 5th Round

Some may have never heard of Flowers. He doesn’t play in a power 5 conference, and his numbers does not WOW anyone. Based on the eye test, Flowers looks like he could be the same type of prospect that Lamar Jackson is. Flowers is undersized, and his arm is not quite as good as Jackson’s. I think, if Flowers is put in the right position, he could grow into being a NFL QB.

The Good

He’s another QB that whenever he steps on the field, he is the best athlete. His shiftiness and speed makes him dangerous whenever he is in the open field. You see here that Flowers evades every defender that tries to tackle him. This is one of the many times in his career where he has made nothing into something. What’s not pictured is that he went on to score on this play.

The next thing that makes Flowers a good prospect is that he is a smart QB. He doesn’t throw many interceptions because he knows how to read coverages. He knows how to go through his progression and if nothing is there, he will take off and make a play. Flowers recognizes the zone coverage, and he delivers a strike in the hole for a TD.

The last thing that stands out to me is that Flowers has a cannon. He loves trying to stretch the field as often as possible. His deep ball accuracy may be his best quality from a passing standpoint. Flowers does a great job of leading his receivers and hitting them in stride so that they can get some yards after catch.

The Bad

With Flowers being undersized, it automatically starts to scare teams away. Baker Mayfield gets away with being undersized because his completion percentage is so high. Since being a starter at South Florida, Flowers only had one season where his completion percentage is higher than 60. To his defense, he had a lot plays left on the field with dropped passes. Everything about Flowers just screams that he can be Tyrod Taylor in the league. They have an almost identical frame, and Flowers should run somewhere in the 4.5’s in the 40 yard dash, just like Taylor.

These 3 QBs will make their mark not only in the combine, but I expect them to be good QBs in the league. This new dual-threat QB is starting to be more and more common. Don’t be fooled, although these three QBs can make plays on the ground, they are just as capable of making plays through the air.