Pat Kirwan on Ryan Mallett: Big risk, big reward

One of the reasons I’ve tried to bring some perspective to Ryan Mallett’s draft stock is really only because not many other people appear willing to do so.

Pat Kirwan isn’t one of those people.

Most of you will be aware of Kirwan and his close ties to Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll. He recently had a chance to sit down with the Arkansas’ quarterback and it makes for interesting reading:

“The NFL is starving for quarterbacks. This is a throwing league, and good teams are averaging close to 40 pass attempts a game. Where are the rare signal callers talented enough to do what every offensive coordinator wants and every defensive coordinator hates? Few and far between. No one is perfect, but when it comes to the 2011 draft class you can’t deny that Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallet is an interesting candidate. Sure, he has some issues surrounding him that will cause some teams to back off. But when it comes to throwing the ball down the field, he might be the best of the bunch. I have had three separate opportunities to sit down with Mallett and dig a little deeper each time. And I have to tell you, he gets more intriguing each time. There’s risk, but there also could be a big reward.”

It’s a really good read for anyone who is prepared to acknowledge Mallett’s issues on and off the field, while also appreciating the positives that aren’t always discussed.

4 Comments

  1. kevin mullen

    All that off-field stuff is maturity related, once he’s in a professional setting, the guys in there will straighten him out, one way or another. They’ll point out to him that he’s got the talent that 90% of the current QB’s don’t have, but it’s up to him on whether he wants to live up to those expectations or be another 3year n’ out statistic.

    I think it would benefit him to get drafted towards the latter half the round to a team that has an established QB, why not Indy? Learn from the best and Peyton isn’t getting any younger…

  2. caleb

    I know its still too early to discern whether there will be a season next year, but do you think Rob that if it comes down to it and there is a lockout that what might have been a potential candidate at #25(mallet or whatever qb) could be steered away from so that the seahawks would not loose valuable experience/growing time with a rookie signal caller?

  3. Charlie

    Heres an interesting question. Who will be a better linebacker? Aaron Curry or Von Miller? Both experienced serious draft hype and it looks like miller will go close to where curry went. So whos the better prospect based purely on their college ability

    • Rob

      Great question.

      Physically you would give Curry the edge if you compared both as rookie’s, but he wasn’t even used as a pass rusher in college. If you watch Wake Forest, he used to stand ten yards behind the LOS and basically just rush forward and react to the play call. It was unusual and raised some flags to me that they didn’t want to use him at the LOS really impacting plays as much.

      Both were given third round grades by the draft committee as juniors. Von Miller has his issues, but at least he’s shown that ability to impact plays as a pass rusher. What it could come down to is – Curry’s floor is that he’s an average linebacker with great size. Von Miller’s floor is much worse than that. You’re drafting him for those pass rush qualities and if they don’t come off, then what are you left with? In three years time Curry may actually be the better prospect but only because Miller was a huge bust. At the same time, if those pass rushing qualities translate at all to the next level – it’s a no brainer that Miller comes out on top.

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