2018 NFL Draft: If these EDGEs were QBs
By Will Lomas
There is a lot of talk about the QBs in this NFL Draft class, but which EDGE compares to each QB.
Quarterback is the position that runs every draft, and to be honest it should.
No other position in football has as much of an impact as quarterback and there is a huge deficiency in the NFL at that position. The Tennessee Titans luckily have theirs, so it feels like this offseason has been an endless explanation of all the QBs.
I have a good feel for each one from watching film, and the narratives are even more clear in my head after months of hearing about them.
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So, that got me thinking: which QB does each of the top EDGEs compare to?
I think it is a really interesting idea that will help clarify where I am coming from when I talk about EDGE’s in the future, for those of you who may not spend as much time on the draft as I do.
Sam Darnold QB, USC is… Bradley Chubb EDGE, NCST
-Both are considered the safest pick in ths draft at their position and both have the high ceiling/low floor that you want in the top 10. While both have been dominant on the field there are slight concerns with each: Darnold turns the ball over too much and Chubb isn’t an elite athlete.
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Josh Rosen QB, UCLA is…Harold Landry EDGE, BC
-Slipping down the board is a major theme from each one of these players. For Rosen, his concern is personality and for Landry it is his “limited” skill set as a run defender. We have heard that Rosen may fall to the mid-1st and that Landry could be available for the Titans at 25.
When it comes down to it, I imagine that both get snatched up earlier than people think because both are truly special when they are “on”.
These are the two that have the best chance of usurping the top spot in this class when people look back in 5 years.
Josh Allen QB, Wyoming is…Josh Sweat EDGE, FSU
-Potential. That is the word that comes up all the time with both of these guys. For Allen, it is his huge arm and how he can throw on the move. For Sweat, it is his elite athleticism and the fact that he played a style that didn’t suit him in college.
I think both are in for a big change at the college level. Defensive coordinators will have to use how Sweat in a different way than he was used in college and help him with the nuance of that. Likewise, Allen will need to adjust to an offense where he doesn’t just need to run and play YOLO ball so often.
Both have the chance to be big play threats, but they will need other good pieces around them to be successful.
Speaking of Josh Allen, this if my favorite tweet describing what scouting him vs hearing his hype feels like:
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Baker Mayfield QB, Oklahoma is…Hercules Mata’afa EDGE, Washington State
-Both of these players are everything you want on paper. They are productive, put the team on their backs, dominant for stretches, and take over games almost by themselves.
If you just watched a highlight reel and went into the offseason without knowing which names are “supposed” to be high on the list, you would think these are the top EDGE and QB respectively.
For some reason neither of them will be the first guy drafted and both have to deal with minor concerns (Baker=system, Mata’afa=position change) and size. However, they both have a chance to be better than their draft slot.
Lamar Jackson QB, Louisville is…Shaquem Griffin EDGE/LB, UCF
-Each of these players is viewed as electric, but maybe a little bit unrefined. For Jackson it is his completion percentage which keeps people away (even though he is more accurate than Allen) and for Griffin it is his size (sub-220 lb.).
The great thing is that if you pop on the tape you can see that both are great athletes and that they just play at a different speed than everyone else on the field. I absolutely think that in the right system and with the right coaches they can be dynamic playmakers that change the way we view the position.
Mason Rudolph QB, Oklahoma State is…Marcus Davenport EDGE, UTSA
Be honest, you completely forgot about both of these players for a second, even though both are almost locks to go in the first round this year. And that is the point, despite great production and meeting everything you need in terms of measurements and athleticism, they get passed over.
On paper these two should be very successful in the NFL despite some flaws on tape (Arm limitations for Rudolph, leverage for Davenport) and the competition they played against. These are the guys who I don’t think will get a ton of respect but who will turn into very good starters in two or three years, maybe even Pro Bowlers.