QB Prospect Discussion: Kellen Mond

[wab]

[wulfy]

Doesn’t surprise me - Pace has to resign himself to shopping at TJ Maxx and hoping to find a Dak Prescott in the Clearance Rack.

[crueltyabc]

After watching some more tape, I like him well enough that I won't bash Pace for giving him a chance. I think I'm basically a three QB guy right now:
- Fields if he falls to a reachable spot due to the smear campaign
- Mond if available in the third?
- Newman a little later

[Mikefive]

Watched 5 games of Mond this week.

Positives...
- Good arm and velocity
- Plus accuracy... Has good feel for leading his target and avoiding defenders
- Pretty quick release
- Decisive decision maker
- Not afraid to throw it into small windows
- Plus athletic ability
- Gets down before taking hits on the run (smart and coachable)
- Will stand in and take the hit
- Seems to have leadership qualities
- Unemotional. Seemingly unflappable
- 3 year starter

Negatives...
- Hate the offense he's in. Will need at least a year to learn an NFL offense.
- Never takes snaps under center.
- Hinky footwork. Will step into throws nicely. But gets happy feet at times.
- Don't typically see him reading coverages and going to options 2 and 3. Did see a little bit of that and he showed some decisiveness.
- Inconsistent accuracy, probably due to footwork.
- Not as thick and sturdy as you'd like.
- Makes some throws that work against college players but will get him burnt in the NFL.
- Needs to be more ball secure.

In many ways, Mond is a tantalizing prospect. The arm, ball placement, athletic ability and unflappable approach will have a lot of appeal. He has a number of traits that should translate to the NFL. He bears some resemblance to what I saw from Mitch Trubisky in college, although Mond was a long term starter. But at the same time, the QB friendly spread offense made things easier for him than the NFL will be. Will need to learn read progressions that Trubisky has yet to do well and that is the risk with Mond. Also needs to relearn a lot of footwork and the mental aspects of taking snaps under center. But he seems to be a student of the game.

I imagine his value to be a high R2 guy. Maybe late R1.

[G08]

[thunderspirit]

[Mikefive]

I watched a couple more games of Mond and I need to update my earlier review.

Saw him throw more deep balls with coverage and his downfield accuracy was pretty good. Did see a bit more read progressions and safety look offs. And saw him stand in, make throws and take the hits. I love his release.

No way would I be upset if we took him at 20. If you're Ryan Pace, if you like him, you'd have to be worried about someone trading up in front of you. Or NE at #15.

[cblaz11]

I’m stunned by all this love for Mond and I think we’re going to look back on this and laugh. Guy is a mid round prospect at best and in no way is a starting QB prospect IMO. Now we’re talking about taking him at 20!!

[G08]

I’m stunned by all this love for Mond and I think we’re going to look back on this and laugh. Guy is a mid round prospect at best and in no way is a starting QB prospect IMO. Now we’re talking about taking him at 20!!

Let me ask you this, what is it that you don't like about him?

And there is no fucking way in hell Kellen Mond should be taken at #20. I like him at #52 for the beloved.

[thunderspirit]

I'm not @cblaz11, but my principal issue with Mond is his scattershot decision-making, which does not seem to have improved over his last three seasons. He's a little slight, but also didn't miss considerable time playing in the SEC so that's a bit less worrying than it otherwise might be. I agree he should be a Day 3 guy, but QBs get moved up so he's almost certainly a Day 2 guy. Jimbo Fisher QBs have been meh in the NFL, too.

I like Mond okay, though. I've come around a bit on him. He strikes me as a Jake Plummer type of starter. If the Bears draft him, I'll hope the decision-making improves. He played well at the Senior Bowl and seemed to take coaching well, which is a plus.

[cblaz11]

His decision making is bad...This guy continued to check down or throw to the wrong guy even when he was sitting in a clean pocket.

His mechanics are terrible....He’s always taking too many steps and it’s effecting his WRs..show son tape over and over and he didn’t improve over his 3 years as starter

Eye test....he’s just way too inconsistent and never looks comfortable. Even at his pro day....he threw some deep balls that looked like punts.

I’ll take him in the 5th or later...but hey, I don’t really know what I’m talking about so who knows lol

[G08]

@cblaz11 go to youtube and look up The QB School Kellen Mond. Excellent breakdowns and he does it with All-22.

This is an insane fucking throw:



This is Patrick Mahomes level arm strength (although I will say Mahomes still has a better arm). It's the talent and experience in the SEC which gives him potential in my eyes.

[cblaz11]

He throws that ball in the NFL it’s picked 10/10 times

[G08]

He throws that ball in the NFL it’s picked 10/10 times

Disagree. That was perfectly placed.

An Alabama defense is as close as you'll get to an NFL defense.

