February 29, 2016
Darron Cummings/AP
Paxton Lynch is behind Carson Wentz and Jared Goff in terms of being able to play in the NFL from Day 1.
A few weeks ago, Mike Mayock of NFL.com listed his top five prospects at each position. Unfortunately, they were just a list of names with no analysis. In order, his top five at the quarterback position were as follows:
At the NFL Combine this weekend, Mayock spoke with reporters and expanded on the quarterbacks with more substance. All words from here on out are Mayock's:
Carson Wentz has been under center. I've watched almost all the throws he has made this year. He's got good footwork because he's been under center. He's done five step drops, five with a hitch, seven step. He's got good arm strength and I thought he was very solid today.
Same thing with Goff from Cal. Quick feet, quick release, doesn't have the arm strength that maybe Paxton Lynch does or Wentz has, but you can see everything you want in a quarterback that's ready to play today. That's what Goff is. He's ready to go today.
Wentz is interesting because I'd love to see him sit for a year. So if I'm Dallas at number four, I'm sitting there kind of licking my lips because I have a 36-year old quarterback that hasn't finished a season in three years and you're probably not going to be at four again very soon. At least you hope not if you're Dallas. So you have an opportunity to kind of draft for the future, so I would much prefer maybe looking at a guy who I can groom for a year and then play. I think that's the ideal situation for him.
Now if he had to go in and play this year, do I think he could take his lumps and do that? Yeah, but I think the healthiest situation for that kid in a franchise is to give him a year behind an established starter. Even in Cleveland, if Cleveland took him, go to Cleveland, spend a year learning the system, learning what you're doing, and a year from now you're the guy. I think that's healthy.
The advantage Wentz has is that he's been under center. He's done a lot of the protections, he's been under center. You could see his footwork. It was good. The difference is that he's played 23 games and he's done it at a lower level. I didn't see the same pocket awareness. When I watch Goff, I see a guy sliding, moving around in the pocket, going from one side of the field to the other making every throw. I don't think Wentz is at that point yet as far as being quickly able to do that and I think he needs a lot more reps.
Paxton Lynch looks to me -- and I spent a couple hours with him a couple weeks ago watching tape with him and watching him on the field -- they're building him from the ground up. He's never been under center in his life. He's got a lot that he's got to learn. He's working hard at it. When he gets his footwork lined up the correct way, that arm strength is elite. It's really cool. But that's a work in progress. I think he's a first round pick, but he's a little bit of a project. He's a year or two away.
The kid from Michigan State, Cook, I thought he was good. I saw good arm strength. I didn't see elite arm strength. I've done a lot of work on him. I have never met him. I'd love to meet the kid and try to figure him out a little bit also.
Beyond that, I think there's five to seven mid-round guys who all are trying to show teams that they can be the next Kirk Cousins.
He is what he is. He's basically one of those middle-round quarterbacks. There are teams that are going to want to work with him. He's got height, weight; he's got some arm strength. What he did in the state of Mississippi to galvanize that team in that state I thought was special. What happens with those kinds of guys is a quarterback coach will fall in love with the kid. It's not going to make him a first rounder because he's a great character kid, but a coach will fall in love with him and draft him.
I have (Jones) as a wildcard along with Hackenberg. I have no idea where either of them are going. I've said a hundred times, for me, both of them a big, good looking kids that throw a beautiful football but have a lot of bad tape. So where do you take them?
I don't think there's a draft status for either of them right now. I think the rest of the NFL is doing what I'm doing, which is trying to figure the kid out. If you believe in the kid and you can fix the mechanics and get him to a certain level, you take him higher. But I think we'll all going through that discovery phase right now. Jones' pro day becomes a big day for him in Columbus in a couple of weeks.
