Ryan Mallett Got Luck-y
January 6, 2011 - 11:32 pm by Ryan Phillips
Arkansas quarterback Ryan Malllett made his long expected decision to enter the 2011 NFL draft public Thursday, hours after Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck announced his intention to return to school. Cue the shot of a wild, southern-style, moonshine-fueled party at the Mallett household.
With Luck’s moronic decision to pass up the near-certainty of being the No. 1 overall pick in April, Mallett immediately moves up a few spots in the draft. The redshirt junior now will only have to battle Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert, Auburn’s Cam Newton and Washington’s Jake Locker to be the first quarterback selected.
Mallett had a great run at Arkansas. This year he became just the fourth player in SEC history to pass for 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons. He finished the year seventh in the nation with a 163.7 quarterback rating, after throwing for 3,869 yards with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also completed 64.7 percent of his passes. After back-to-back great seasons, it was time for the 6’6, 238-pound quarterback to take the next step. He has a howitzer of an arm and just has to work on some of his decision making, his checkdowns and keep improving his footwork.
Currently Mallett is No. 16 on Mel Kiper’s Big Board, while Gabbert is the top quarterback at No. 8, Newton is No. 12 and Locker is No. 24.
Meanwhile, Scouts Inc. has different rankings. They have Gabbert at No. 20 (grade of 93), Locker at No. 23 (92), Newton at No. 29 (90) and Mallett at No. 32 (90). To give you an idea of how lucky these guys just got, Andrew Luck graded out as a 98 and was the No. 1 player on Scouts Inc.’s list.
So Mallett clearly made the right decision to come out. He now has to be solidly in the mix as the first quarterback taken. With Gabbert’s lack of production, the uncertainty of how Newton will translate to the NFL and Locker’s awful 2010 season, Mallett just may be the safest choice as the first quarterback to come off the board.
The Mallett family should probably send Luck a fruit basket or something.
10 Responses to “Ryan Mallett Got Luck-y”
Why is Luck is moron for returning to school? I think a pat on the back for caring about his future is in order. Of course, we are talking about a guy who attends a prestigious university. Why not finish school and try to win a National Championship? He will be the #1 overall pick next year. To call his decision “moronic” shows you have no idea what you are talking about. Keep your day job.
By JB on Jan 7, 2011
You are a idiot for calling Luck a moron…you’re the moron. There is more to life than football, sometimes a person makes decision for what they want out of life and not what not everyone else thinks. This kid made a great decision. way to Luck!!!!!!!
By DP on Jan 7, 2011
Man, who are you?
“Cue the shot of a wild, southern-style, moonshine-fueled party at the Mallett household.”
“Luck’s moronic decision”
By Sozo on Jan 7, 2011
all name-calling aside from the troll gallery, I have no issues with Luck going back to school. It’s not about the money or whatever he wants to say.
The only thing I wonder about is the “injury factor.” I’m sure he’s considered that but still, what happens to his pro career chances if he blows out a knee or injures his throwing arm or something?
He could go pro now and go back for his degree anytime later. Why such a rush for the degree? He’s got to know he won’t win a national championship at Stanford.
By cheswick on Jan 7, 2011
Phillips, I completely agree with your take. Anytime you’re projected to be the #1 pick you declare, period. Luck’s whole family could be set financially for the next several generations, you just don’t turn that down. Odds are that he won’t receive a career-threatening and he’ll still be a a top pick in 2012, but there are numerous examples of guys who stayed around and saw their pro stock drop. A friend of mine Chris Thomas from Indianapolis who played bball at Notre Dame probably would’ve been an NBA lottery pick had he left ND after his freshman year. As it turns out, he kind of hit the wall and never seemed to get noticeably better from year to year… he felt more pressure to be a “star” and started taking bad shots, more turnovers, etc. By the end of his senior year, his draft stock was “maybe a 2nd rounder.” He played in the NBA Summer League for a few years but was never able to make an NBA Roster. He’s now playing overseas in Spain. There are tons of examples of this in football too, I just cited that one example because I had an inside look at the process from year to year. If you’re projected to be a first rounder you f’ing go, bottom line. He can go back to Stanford and finish his degree whenever he wants.
By WiseGuyAction on Jan 7, 2011
Because of the CBA agreement, or lack thereof, there was no guarantees that Luck(shit outta) would get the same 50million guaranteed that Bradford got. Say there was a lockout, Luck would have been sitting for over a year minuimum. Why not pull a Leinart and come back 1 more year(though it can be argued that Leinart cost himself a great deal of money and guaranteed qb spot when he balked on going to SF 9ers), go for that degree, national championship and more sorority coeds.
By Branden on Jan 7, 2011
OK, let me answer all of these arguments. I never said Luck was a bad kid or stupid or anything. I said he’s making a moronic decision. And I’m right.
If there was no draft this year Luck would almost certainly been allowed to return to school with no penalty as long as he worked to gain his eligibility back. When the new NFL CBA is inked, there WILL be a rookie salary scale. Which means this draft could be the final one with wild money thrown around at top picks. Therefore, Luck is missing out on what would surely be AT LEAST $50 million in guarantees by returning to school.
Next year he’ll be looked at as a lock to go No. 1, but that gives scouts an entire year to pick him apart (anyone see what has happened to Jake Locker’s stock this year?). Plus, Stanford’s roster was littered with seniors this year, which means the team will likely fall off next season.
Luck can’t possibly increase his stock any more by returning and even if he is the No. 1 pick next year, he’s likely going to be losing 10s of millions of dollars by choosing to wait for the next draft when there will definitely be a rookie wage scale.
If you get a top-10 guarantee, you go pro. That has almost always been the rule. It’s not like he can’t get his degree while he plays, or go back and get it later.
While I agree that going back to school is admirable, this decision by Luck is simply stupid. You can’t pass up that kind of guaranteed money ever.
By Phillips on Jan 7, 2011
To quote Phillip:
“I never said Luck was a bad kid or stupid or anything.”
and,
“While I agree that going back to school is admirable, this decision by Luck is simply stupid.”
Phillip, I’d love to see how deep a hole you can dig yourself. And before you consider me a troll, I’m a 66 year old senior who’s logged plenty of miles and not given troll behavior, or pigeon-holing people.
So, why do you insinuate that Mallet’s family is a “wild, southern-style, moonshine-fueled party” family?
Btw, surely you know that money isn’t everyone’s answer to life.
.
By Sozo on Jan 7, 2011
While under most circumstances I would say congrats to anyone who wants to finish their degree, next years CBA with the NFL will probably cost Luck about 65 million dollars. With Goodell’s letter to fans stating a max five-year contract for 15 million for rookies, versus what Bradford got with his contract, the difference was 63 million. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Luck is the better of the two and could probably pull more money in negotiations. For that kind of money - regardless of how much he will eventually make - take up classes in the off-season to finish your degree.
By Grover on Jan 8, 2011