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NFL Combine 2018: What to watch from the quarterbacks

By Patrick Schmidt

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 18: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins and Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans meet on the field after a 28-23 Trojan win at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 18: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins and Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans meet on the field after a 28-23 Trojan win at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The quarterbacks take the field on Saturday for their on-field workouts at the NFL Combine and these are the storylines you need to pay attention to.

For the football die-hard, watching the NFL Combine is the closest thing fans can get to satiate their appetite for the sport. It’s already been nearly a month since the Super Bowl ended and almost two months since the College Football National Championship Game. Needless to say, fans are desperate for any type of football activity they can set their eyes on so that’s why the NFL Combine is always a fun event for fans.

This year’s combine features a loaded quarterback class that features the last two Heisman Trophy winners, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson, and a trio of arms that project as top-five picks in Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen.

They’ll all take center stage on Saturday morning when the quarterbacks have their on-field workouts from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The quarterback that has the best showing in Indy could be the new front-runner to be the top pick in mock drafts with the Cleveland Browns owning the top pick and desperately needing a franchise quarterback to build around.

Not all the quarterbacks will be working out however as Darnold will not be throwing and Jackson will not be running or doing the agility drills. Is that a big deal, little deal or no deal? Let’s dive into that and the other top storylines to pay attention to for the quarterbacks competing at the NFL Combine.

We’ll start with my top quarterback prospect and close with a few names that could be nice sleepers and emerge as real diamonds in the rough.

Josh Rosen
PHOENIX, AZ – DECEMBER 26: Quarterback Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins throws the football prior to the Cactus Bowl against Kansas State Wildcats at Chase Field on December 26, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Kansas State Wildcats won 35-17. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

Josh Rosen – The Prodigy

A former No. 1 quarterback recruit and three-year starter at UCLA is the best pure passer in the draft. We’ll see Rosen put his arm on display in front of the talent evaluators in Indianapolis to see the 6’4″, 218-pound signal-caller in action. Rosen didn’t quite have the college career many, myself included, he would have but that can be attributed to injuries and an abysmal coaching staff that failed to put him in a position to develop his prodigious natural gifts and ability.

Rosen has all the natural ability to be the No. 1 pick in the draft and have a long and successful career in the NFL. The biggest knock on Rosen is that some believe he is using football to make money or that he’s got character concerns because he hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind about in regard to football and school not going together and that he may be entitled.

I think that’s largely been overblown and frankly not that important. I want my quarterback to think he’s great and his teammates will gravitate toward that type of confidence.

Rosen can leave Indy as the top quarterback prospect with a stellar on-field workout, but more will be decided after all the top prospects have their Pro Day. Nevertheless, Rosen can leave in the driver’s seat as the potential pick of the draft.

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