If someone came up to you and asked who the best quarterback in the SEC was you would probably answer with, "Oh it has to be that Ole Miss guy Chad Kelly!" While most people would agree with you, Pro Football Focus says that you are wrong and the best quarterback in the conference is actually first-time starter and junior Austin Allen.
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While PFF ranks Kelly as the No. 9 QB in the country entering Week 5, Allen is No. 6 behind guys like Seth Russell, Deshaun Watson and a couple others. Here are the comments made regarding Allen's lofty ranking:
Allen graded well through the first three weeks of the season but had a breakout performance in the Razorbacks' 45-24 loss to a very good Texas A&M team. He was 28 of 40 on aimed passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns, grading very well on pass attempts of 10 or more yards and on pressured dropbacks. For the season he ranks third in PFF grades, and has excelled on high-degree-of-difficulty throws. He has been under pressure on 40 percent of his dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the nation, and 63.3 percent of his passing yards have come in the air - the fifth-highest rate in the nation, and a sign that he isn't just racking up stats with short throws that produce big gains after the catch.
PFF gave Kelly plenty of love though and said that he actually has one of the most impressive deep-ball adjusted completion rates because of how often his passes travel over 20 yards in the air and how often he completes those passes. Kelly has had issues holding on to the ball too long and has been a little too willing to take off and run before really going through his reads, which is why he is lower on the list.
Here's the complete rankings:
1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville
2. Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech
3. Davis Webb, Cal
4. Deshaun Watson, Clemson
5. Seth Russell, Baylor
6. Austin Allen, Arkansas
7. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
8. Jake Browning, Washington
9. Chad Kelly, Ole Miss
10. Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina
[h/t Saturday Down South]
