There has been very little debate that Arkansas' Ryan Mallett possesses many of the skills that NFL teams such as the Vikings look for in a young quarterback. Mallett isn't mobile but he has size (6-7) and a rocket for a throwing arm.
However, there has been plenty of talk about where Mallett will be taken in next week's draft given the off-the-field questions that surround him. A report a few months back from former St. Louis Rams scouting executive Tony Softli tied Mallett to drug use and the prospect didn't help himself at the NFL Scouting Combine in February by coming off as defensive when the subject was brought up.
But it sounds like Mallett might have taken a different approach when talking with NFL teams. Nolan Nawrocki of Pro Football Weekly reports that an NFL general manager said Mallett was the first quarterback ever to admit his drug usage to him in interviews.
Nawrocki went on to write that Mallett's "willingness to be honest about his past and acknowledge issues is viewed as a positive," by NFL types.
Fair or not, there is no position scrutinized like quarterback and it's probably safe to say that some teams took Mallett off their board after he admitted to drug use. The issue is that a quarterback is seen as a guy who must gain the respect of his teammates, and unless Mallett can convince everyone he is a different person there are some clubs that probably don't want to take a chance on him.
