Ryan Mallett certainly looks the part of a NFL quarterback. He stands 6’6 and 238 pounds, has a cannon for a right arm and is the pocket passer that teams covet. One would think that he would have plenty of success in a vertical offense once he got familiar with the playbook and the complexities of the pro game.
But the more that’s released on Mallett leading up to the draft, the less there is to like. He stood at the podium on Saturday at the NFL scouting combine and instead of extinguishing the idea that he has questionable character, he only ignited the suspicion.
According to ESPN.com, Mallett refused to discuss the rumors that he’s an alleged drug addict.
Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett was on the podium for about eight seconds when a reporter asked him about foggy allegations regarding illegal drug use.
“First one, huh?” Mallett replied Saturday afternoon at the NFL scouting combine.
He forced a smile.
“Nah, I’m not going to talk about that right now,” Mallett said. “I’ve got interviews with the teams, and the teams need to know what they need to know, and I’m going to leave it at that.”
Mallett hinted at ulterior motives for the rumors.
“Obviously, somebody did it for a reason,” Mallett said, “right before the combine, right before the draft.”
Mallett insisted innuendo “doesn’t bother me” and “when I saw that stuff, I laughed about it.”
But Mallett declined to address any issues directly or make any denials.
According to Sporting News.com, a reporter told Mallett the rumors would not go away if he did not answer the questions and at that point, Mallett said, “Thanks,” and walked away from the podium.
Granted, being able to speak to the media doesn’t have anything to do with a quarterback’s ability to read a defense, throw a perfectly timed pass to beat a blitz or lead a team in the fourth quarter. But Mallett appears to be rubbing people the wrong way. The fact that he’s taken a hardened stance with the media isn’t really the issue, nor is his confidence. (To a certain degree, quarterbacks have to play with arrogance because of how much is expected of them.)
The issue is that this is the time of year when Mallett has to sell himself and all people want to do is compare him to Ryan Leaf. That alone should make Mallett strive to act like Ghandi for the next two months.
