Heading into Round 1 of the 2020 draft, three quarterbacks — Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Herbert — seemed like near locks to be selected within the first 10 picks, while a fourth (Utah State’s Jordan Love) was viewed as a candidate to be drafted near the end of Round 1.
Well, that’s exactly what happened! Burrow went to the Bengals with the first overall pick, Tagovailoa and Herbert went off the board at back-to-back selections to the Dolphins and Chargers, respectively, and the Packers made a shocking trade up to No. 26 to nab Love.
But with Day 2 of the draft set to get under way tonight, there are still quarterback options available. Lets’s take a quick look at the top signal-callers that remain on the board (in no particular order):
Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma)
Hurts, famously, took Alabama to the National Championship Game in each of his first two seasons as a starter before getting benched for Tagovailoa at halftime of the 2018 title game. An excellent locker room presence, Hurts handled that demotion in stride before transferring to Oklahoma for the 2019 campaign. He posted more than 3,800 yards passing and nearly 1,300 yards on the ground en route to finishing second to Burrow in the Heisman race.
Jacob Eason (Washington)
Like Hurts, Eason was a transfer, spending parts of two seasons at Georgia before wrapping up his collegiate career at Washington in 2019. Eason, a physical specimen at 6’6″, 230 pounds, tossed 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions a season ago, but offered nothing on the ground (19 attempts for three yards). As draft analyst Ian Wharton has noted, Eason has the arm to be a deep passer but has typically stuck with underneath throws.
Jake Fromm (Georgia)
A three-year starter with nearly 1,000 career passing attempts, Fromm is viewed as a quarterback with great makeup and mental processing, but he may not have the physical tools to succeed in the NFL. Seth Galina of Pro Football Focus recently posted an excellent breakdown of Fromm, noting that he simply stopped being able to hit open receivers at some point during the 2019 campaign. Fromm can see the field as good as anyone, but whether he can get the ball to where it needs to go is an open question.
James Morgan (Florida International)
After starting his career at Bowling Green, Morgan transferred to FIU in 2018 and won Conference USA Newcomer of the Year honors in his first season. 2019 wasn’t quite as successful a year, but Morgan is still attracting NFL attention thanks in part to his performance at the combine and the East-West Shrine Game. So far, 11 clubs — including potentially QB-needy teams like the Patriots, Bears, Colts, and Raiders — have been connected to Morgan.
Anthony Gordon (Washington State)
Could fellow Washington State alum Gardner Minshew‘s surprising 2019 rookie campaign help push Gordon up boards? It remains to be seen, but Gordon does have age working against him, as he’ll be 24 years when the 2020 season gets underway. Last year, Gordon completed 71.6% of his passes for more than 5,500 yards and 48 touchdowns in the Cougars’ high-flying offense.
So what do you think? Which of these quarterbacks is the best available on Day 2? Vote below (link for app users):
Hurts or Fromm imo
Just have a bad feeling the Steelers are gonna use yet another pick on a QB
They have to.
Rudolph showed completely nothing despite sitting behind Roethlisberger for what a year or two? He was outplayed by an undrafted QB.
Eason would be a good fit in that offense.
If you are bringing Ben back and Dupree you need to go for it now. You don’t waste your highest pick on another QB. Remember they had a 1st round grade on Rudolph and we see how that worked out.
You looking for another decade of Mark Malone 2.0?
I’m all for the idea but the (admittedly very little) video I’ve seen of Hurts, he appears to throw a weak and wobbly ball.
And it sounds like they can find an impact WR or RB at #49.
Jacob Eason > Jordan Love.
As a Bills fan, I’m worried about Hurts to NE. I think McDaniels could be very creative with him.
Eason, Fromm, Hurts, Morgan, Luton (who isn’t even listed). I think Luton sneaks into the 3rd.
So basically your name has to start with the letter “J” to be considered a good QB prospect. It will be interesting to see if the Lions consider another Georgia QB as an heir to Matt.
Hurts is infinitely better than Love
But only when it leads to make up sex.
Funniest reply EVER.
Morgan is the best of the bunch
Steelers and Patriots would be smart to select one of these gentlemen.
Together?
They can meet at a McDonald’s twice a month to exchange custody.
Eason almost=Herbert
Eason to NE in the 4th Round. Will be known as JE13
NE already had an Eason and they won’t make that mistake again…….I hope.