This year’s quarterback class is widely considered to be a weak one, but that has not stopped the usual pre-draft chatter surrounding the top signal-caller prospects. After all, quarterback is the most important position in all of sports, so even in a down year, teams without a long-term solution under center will be anxious to find one.
North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky is considered by many to be the most talented passer in the draft, but he has only one year of starting experience at the collegiate level, and that has led some to wonder whether he is truly ready to take the next step. Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech has seen his stock rise dramatically over the past several months, and it has been speculated that he could be a top-3 pick.
Meanwhile, the Bills are said to be “in love” with Clemson’s Deshaun Watson (my personal favorite), though there are concerns about his instincts and decision-making. And Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer has a strong arm, but questions about his accuracy persist, and in late January, we heard that scouts were “cooling” on him.
Further complicating projections is the sheer number of teams who could theoretically draft a QB on Day 1. The Browns are almost certain to select DE Myles Garrett with the No. 1 overall selection, but they could have their pick of the litter when they are back on the clock at No. 12. The 49ers, who currently hold the No. 2 overall pick — but who are apparently open to trading down — could also draft a quarterback in the first round, as could the Bears (No. 3 overall), Jets (N0. 6), Bills (No. 10), Cardinals (No. 13), Texans (No. 25), Chiefs (No. 27), and Saints (who hold the No. 11 and No. 32 picks, but who would be more likely to use the No. 32 pick on a passer). And those are just the obvious possibilities.
In PFR’s first mock draft, Dallas Robinson projects Trubisky as the first QB off the board, predicting that the Browns would snag him with the No. 12 selection. After that, our mock shows the Chiefs trading up to No. 24 to land Watson, while the Saints nab Kizer with the last pick of the first round.
But what do you think? Make your voice heard in the poll below, and let us know your thoughts on this year’s class in the comments section.
Who will be or should be ? I think Watson is the best of class.
Somebody will Trade up to get a QB.
Other than Watson I really wouldn’t want any of these guys
Watson is a true leader and I don’t know why people aren’t giving him his due. He’ll be a solid player in the league He’ll be the 6th or 7th best qb in the league for most of his career. Honestly that is worthy of a top 5 selection
Watson does not have an nfl arm, ball velocity too low – in low mid 50s
I’ll pass on all of them……..and I’m a Browns fan.
Trubisky will go first, Watson is the more talented of the two overall. You just can’t discount leadership. Trubisky is talented and has the IQ to be an NFL QB for sure though. Patrick Mahomes is beyond overrated though
Trubsisky started 1 year in college.
Mahomes is not overrated. He is very very athletic for a QB and while he was turnover prone in college he also put up absurd stats. That’s just the system he was in. When you throw the ball 70 times a game, no matter how good you are, you are going to have way more INTs than someone who is in a system where they only throw 20-40 times a game. I think if he is drafted and expected to start immediately, he will fail. But if he gets a year or two to sit and learn, and get into a professional system where they don’t want him throwing it 70 times a game, I think he could end up being the best QB in this class
Trubisky will be the only one starting in two years.
Watson should be the first QB taken. In my opinion, he’s the best one in the draft and is probably the most ready to step in and start right away (not saying he will be the starter from Day 1, but if a team wanted a rookie to start, he should be the most ready to do so).
I think Trubisky will be a bust and I’m bullish on Kizer. I think Mahomes can be really good, however, if someone is willing to let him sit and develop. His college numbers are inflated by playing in a college spread offense, but the arm talent is there. Some team will probably take him early and expect him to start right away or replace their veteran QB in a year. I think if you gave him two to three years to develop, he could be really good but I doubt any team is willing to wait that long. Two teams that come to mind that could be a good fit for Mahomes would be the Saints and Giants. Both teams are looking for a QB to develop, and eventually replace, Brees/Manning. Mahomes would give one of those teams the option while being able to let him develop for two to three years. Letting him develop for a couple of seasons might also fall in line with how many more seasons Brees and Manning might play.
While I obviously agree with your Mahomes assessment I disagree with your Watson and Trubisky assessments. While I do think that none of these QBs are ready to come in and start immediately, I think that some team will do it anyways. I know Trubisky doesn’t have a ton of experience starting, and I think both him and Watson should have stayed in school another year, but I think Trubisky will be the better of the two. North Carolina’s offense is more pro style than Clemsons, and even though he was only the starter for one year, Trubisky was going to practice and studying that style of offense for two more years before that. I also think that Trubisky has a little bit better arm and most importantly, he wasn’t even close to as turnover prone as Watson was. Now, I know that’s why a lot of people say Mahomes won’t succeed, but he was in an offense that expected him to throw the ball 60-70 times a game. While I don’t think Clemsons offense is pro style, it isn’t a spread offense to this extent. Watson would probably throw it 30-40 times a game, yet he was still one of the most turnover prone QBs in all of college football last year. He alone is the reason they didn’t have a perfect record as he single handedly blew the Pittsburgh game. He threw 3 picks and his team still lost by only 1. If he hadn’t throw even one of those, both of those teams were scoring on nearly every possession. And I didn’t watch the game, but I read about it after, and if my memory serves me correctly, I believe it said his team had the ball near the end of the game, they had to run the clock out to win, and he threw an INT that allowed Pitt to drive and set up the game winning FG. Trubisky wasn’t anywhere as turnover prone or even prone to such costly turnovers.