2018 NFL Draft: Who are the top five quarterbacks?

Some speculated that Mason Rudolph would come out last season in a quarterback class that needed more upside. Rudolph, however, needed to do a little more work on his red zone efficiency and maturity as a leader.

He didn’t disappoint this season, leading the Cowboys to a winning record and keeping them in the playoff hunt for most of the season.

Rudolph is a big, strong, and accurate quarterback. He showed last season that he could throw a nice deep ball, but his short and intermediate accuracy left some wondering if he was more of a developmental prospect than a franchise guy.

This season, he showed great improvement in those areas. Rudolph completed 65.0 percent of his passes and threw for 35 touchdowns. He added about five pounds to an already strong frame and did well against tough competition.

Rudolph’s biggest attribute is still his deep ball—something OSU’s high flying offense covets in a quarterback going back to the Brandon Weeden days.

Like Weeden, Rudolph will be dinged for playing in that offense. OSU’s offense values finding space for receivers and an accurate deep ball, a luxury Rudolph won’t have at the next level.

Rudolph will need to get more aggressive on throws. He struggles at times to throw receivers open, however, and he wasn’t asked to do it much at OSU. He also will have to make more of the tight window throws that the NFL covets.

All in all, Rudolph is probably a day two pick, but in a quarterback-needy draft, Rudolph will probably go in the first.