One of the great things about football is that, unlike baseball, it's difficult to base player evaluations on statistics. So many variables impact individual performance -- scheme, play design, other matchups, etc. -- that you can't expect two or three stats to tell a player's story. In football, a scout's eye still matters, and that's kind of cool.

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That said, it never hurts to peek at the numbers.

Since the big story around the New York Jets is the quarterback position (what else is new?), I thought it would be interesting to compare how their quarterback options performed last season in specific situations.

We'll limit it to seven quarterbacks: three pros, free agents Kirk Cousins, Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater; and four draft prospects, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen. (Note: Bridgewater's last full season was 2015, so those stats are used.)

First-down passing

If a quarterback can't dominate on first down, he's got problems. He usually faces base personnel and fairly vanilla coverages, so the numbers should be large and impressive.

How the quarterbacks fared on first down: NFL Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating McCown 88/133 66.2 962 8 2 101.1 Cousins 109/160 68.1 1,262 6 3 96.4 Bridgewater 94/132 71.2 935 2 3 86.5 College Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating Mayfield 121/166 72.9 1,945 20 0 151.2 Allen 56/90 62.2 723 9 2 111.5 Rosen 141/213 66.2 1,942 15 4 110.9 Darnold 116/178 65.2 1,495 10 5 98.4

Third-down passing

This is the money down. It's also when defenses get creative and unleash exotic blitz packages, testing the quarterback's ability to diagnose quickly and react.

How the quarterbacks fared on third down: NFL Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating McCown 86/124 69.4 1,044 6 3 101.0 Bridgewater 88/132 66.7 1,043 7 3 98.8 Cousins 91/159 57.2 1,102 10 5 86.5 College Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating Darnold 64/109 58.7 832 6 2 93.5 Mayfield 49/79 62.0 645 4 3 88.8 Rosen 53/102 52.0 715 4 3 75.4 Allen 46/83 55.4 469 3 2 73.8

Fourth-quarter/OT passing

A quarterback needs the clutch gene. If he can't deliver in the crucible of the fourth quarter, his team never will win a championship.

How the quarterbacks fared in the fourth quarter/OT: NFL Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating Bridgewater 73/110 66.4 820 3 2 90.0 Cousins 93/145 64.1 1,053 8 5 89.8 McCown 74/113 65.5 813 4 4 83.7 College Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating Mayfield 41/63 65.1 566 6 2 112.3 Rosen 77/119 64.7 991 10 3 108.2 Darnold 63/106 59.4 913 4 1 96.1 Allen 25/49 51.0 309 2 4 50.5

Passing under pressure

Most quarterbacks look good when they have time to throw, but how do they fare when they're about to get blasted in the chest by a 300-pound lineman? The good ones stay cool and keep their eyes downfield. The others panic.

How the quarterbacks fared under pressure: NFL Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating Cousins 63/130 48.5 871 7 6 69.1 Bridgewater 61/132 46.2 731 6 4 66.2 McCown 39/85 45.9 481 3 4 56.1 College Comp/Att Pct. Yds TD INT Rating Mayfield 51/96 53.1 797 9 3 99.2 Darnold 57/113 50.1 1,138 6 4 89.0 Rosen 49/104 47.1 635 2 2 65.2 Allen 34/97 35.1 468 7 5 54.0

Conclusion: Based on this data, Mayfield is the clear winner among the draft prospects, as he led three of the four categories. Perhaps the biggest eye-opener: Allen really struggled in high-leverage situations -- third down, fourth quarter and under pressure. As for the pros, Cousins -- on the verge of a historic contract from someone -- led only one category, but he was the most consistent passer across the board.

Source: ESPN Stats & Information (College stats were converted to NFL passer rating)