Ask Farrell: Is Dwayne Haskins the clear No. 2 QB in the draft?
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After Kyler Murray, it seems like the quarterback dominoes are falling in all kinds of different directions depending on who’s talking about the NFL Draft this week.
A lot of analysts have Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins as the second quarterback taken and that makes sense since he threw for 4,831 yards with 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season and led the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl.
But Haskins has a short resume in Columbus and that’s why Missouri’s Drew Lock and Duke’s Daniel Jones are getting some serious consideration to possibly get drafted before him. In ESPN analyst Todd McShay’s latest mock draft, he has the New York Giants taking Haskins sixth overall.
“If you’re going to make an argument for Lock over Haskins, hypothetically, the argument is similar size, similar arm, better athlete, 46 starts compared to 14, confidence, kills it on the board when you sit down and talk football with him,” McShay said. “Haskins, very smart, best pure pocket passer in this class, but if you’re a scout who’s pushing your GM to go in the route of Lock, you’re banging on the table for the experience he has and some of the other things.”
Lock - who threw for 12,193 yards with 99 touchdowns and 39 picks in his college career - is one name being mentioned to topple Haskins early in the first round. The other is Jones, and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah now has the Duke quarterback off the board with that sixth pick. He has Haskins going No. 11 to Cincinnati.
“It’s pretty simple - it’s really two things,” Jeremiah said. “The one-year starter deal is the same thing Murray gets hit on, but we have the landing spot for Murray and that’s Arizona. The other part of it is the mobility concerns. Is he going to be able to create time? Is he going to move around and get away from pressure which nine times out of 10, if you’re getting picked in the top 10 you’re on a team that’s not great up front and you’re going to have to protect yourself and get away from pressure.”
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director if there is any legitimate argument in choosing Lock or Jones as the second quarterback drafted or is Haskins still the best option after Murray?
FARRELL'S TAKE
“Haskins is still my No 2 barely over Lock, but I think he slides a bit and Jones and Lock go ahead of him because of his lack of playing experience. I have Jones to the Giants, Lock to the Broncos and Haskins to the Bengals in my last mock draft. Mitch Trubisky is off to a fine start in the NFL and he had only one year of experience, so it’s not the worst thing in the world to be in Haskins situation, but teams are scared of that one season wonder factor. I’d take Haskins or Lock as my No. 2, but I don’t think that’s the way things will shake out.”
