Stafford, Not So Much. Freeman More Interesting?
Appearing today on the Dan Patrick Show, Mike Mayock talked with DP (audio) on this year’s QB draft class and he wasn’t very complimentary to Stafford or his chaces. The single point of distinction that Mayock saw was how guys like Ryan and Cutler rose above a bad supporting cast, and Stafford with a fantastic amount of talent hasn’t been as impressive.
“The streets are littered with talented former first-round quarterbacks with big arms,” Mayock said.
Mayock says Stafford throws a better skinny post than any quarterback he’s seen in 10 years. But on other plays, Stafford isn’t very special. “His pocket awareness is so inconsistent,” Mayock said.
Mayock argues that if you take a quarterback at No. 1 overall, you could set your team back five years. Mayock thinks the Lions would be wiser to take a guy like LB Aaron Curry — there’s less risk.
May was high though on Josh Freeman.
Mayock said watch out for Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman. He had a very impressive Pro Day yesterday and should be a first-rounder. Mayock says Freeman has just as big an arm as Stafford.
Alex Smith going to the Niners was one of those years where a QB was regarded as not worth a first selection but the Niners did it anyway and look how that has worked out. I like K-State’s Freeman, but he might be a project. Still, he’s the closest thing this draft has to a Joe Flacco.
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Why do we want Joe Flacco? I saw his numbers and watched him play. What is special about him? Height, his arm? Baltimore would have doen just as well with Troy Smith and he is 6′0 and won games for a much less talented baltimore team.
im speechless or i know if we don’t pick torry holt up after he is releasd we have to go wr in rd 1.
no way do i want freeman. mayock is crazy. stafford is a stud. he had a patchwork offensive line and led the SEC in passing. stafford is special good.
what the heck did matt ryan do in college? he played in the ACC and wasn’t all that great.
cutler? vandy sucked when cutler was in school. please.
mayock and mcshay are down on stafford bc kiper’s been on him since he was in high school. it’s all so juvenile
i like freeman maybe trading down our second to get him ……as a project for years to come
I’ve said it before (altho not in this forum) and I’ll say it again:
Arm strength is NOT the most important attribute for an NFL QB, and if that’s the first thing I hear about a prospect, that sets off warning bells. It’s much more important that a QB be smart enough to read defenses, quick enough to get the ball out quickly and, probably most importantly, accurate enough to put the ball in the right spot.
This is why noodle-armed Chad Pennington continues to enjoy success in the NFL, while countless QBs who were drafted higher on the basis of impressive athletic ability are on the bench or on the street.
That’s why I’m a little leery of Freeman. So what if he’s got just as big an arm as Stafford? Kyle Boller could throw the ball through the goal posts from the 50-yard line — on his knees. If Sanchez falls to 17, I’m all for taking him, because his stats are there and he represents good value at that spot. Let someone else attempt to teach Freeman, who only once last year topped a 59.5 completion percentage against legitimate competition, how to play QB.
Totally agree Green Guy
I have had this argument for weeks now. Everybody wants to draft a QB 1st round? Why?? What was so special about Flacco? He got the job by default and injuries. He played “okay” but the defense carried this team.
Give me KC or Ratty and draft a supporting cast to help TJ, Leon. Keller and Cotch and our hopefully killer defense!!
I Say take the best TE that kills two birds one stone a blocker and a tall reciever…If the bills dont take him first , if we dont take him he falls to the pats who will take him also
I agree with Mayock 100%…just because a QB is the best prospect this year, it does not mean he is a Franchise QB and if I were the Lions, I would not select him first. There is way too much risk. Taking an OT or best D player availabe (Curry) is lower risk. Now, I;m not saying Stafford or Sanchez are not good, but if they came out with Cutler and Leinert and Clemmons a few years ago or last year w/Ryan and Flacco, where would you grade them? Round 2? If you can’t rank them that high, then they without adoubt should not be taken #1 overall, nor at 17. Otherwise you end up with another Kellen Clemens and we already have one.
No thank you! Take a pass on QB in round one and get the best player available. Then start filling needs in Round 2 and thereafter.
I am all for trading out of 17 and letting someone else fall for Sanchez. I would draft offensivee talent in the first 3 rounds…..especially if we cant trade down and pick up more picks…..
WR, RB, OL depth….
We only pick defense if a gem falls in our laps. Like Ron Brace or Jarron Gilbert in Rd2. Gilbert is an animal. Quickess big DE I have seen in a while….
Side Note…Mike Mayocks daughter Leigh is a promo model for me and the company I own…sorry figured I would throw that out there.
Trade down and take Nicks. If Freeman falls, trade up and take him — no matter what, proceed Clem/Rat QB competition. B Schott and Cavanaugh coach the hell out of him. If both Clem and Rat prove to suck, we have a guy with a season under his belt that knows the system/playbook ready to step in.
We have enough young unproven QBs. One of them is going to work out, if you go and draft a stud wideout.
Agreed- taking a QB would be a mistake.
With the depth at WR early and DL, OL and RB- we need to stock up on depth.
Basset check out Pro Football Talk… they have a video up on the Jets QB situation. I really think Florio just truely hates the Jets.
Funnily enough, my view is almost the opposite of what Mayock appears to be saying.
My view is that Stafford didn’t get a chance to show what he could do, mainly because they had so many weapons in the running game and that whenever he did, he was impressive, although his stats were underwhelming as a result.
