Arkansas' Ryan Mallett not helping own case with NFL (Herndon)

The NFL combine must have felt a bit odd for Cam Newton. For once, the guy getting drilled about controversial rumors wasn't him.

Newton may have returned from Indianapolis to hear allegations of wrongdoing rehashed anew on talk radio, but he wouldn't trade places with Ryan Mallett this week for $30 million in guaranteed cash.
   
Newton is now being touted as a potential No. 1 overall draft pick -- NFL.com's Charles Davis and the National Football Post have Carolina taking Auburn's Heisman Trophy winner No. 1 in their latest mock drafts.

Finding Mallett in a first-round mock these days is like finding beachfront property in Arkansas.
   
While there have always been questions about Mallett's ball security -- see the ends of the Alabama and Ohio State games -- his stock may have plummeted because of off-the-field issues.
   
Former Rams VP of player personnel Tony Softli posted on the 101ESPN St. Louis website last week that much of the concern about Mallett involves rumors of drug use.
   
"Character and drug use issues are starting to rear their ugly head," Softli wrote. "Heavy rumors of drug use and possible addiction kept him from coming out for the 2010 draft. A lot of people are comparing Mallett to Ryan Leaf."
   
Reporters at the combine asked Mallett about those rumors last weekend, and he sidestepped them like so many hard-charging defensive ends.
   
"I can't control that and that's why I don't really want to talk about it," he said.
   
The questions did not stop, and they won't until draft day in April. But Mallett's performance in the media room isn't what's going to get him drafted next month. It's his performance on the field and in interviews with NFL clubs.

"Like I said, I'm not going to talk about it right now. I've talked about it with the teams. We've discussed it and everything's good."
   
There are no questions about Mallett's arm. He has all the physical tools necessary to be a successful NFL quarterback. But so did Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, David Carr and Kyle Boller.

NFL clubs may overlook character concerns at many positions, but there's a higher risk involved with a quarterback. Committing to the wrong quarterback will ruin a club for several years.

Mallett didn't want to answer tough questions at the combine. But he'd better have good answers for the men doing the drafting or it may be a while before we hear his name called at Radio City Music Hall.