Whatever your quarterback type, this NFL Draft has what you want

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Baker Mayfield's press conference on Friday at the NFL combine sounded like it was going to end up pretty bland. He responded to a question about playing in Cleveland by starting, "That would be a chance to play football."

It didn't take long for him to find his groove, though. About two sentences, actually.

"If anybody's going to turn that franchise around, it's going to me," Mayfield said.

About half an hour later, Josh Rosen was up.

"I always say that I think if you can get three or four reads into your progression, you give yourself more opportunities down the field," Rosen said. "If you're a one-two-and-run guy and you throw the ball 40 times a game, in the NFL 30 times a game, you're giving yourself 70-80 opportunities to get the ball down the field. If you can get into 1, 2, 3 and 4, you're giving yourself 150-160, twice as many opportunities to get the ball down the field."

If Sashi Brown were still in charge of the Browns, he might have turned the card in for the No. 1 pick right then and there.

Sam Darnold didn't throw at the combine, but will use his pro day to show off his arm.Gregory Payan, Associated Press

When Sam Darnold took his turn, he was the most deferential of any of the group in regards to starting his career as a backup.

"If an organization wants to draft me, it's their choice of what to do with me when I get there," he said. "I would be happy and make the most of any opportunity."

Last up came Josh Allen, who explained the chores he did on his dad's farm growing up.

"During the summers, helping my dad move irrigation pipe, picking cotton, picking weeds in the cotton field, driving disc tractors, whatever the case may be," Allen said.

While Allen was talking about that, Lamar Jackson was answering questions about whether or not he had, in fact, been asked by teams to work out at wide receiver.

If you have a quarterback type, he's in this draft.

There's Mayfield, who might lack ideal size but, well, let him tell it:

"What makes me the best option?" Mayfield asked. "Accuracy, I can make any throw. Winning that's the most important, but the way I've been able to get my guys around me to play, not just the offensive players around me, the other 10 guys, but defensive guys, special teams, the energy I bring, the passion I bring, it's infectious."

And the height?

"Height doesn't matter," he said. "You see guys like Tyrod Taylor, (Drew) Brees, Russell Wilson, they've proven that it doesn't matter. If you want to say anything else I've got three years of tape you can watch. Height doesn't matter at that point, I think I had less batted balls at the line of scrimmage than they other guys here and I'm pretty sure I'm a shorter guy too, so it doesn't matter."

Josh Rosen showed off his smarts and his skill over the weekend.Gregory Payan, Associated Press

Rosen, it appears, was created in some quarterback lab somewhere. He goes through his progressions and throws with ease.

"I think I can diagnose defenses and put the ball where it needs to be and make
quick decisions," Rosen said.

The questions with Rosen come in his injury history and what he'll do in the NFL when plays break down. And, in something that can only really happen in the crazy world of NFL Draft season, his love of the game.

"Football is an unbelievable team sport, and that's what's so cool about it is that I'm not playing exclusively for my own passions, I'm playing for all of my teammates," Rosen said. "So it's cool when you can throw a touchdown at the Rose Bowl and turn to the sideline and see 120 of your best friends jump in joy."

Darnold is the raw ball of clay, moldable into whatever his future team wants him to be with the athleticism and the arm to get there. He didn't throw on Saturday during quarterback workouts and, on Friday, he declined to indulge in some of the brashness of the others.

"I don't think that's up for me to decide," he said when he was asked if he was trying to prove he's the best quarterback in the class. "I'm really here to just show my best and tell teams why I'm a really good quarterback, and that's pretty much it, honestly."

Josh Allen has the size. Does he have the accuracy to succeed in the NFL?Gregory Payan, Associated Press

While Allen might be the polar opposite of Mayfield, he's still as risky. He won't get hit again until August, so any team drafting him won't know for sure that the work he is putting in to improve his feet and his accuracy won't disappear once he faces a real pass rush.

"The size," Allen said when asked what separates him. "I think I'm the biggest guy here, weigh the most, not particularly proud of that. The things you see on the field, the arm strength, the mobility. The thing that I pride myself on is my competitive nature. I'm the type of guy who, the only thing that I want to do is win and I'm going to do whatever it takes to win."

Of course, if you're feeling bold, you go after Jackson, the man some consider the best athlete in this entire draft. Despite all that he accomplished in college, there are those who want to peg him as something other than a quarterback.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid, one of the game's most forward thinkers on the offensive side of the ball, is not among them.

"I think you probably want to try it (at quarterback) and see," Reid said. "He's pretty good. I would. I'd give that a whirl. I could handle that."

Lamar Jackson is the wild card of this quarterback group.Gregory Payan, Associated Press

Jackson rightly remained adamant that he's in this draft as a quarterback and that's what he intends to play.

"Whoever likes me at quarterback, that's where I'm going," Jackson said. "That's strictly my position."

Like in any draft, there are no guarantees that any of these quarterbacks will work out. A quarterback class this diverse at the top -- with this many options -- isn't something we have come across often. Whatever your type, there's a fit.

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