Overview
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 235 pounds
School: Oklahoma State Cowboys
Mason Rudolph 2018 NFL Draft Profile
Mason Rudolph was a prodigal southern quarterback in 2013, who had to go elsewhere to be appreciated. He was a finalist for Mr. Football as a high school senior in South Carolina in 2013. Still, his recruiting activity was light. He had offers from Virginia and LSU. Clemson joined in late in the process. Ultimately, he found his home in Stillwater, OK playing for the Cowboys.
Thanks to injuries, he started the final three games of his freshman season, including a win over Oklahoma in the Bedlam game. It was his team for the next three years after that. He never had a completion percentage below 62 percent over the next three years. He went 30-9 as a starter over the last three seasons and is Oklahoma Sall-timell time leading passer with 13,618 yards. His senior year provided his best numbers. He has his best season for yardage with 4,904; touchdown passes with 37; and completion percentage at 65 percent.
Strengths
- Got better year over year;
- Good size/height in the pocket;
- Patient waiting for the routes to develop;
- Keeps eyes downfield while moving in the pocket;
- Can handle the passing game in short, intermediate or long situations;
- Can run when needs to – had 17 career touchdowns.
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t always use his lower his lower body strength in throws, so the ball sails sometimes;
- Relies on upper body strength too frequently;
- Needs to improve his decision making when scrambling;
- There is big difference in his out-of-conference passing rating (higher) and his Big XII passing rating;
- Played in hybrid air raid/RPO system. Can he play a more pro-style system?
NFL Comparison: Sam Bradford
Teams With Need At Position: Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals
Projection: Mid second to early third round
Bottom Line
In many other years, Rudolph would be a late first rounder based on physical ability and the ability of NFL teams to fix some of his physical adjustments that are needed. But this is a quarterback rich draft and so the scouts have the ability to nit-pick the prospects and nit-pick they shall. One of the things you hear about Rudolph, intended to question his skills, is that he always had the benefit of playing with elite level receivers at Oklahoma State, (Marcell Ateman and James Washington come to mind). Can he play at the next level without that level of talent at wideout? Did he benefit from a college system that was pass heavy? Can he take snaps under center? Does he need to go to a team that can afford to give him a year or two, or more, to develop, before throwing him to the wolves?
He had a decent enough performance in the on-field drills at the combine. With the likes of Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Allen sitting there, it probably did little to move him up but was enough to cement him where he was going into the weekend. All of those variables likely make him a day two pick.
