NFL Draft 2011: Will Ryan Mallett Prove His Doubters Wrong?

As the late, great Rick James once so eloquently opined—cocaine’s a hell of a drug.

I can’t say that I’ve ever been one to dabble in the booger sugar, but considering Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett is willing to jeopardize millions of dollars and his entire professional football career just for a taste of it, I can only conclude that James’ assessment is pretty much right on target.

To be fair, when Mallett made his recent admission and confirmed his rumored past drug use, he didn’t go into specifics.

However, if the reports are true, the highly touted quarterback was a lover of cocaine, marijuana and alcohol during his time at both Michigan and Arkansas.

It’s a trio that many college kids across America are familiar with, but then again, you have to remember that most college kids aren’t competing for a chance to be a first-round NFL draft pick.

Ryan Mallett is.

Mallett’s character concerns have continued to drag down his stock ever since he declared for the draft back in January.

It certainly hasn’t been an easy few months for the SEC’s leading passer, who’s been forced to deal with rumblings about his substance abuse history and questions about his overall leadership ability.

Considered to be a top 10 talent entering the 2010 season, Mallett continually showcased his remarkable arm strength and quarterback skills as a junior, guiding the Razorbacks to a 10-win season and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

Still, Mallett’s struggles in crunch-time situations against Alabama and Ohio State brought his lack of leadership skills to the forefront.

It’s left many wondering if he possesses the true winning intangibles that separates the average quarterbacks from the elite.

What people can’t question, however, is Mallett’s abnormal physical tools.

Blessed with one of the best arms we’ve seen from a quarterback prospect in years, there’s not a throw on the field that Ryan Mallett can’t make with precision.

When it comes to pure quarterback skills, he beats every other prospect in this class.

If you erased his character concerns from his resume, Mallett would be a guaranteed top 10 pick based on talent alone.

As it is, it will be up to NFL front offices around the league to determine if Mallett is truly worth the risk.

If I were running a team in need of a future franchise signal caller, I would use a first-round pick on Mallett in a heartbeat.

However, I realize that character is a major focus in the NFL these days. Your quarterback is the one position in the huddle where you must have the right personality in place in order to be successful.

It’s a position that you just can’t afford to misjudge.

Teams will have to decide if they want to take a gamble on a risk-reward type of prospect like Mallett or play it safe and take an average prospect with better intangibles such as TCU’s Andy Dalton.

Basically, do you want Fonzie or Richie Cunningham leading your team into battle?

Would spending a first-round pick on Mallett be a gamble? Sure.

That being said, drafting any quarterback high is always dangerous.

Who's to say that drafting Andy Dalton, a quarterback prospect with a moderately decent skill-set, who made a living playing against weak competition in the Mountain West, wouldn’t be as big a risk?

Personally, I like a quarterback with a little bit of an edge.

I like to see Phillip Rivers foaming at the mouth and screaming gibberish on the sidelines. I like seeing Tom Brady nearly crack his skull, head-butting his teammates before a game.

Just look at some of the best athletes in recent times. They’re complete headcases with major problems.

Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre—these are all athletes who have battled their fare share of addictions.

If you’re great at what you do, you can get away with being a bit of a shallow human being.

Heck, Ben Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls and most of his teammates couldn’t stand his off-field antics.

On the other hand, Alex Smith is a model citizen, but he’s also a terrible NFL quarterback.

Having said that, you can also bring up JaMarcus Russell, but he’s in a category of his own. It wasn’t his addictions that stopped him from succeeding, it was his lack of any type of drive or desire that doomed him from the start.

If you surround Ryan Mallett with the proper supporting cast, good influences and quality veteran leadership, he’ll have a chance to flourish in the NFL.

To put it in simplistic, Mark Schlereth-style analysis: The kid is a football player.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Mallett can overcome his demons and succeed in the NFL—all he needs is a chance.

We’ll find out next Thursday night which franchise is willing to give it to him.