In a Sunday blog post, CBS Sports draft analyst Rob Rang pinpoints the question marks Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett can expect to face heading into the Scouting Combine, which runs from February 24 through March 1. Interviews with NFL teams will be of an utmost importance for Mallett, who is thought to be red flagged for character concerns despite what Mike Mayock calls “unbelievable God-given ability.”
According to Rang, NFL front office members and coaching staffs will interrogate Mallett about his “so-called lack of leadership and reports of illegal drug use.” Rang suggests that Mallett’s ability to respond effectively, or ineffectively, will determine whether the Razorbacks’ all-time passing leader goes in the first round or plummets to the third.
Details of Mallett’s red flags have been scant, though whispers have been there for months. Drug use may have been what NFL Network’s Albert Breer and FOX Sports’ Adam Caplan were alluding to when exposing Mallett’s “off-field issues” and “baggage” earlier this winter.
It’s worth keeping in mind that Rang is not reporting Mallett did drugs in college, but rather passing along prevalent speculation. “Speculation” that will be intensely investigated by NFL teams long before any one of them commits millions of guaranteed dollars to a high draft pick.
Except the Bengals.