The 2019 NFL Draft may some day be remembered as being a good one for teams that selected a quarterback, but at this point that seems unlikely.
We recently broke down why it’s a bad year to be searching for a franchise passer.
Now comes a report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network indicating there is so much division about who the top quarterback might be this year that some teams have no consensus even within their own draft rooms.
“I’ve talked to scouts and executives from a half-dozen teams over the past couple of days, and it’s fascinating that the quarterbacks seem to be stacked up differently, not just from team to team, but even within individual draft rooms — the evaluations are all over the place.”
Pelissero mentioned that there are four quarterbacks seen as having the potential to ultimately be the first taken this year:
- Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
- Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State
- Drew Lock, Missouri
- Daniel Jones, Duke
Of the four, the guy creating the most buzz is easily Murray, who hauled in the Heisman Trophy after his lone spectacular season as the starter for Oklahoma. Aside from potential questions about his commitment to football, the big concern teams will have about him is his size. But he’s reportedly bulked up with 15 pounds over his playing weight last season.
Haskins is a one-year starter who racked up record-breaking passing stats at Ohio State last year. He is the ideal pocket passer for teams that want to stick with a traditional pro-style offense.
Lock looks the part of an NFL quarterback. He’s 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. He has a big arm and isn’t afraid to let loose in tight windows. The knock on him is that he’s a career 56.9 percent passer at Missouri.
Jones is someone scouts have been eyeballing since last summer as a potential sleeper as the top pick in this year’s draft. He has ideal size (6-foot-5, 220 pounds), is athletic enough to make plays with his leg, can make all the necessary throws, and was a three-year starter at Duke.
It’s going to be fascinating to not only see where these men land, but to track their progress in the NFL the next few years. We could see a run at this position atop Round 1, which will lead to a big win for teams not taking a quarterback.