The San Francisco 49ers are in dire need of their quarterback of the future, who could be in college right now. How did the possible collegiate candidates do over the week?
The San Francisco 49ers got clobbered by the Dallas Cowboys at home in Week 7, 40-10, with a pathetic effort that is sure to demoralize the team for quite a while, placing the 49ers on track to earn a top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to rebuild.
Most rebuilding teams start at the top with drafting a surefire quarterback. Considering the Niners have only Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard as options right now, it’s highly likely general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan will want to look at top-tier signal-callers in the upcoming draft.
So how did some of the potential targets look in Week 8 of college football?
Here is a look at how the top quarterback prospects in next year’s NFL Draft played this past weekend.
Sam Darnold, USC Trojans
USC quarterback Sam Darnold was a revelation for the USC Trojans last season, leading his team to nine straight wins including one in the Rose Bowl. I loved watching Darnold last season — he was poised, smart, and accurate. I wanted him to be the future quarterback for the 49ers.
However, Darnold hasn’t lived up to the sky-high expectations set for him this season, to say the least. Darnold has thrown at least one interception in seven out of eight games this season.
You could argue that USC got as badly beat as the 49ers did this week. USC lost to Notre Dame 49-14, and as a result, game flow worked against an accurate performance analysis of Darnold, who didn’t even play the full game.
Regardless of that fact, here’s what I noticed about Darnold against Notre Dame.
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A positive takeaway I found was that Darnold didn’t miss open receivers. Whenever there was a cornerback playing soft coverage, Darnold would display excellent timing with his receivers and hit them right in their hands. However, Darnold has a tendency to throw the ball into tight windows, and he misfires on a lot of those passes. This makes Darnold prone to turnovers. He threw a bad interception in the second quarter straight in the cornerback’s zone. Darnold also attempted a dangerous throw into the endzone that should have been picked.
Another quick negative I saw was Darnold’s awkward decisions to start scrambling. Darnold ran the ball nine times for seven yards in this game, and is averaging 0.4 yards per carry on the season. The Trojan quarterback often seeks to run the ball and misreads running lanes. He does not have the speed to outrun defenders and always gets minimal yardage as a result.
Darnold’s draft stock is trending downwards after his breakout season, and while I think he still has massive potential, you just have to wonder if this season’s version of Darnold is the one we’re going to see for the rest of his football career.
Josh Rosen, UCLA Bruins
Sam Darnold’s cross-town rival had a much better game this week against Oregon. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen threw for 266 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, leading his team to a blowout victory over the Ducks.
In the offseason, I never would’ve thought Rosen would turn out to be a better quarterback than Darnold, but he is right now. Rosen utilizes his strong arm to hit receivers quickly, and he does so efficiently. He is very streaky on his accuracy, which is a concern, but he gets the ball on target more than he misses. Rosen also makes some questionable decisions, but stayed mostly clean in this win over Oregon.
With every passing week, Rosen’s arrow keeps on pointing upwards. There are definitely many NFL scouts who like Rosen more than Darnold right now.
Josh Allen, Wyoming Cowboys
Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen is in a similar situation as Sam Darnold is in. The mass media was talking in the offseason about how Darnold and Allen were going to be the top two quarterbacks selected in the 2018 NFL Draft after last year’s phenomenal season for the two players.
Fast forward to the aftermath of Week 8, and both of these quarterbacks have been immensely struggling.
Wyoming lost to Boise State, and Allen was a big part of why the Cowboys lost. He was badly intercepted on his first pass attempt, and finished the day with less than a 50-percent completion percentage, two interceptions and just 131 yards. Allen throws a nice spiral, has great mobility, possesses a strong arm and size, but that is about it.
Allen is more of a project based on his measurables, and his draft stock is currently plummeting. He should have declared for the draft last year while his stock was booming.
Luke Falk, Washington State Cougars
Luke Falk led his Washington State Cougars to a dominant 28-0 win over Colorado. He threw for three touchdowns in the rain, and displayed nice accuracy and poise in the pocket. I like this prospect a lot. He throws nice touch passes with great anticipation and has a good feel for the pocket, something current Niners starter C.J. Beathard doesn’t have.
However, nobody can ignore the five-interception game Falk had at Cal. It’s like he was a completely different player in that game, making poor decisions and losing his normally incredible accuracy.
Despite the poor game, I believe that it is merely an anomaly. Falk’s draft stock is slowly rising, and I would love to see him in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Sooners
Baker Mayfield is, without a doubt, my favorite quarterback prospect. He is your prototypical quarterback. He can do everything.
Mayfield is mobile, smart, but most of all, he makes everything look so easy. He has an incredibly quick release timing for a quarterback, and with his strong arm, you’re looking at a recipe for success.
Mayfield looked calm and collected in Oklahoma’s comeback against Kansas State. He was constantly hitting receivers in the sweet spot, and ran for two touchdowns. Not only is he accurate, but he is lightning fast.
Next: Reevaluating 49ers' needs in the 2018 NFL Draft
Mayfield is the quarterback of the future. I don’t care what it takes — the 49ers need to draft him.