PFF's Sam Monson tells Kevin Sheehan he likes Drake Maye over Jayden Daniels to Commanders
PFF's Sam Monson told Kevin Sheehan he likes what the Washington Commanders have done from a front-office standpoint and the moves the new regime has made, but when we end up looking back at the 2024 offseason, "everything comes down to the quarterback situation, comes down to which guide they end up picking" in the NFL Draft.
So, if Monson is in Adam Peters' shoes when Washington is on the clock at No. 2, who does he take?
"It's tough," he said, adding that "each of the guys [at the top of the draft] has got something to scare you about their game."
So, with Drake Maye, "he just misses too many lay-ups" and too many easy throws. "It's true, it's part of his game, and the question becomes, why is it there? And can we fix it? Or also, just how big of a problem is it?"
On Jayden Daniels, "he's got a few little concerns or little negatives on the profile, No. 1 [being] it took him a really long time to get where he is [five years at the collegiate level] and we're only really dealing with one high-level season of play," Monson continued. "No. 2, that season came when he was throwing to multiple first-round wide receivers, that's absolutely a factor. And No. 3, for his career he has had a really concerning and kinda problematic pressure-to-sack rate, the amount of pressure plays he takes that result in sacks.
And generally speaking, that's a very quarterback-driven data point that translates well to the NFL. He's gonna be that same guy in the NFL and the list of quarterbacks that have a really bad pressure-to-sack rate is a very bad list of NFL quarterbacks and Joe Burrow. So it's not that you can't succeed with that style of play, it just makes it very difficult, it gives you a very small target to stick that landing."
JJ McCartthy's issue comes down to the lack of tape and there is not enough of a sample size to make a great judgment on him and that projection means you don't know what happens if you ramp up the responsibilities on him and ask him to do more at the NFL level, he added.
So who is the pick: Monson would go with Maye.
"I think it's easier to explain away his negatives," he told Sheehan. "He's been more negatively impacted by his environment by the other quarterbacks we're talking about and he was still playing at a level that was really high."
Monson and Sheehan got into some details about the depth of the draft at certain positions, including edge rusher, plus how the league as a whole has gotten better at drafting in recent years.
Meanwhile, Sheehan still wants Daniels at No. 2. Have a listen below:
