UCLA’s Josh Rosen will be joined by Wyoming’s Josh Allen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield in participating in Saturday’s throwing drills at the NFL’s scouting combine. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
INDIANAPOLIS—Three of the four leading quarterback prospects in this year’s celebrated NFL draft class are scheduled to participate in Saturday’s throwing drills at the scouting combine.
USC’s Sam Darnold has opted to sit out the throwing drills in favor of waiting for his pro day for NFL scouts, front office executives and coaches. But UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Wyoming’s Josh Allen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield have said they plan to participate.
[As NFL debate rages about his position, Lamar Jackson says ‘I’m strictly a QB’]
“There was never a question about it,” Mayfield said. “That’s just second nature—a chance to compete, a chance to get in front of all these teams. This is the biggest interview of my life. Why would I not show exactly what I can do?”
There’s not all that much to be gleaned from the throwing drills, with no defenders on the field and the quarterbacks throwing passes to receivers unfamiliar to them.
“I think you get arm strength,” said John Elway, the Hall of Fame quarterback who’s now the top football executive for the Denver Broncos. “You get quickness, a little bit of accuracy. But obviously they’re working with guys they haven’t worked with. So it’s tough to anticipate. You see the release, get to see it live, get to see how the ball comes off.”
[Baker Mayfield, bursting with confidence, is ready to play the role of savior]
Said Cleveland Browns General Manager John Dorsey: “It’s always good to see them live. It’s also just good to watch them compete against each other. But it’s also at the combine an opportunity to meet them. This is really the first time a lot of us have got a chance to meet these players, all of these players. That’s what the beauty of the combine is.”
Nothing will be determined by what happens Saturday, of course. But that won’t prevent the throwing drills from being scrutinized closely, given the close competition between the top quarterbacks in this class.
“That’s what we do is we throw the football,” Rosen said. “So coming here, I thought: Why not?”
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