[G08]

[IE]

I see Lance as Cam Newton with a better arm on the upside. Downside? Bobby Douglass. lol

[IE]

I like what I've seen of Mond but haven't seen nearly enough. So i'm deferring to the board here on what I think of him. It is a weird year for me in that I don't have any clear favorites at QB in the draft. I really like all the top 5 (with Jones at the bottom). I'd be good with any of those guys at 20. Then of Trask, Mills or Mond if there was a trade up to grab one in the bottom of the 2nd I'd be fine with it. If one could be gotten later... by all means.

[wulfy]

Of the second tier guys, I go: Mills, Mond and then Trask.

Mond is Texas A&M's all time leader is passing yards, completions and attempts, touchdowns and total offensive yards. That's no small accomplishment considering Johnny Manziel and Ryan Tannehill both played there prior to his arrival.

I thought Dane Brugler of The Athletic had a thoughtful write up on Mond:

Mond has impressive highlights with his ability to rip off beautiful throws downfield or extend plays with his legs. However, his lowlights are red flags, staying laser-locked on his targets and struggling to pick up pressures. Overall, Mond is in the Colin Kaepernick mold with his lean, angular frame, strong arm and long-striding athleticism, but his ball placement, timing and decision-making lack consistency. His natural tools will push him up several draft boards.

[wab]

I think out of the 2nd tier guys, I have it Mond/Mills/Newman. I'v just come to not like Trask that much. He's Nick Foles, but younger.

I'd probably even prefer Book to Trask.

[G08]

I think out of the 2nd tier guys, I have it Mond/Mills/Newman. I'v just come to not like Trask that much. He's Nick Foles, but younger.

I'd probably even prefer Book to Trask.

Such a Golden Dome, er, Homer

[wab]

I think out of the 2nd tier guys, I have it Mond/Mills/Newman. I'v just come to not like Trask that much. He's Nick Foles, but younger.

I'd probably even prefer Book to Trask.

Such a Golden Dome, er, Homer

Member how much I hated Kizer though...

[thunderspirit]

Such a Golden Dome, er, Homer

Member how much I hated Kizer though...

LOL

I'm lukewarm on Book. He's a career backup in my opinion (I see Buechele the same way). That's valuable, of course.

My list is Mills, Mond, maybe Newman (I don't have a lot of conviction about him). Day 3 I'd consider Buechele, maybe Book, maybe Brady White.

[Moriarty]

My list is Mills, Mond, maybe Newman (I don't have a lot of conviction about him). Day 3 I'd consider Buechele, maybe Book, maybe Brady White.

Trask isn't even on the list?

[mmmc_35]

I think trask's career peak would be something like Matt Moore. Stick around forever do well in spot starts but never be a franchise guy.

[Atkins&Rebel]

It's sad to me that we didn't see them all together making the same throws. On film, I don't see a huge difference in arm strength between Trask and the rest.

[thunderspirit]

My list is Mills, Mond, maybe Newman (I don't have a lot of conviction about him). Day 3 I'd consider Buechele, maybe Book, maybe Brady White.

Trask isn't even on the list?

Ten years ago, he would've been. And maybe there's still a place in the modern NFL for an accurate, slow, average-armed QB. (I have some doubts about Mac Jones too, though Jones appears to process with lightning speed.)

Trask is a marginally better athlete than Jones but is considerably slower, and has a lesser arm.

Best case scenario, I think he's Matt Hasselbeck or Nick Foles. A guy you win with but not because of.

[karhu]

The things I don't like about Mond are all suspiciously well explained when I consider his head coach. For all his success in college, Jimbo Fisher is just a godawful developer of NFL QBs. From what I gather, little things like going through your progressions and throwing guys open are either ignored or downright disparaged in Fisher's system. Mond at least fights through some of that. I like his instincts and arm, and when I filter out the Jimbo Effect, I think his decision-making is just underdeveloped, not inherently limited.

Get his feet set, see what else needs to be worked out mechanically, and let him spend a year in Real Football Detox (not a huge Nagy fan, either, but I'm not convinced that his fundamental understanding of football is completely out of touch). Those seem like reasonable rookie-year goals, certainly moreso than what the other mid-range QBs in this draft have to work on. So kinda by default, he's kinda my guy.

[thunderspirit]

I can't disagree with the Jimbo Fisher effect, and it's no small part of why I have reconsidered my view on Mond somewhat.

I do still have concerns, but they're substantially less than my concerns on several other QB prospects. I think he's Jake Plummer or Colin Kaepernick. If he's drafted outside of the first round and he approaches that, it's a success.

[Yogi da Bear]

As I said earlier, I think that Mond is a poor man's Mitchell Trubisky from a physical standpoint. He's slower, his arm isn't as strong, and he makes as many if not more WTF throws. Thing is though, from a physical perspective, Trubisky was the goods. What really matter is what's between Mond's ears. If he has it there, he can be a good NFL starter. If Mitchell had it there, he'd have been a great one.

[wulfy]

The experience difference between Mitch and Mond is significant at the same point of their journey. Mond is a four-year starter and Mitch started one year.