Top 10 quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft

#6 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Kellen Mond (Texas A&M)

6’ 2", 205 pounds; SR

Kellen Mond

The number one dual-threat quarterback in the country in 2017, Kellen Mond started his freshman season as a backup, but took over for eight games, once Nick Starkel got hurt, putting up very modest numbers.

In the last three years, under the guidance of head coach Jimbo Fisher, Mond has completed just over 60% of his passes for 8286 yards and 63 touchdowns, compared to 21 interception, to go along with another 1269 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.

With those numbers, he joined a prestigious group of SEC quarterbacks, as the only one not named Time Tebow or Dak Prescott, to record over 9000 passing and 1500 rushing yards in his career. Moreover, he has won three straight bowl games, including the Orange Bowl against North Carolina at the start of this year.

Mond presents a very athletic frame, with broad shoulders and no ounce of fat on his body. Texas A&M still relies heavily on the run game and play-action shots off it, but Mond has become a much more surgical passer over his time at College Station, who can take his offense down the field with a bunch of underneath throws.

He has his ten-inch hands that allow him to really control the ball, and his whole throwing process, from set-up, loading up and releasing has become pretty much automatic for him. When you look at him aesthetically, you would expect somebody that relies on running ability, but Mond shows great accuracy and touch from within the pocket.

He can make quick reads and decisions, and he gets the ball there in a hurry as well, often times before his man has even planted his foot, as he really eats in that 10-12 yard range over the middle, zipping in a bunch of dig routes. But it’s also being able to put the ball on the money with his feet square from the mesh on RPO concepts.

Mond has the velocity on the ball to fit it into some tight window, to where weaker-armed throwers might have robber defenses undercut throws, but this guy can get it in there, or drill in a seam, just in front of a trailing defender and in front of the deep middle safety. However, it’s also simply throwing away from leverage, like completing spot routes, out of reach for the corner on the backside of the receiver, or taking advantage of cushions.

He does an excellent job of laying the ball over underneath defenders if that’s what’s required. Mond makes a ton of impressive anticipation throws under pressure from the pocket, without being able to get his feet in position. That’s what you really stood out to me, when I watched the tape. Plus, he increased his completion percentage all four years with the Aggies, with 63.3 percent as a senior.

Mond is very sudden with the way he gets his shoulders pointed at another target, as he is going through his reads. He can have his whole body pointed at a receiver and then in one motion get the ball to the next man in the progression, without stepping into the throw, as he has a rusher barreling at him. He produced a ton of chunk plays to the back, when he is left uncovered on blitzes and they have room to run.

You see him quickly getting it over to outlet, even after having pulled down the ball over the middle initially. However, while his development as a dropback passer is what has me looking at him as a completely different player than what I saw the years prior, he still has that great athletic ability to save broken plays.

Mond can use his mobility to set up opportunities downfield and buying extra time, like backing out and getting wide, with the power to drive throws to the sideline off the wrong foot while rolling to his right. And you see him throw those high-arcing deep balls, setting up after rolling the pocket. Yet, he also has the speed to gash defenses if they open up space in front of him.

He is a threat to beat opponents around the edge when the end crashes and can kind a little one-two step to get away from guys, or give force defenders a head fake on speed options, to make them commit to the back and be able to take the inside lane. Mond has shown the ability to step up in big games on several occasions.

In 2019, he won a game versus LSU in seven overtimes, where he found three different receivers twice in the end-zone each and ran one in himself. Last season, he brought the Aggies back down by seven against Florida in a shootout, throwing a big-time touchdown on a post route to even the score and then put them in position for a game-winning field goal. He comes in with over 1500 total dropbacks in the SEC and then earning MVP honors at the Senior Bowl game, where I liked what I see in terms of decision-making and driving the ball.

Nevertheless, Mond is pretty mechanical, almost robotic as a thrower. He is very to the book with his game and doesn’t show much creativity. I would like to see him use his athleticism more to extend plays or just take off himself. He’s a bit of a sitting duck back there at times, where I just want to scream “Get out!” or “Move!”. He doesn’t have the greatest feel for defenders around him and how to find creases to step into.

Sometimes he does have the chance to get his shoulder pointed at the target, but he just lets it go anyway with his feet parallel and doesn’t have enough force behind it, to allow defenders to undercut deep out routes and stuff like that. While there’s impressive moments in terms of understanding defensive rotations and reading body-language of safeties, there are also some head-scratching plays.

At times, he fails to come up with the right solution against very simple, straight-forward shells, that you wouldn’t expect from a three-and-a-half year starter. For example, throwing speed-outs to his wideout from a reduced split, with a corner in three-deep responsibility and outside leverage. But nobody else in his area can drive on it, thanks to the angle of his hands on the ball.

Mond has some issues when the picture changes post-snap in general. On passes of 10+ yards, he only completed 44.6 percent of those this past season and he had 22 career fumbles in 44 games.

I did not expect this at all, because a year ago, I would have probably said he’s a fifth- or sixth-round pick, but while there is certainly a drop-off to the big four and Mac Jones. I think Mond is clearly the most intriguing option after those names. The growth he has shown in terms of playing with timing and accuracy from within the pocket and then having that legitimate dual-threat ability is something nobody else outside the top five has shown for extended stretches in my opinion.

You saw it against Alabama last season, where he threw a bad pick-six, as the Aggies were certainly outmatched, but then he went on a tear, where he completed 13 of 18 passes and finished strong with a touchdown. Mond can really be a fit for any offense, whether it’s making quick reads in a West Coast-type of passing attack, getting him on the move in more of a zone and bootleg approach or really using his running ability in an offense that includes more designed or option quarterback runs.