Charleyjet, I agree with your first statement — Why do we need another project? Erik Ainge played for a good college. He is a big QB with a nice arm. HE is our QB project. No one talks about him because Mangini and his group of underachieving coaches did nothing with him. They did the same thing with Gholston.
Everybody gets caught up in media hype. The media is ruining this country. If the media doesn’t say that these guys are good players — most of our fans think that they can’t play. As soon as they do well, the media will say that they are the next coming of Tom Brady or Lawrence Taylor. I think both Ainge and Gholston are going to be good players who were held back by imcompetent coaching. Watch what happens in the years to come.
As for a WR in the draft, even if we took a highly rated wideout, it will take years for him to make a difference. We need to pick up a solid FA, such as Holt or Harrison, to bolster our receiving corp. We do need to add to our Offense, with this draft. As I have mentioned in the past, I would take Percy Harvin. He can become a good receiver over time and he can help out in the running game immediately. There are no spectacular RB’s in this draft. Harvin averaged about 10yds per carry, throughout his college career.
Carl Parisien Natick MA says: I like Harvin. He’s an outstanding player and will add depth to the roster
I’m with AKA Drew- Would love WR, OL, RB or DE/DT in the first 4 rounds!
Stated for a while now- Like WR-DHB, but understand concerns about him. I think the most proven 3-4 DE is tyson jackson- have no problem with him first round, and like chris wells too.
My most hopeful draft outcome involves trading down in the first round about 3-5 spots, but also moving up in the second round 5-10 spots. First round taking whoever of the three appove available or some great OT if none of the appove are their. In the second round taking DT-Ron Brace, DE-Jarron Gilbert, WR- Brian Robiskie, or best OT.
Defense carried the Ravens. But a fluid offense kept Pitt defense from being on the field for 40 minutes. The quality FAs are gone and that’s the reality. Unless we get a big offensive player in a trade I say take the QB if he falls and take the WR. Holt and Harrison’s ability to contribute largely is a wild card as much as a day 1 WR.
we have to take a good hard look at tyson jackson and jarrod gilbert
Flacco’s overrated, but Freeman’s not even at his caliber of prospect. Freeman’s pocket presence is one of the worst things you’ve ever seen.
You guys talking about Flacco just didnt watch him play but are going on stats and hearsay.Kid throws one of the prettiest balls you’ll ever see. I believe in Sanchez and Freemon,Stafords a ? without knowing how good the guys are we have, why would you pass up on a guy.it make little to no sense,what do we do if we draft a WR and our QBs turn out to be crap.If come the next draft and were not in position to get a good QB then we looks like fools of the league and so continue the same old jets saga.
If any of these QB’s were really considered FRANCHISE QB’s then take them. But there are question marks on all of them . Matty Ice they all said was the most NFL ready. J Cutler they said could make all the throws. Now you tell me if both of these guys are not working out GREAT for their respective TEAMS? Alex Smith had questions,Leinert Questions and how are they working out? We have a good running game and you can put Joey Bag-a-doughnuts back there and he can manage to hand off and make a throw after we play action. Either continue to address the DEFENSE in RD1 or get a WR or RB or like a previous post stated Brandon Pettigrew the TE he would solve the blocking and give us another option at receiver .
There were question marks on Ryan too. There are question marks on everybody and for good reason. Nobody is perfect.
I’ve been pounding the table on Freeman, so I’m with Mayock. He’s a tough kid to get a read on because his team was so bad, he’s also a junior and he’s more of a project than either Stafford or Sanchez. With all that said, a 6-6 QB with a cannon arm and mobility is worth the 17th pick. His upside is as high as any QB that has come out since 2004. Plus, he’s the most durable prospect, he played in 32 straight games. And, fwiw, he’s had a consistent 90+ rating on Scouts Inc., which indicates 1st round value.
Man jjoe flacco is wack i dont know why people think so highly of him he aint nothing special to me
you can find faults in every prospect every year but Ryan had a lot more good things said about him. the one knock was arm strength. And arm strength had been proven thats its not all what is cracked up to be ex. Jeff George,Akili Smith,J.P. Losman,Kyle Boller and dare I say BRETT FAVRE (post GB). All i’m saying is, as much as we have gotten burnt in the past in our draft picks. i rather just go with a prospect that has less cons and more pros
Broadway12, the Jets have never been burned by a first round QB. Now, second round, that’s a different story.
Sack,
Compare Erik Ainge to Josh Freeman. Ainge has similar stats but, played in a much better conference. Ainge played against teams like Florida, Alabama, Georgia, etc… Who did Freeman play against? Who did he beat? We have Ainge, why would we want Freeman?
No SackDance99 i meant in general we have had more bad luck in our draft then good. Even tho Mr.T has done pretty good . I did’nt necessarily mean we have had bad 1st rd QB picks.And in the last few yrs teams that have drafted and gotten wrong 1st RD QB picks have suffered .That’s why i am gun shy about taking a QB in this year’s draft in the 1st RD. Especially if you make a mistake with one in the 1st round it can set the franchise back a min of 5yrs. I just rather fill other needs then QB right now. We have 3 young QB’s no re treads let’s see what we got?
How is Freeman a better prospext than stafford???
Cmon. Freeman is nothing close to flacco. Flacco was more prepared, more accurate, more mobile..
Freeman just went to a small school and has a big arm. That’s where comparisons end.