The 2018 NFL Draft is fast approaching, with the 32 NFL franchises picking out their top prospects at each position ready for draft day on Thursday.
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The quarterback class entering the draft is always of particular interest, with every team looking for their franchise QB of the future, and the 2018 draft features a particularly deep talent pool at the position.
Josh Allen (Wyoming), Sam Darnold (USC), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) and Josh Rosen (UCLA) are widely-considered to be the top-tier talents, but which teams, in particular, do we expect to be clamoring for their signature.
Here, we pick out the five most QB-needy teams entering the draft…
Cleveland Browns
Having acquired a competent holding QB in Tyrod Taylor – from the Buffalo Bills during free agency – there is perhaps less urgency from the Browns to find their answer at QB than you might expect from an 0-16 team. They will surely, however, take one at No 4 even if they don’t with the No 1 overall pick.
They could go with explosive running back talent Saquon Barkley from Penn State, or even address their defense with prolific pass-rusher Bradley Chubb from North Carolina State. But, what is more likely is that the Browns will first pin down their franchise QB and then pick up Barkley or Chubb – depending on who is available – at No 4. They could even opt to trade away the pick to QB-hungry teams scrabbling to get up the board and pick up one of the premier passers.
The rumours are that they’re leaning towards Darnold, but whoever the man is, he’ll have some exciting weapons to work with in Cleveland – certainly more than last year’s rookie QB disaster DeShone Kizer did – with running RB Carlos Hyde arriving from the San Francisco 49ers in free agency, as well as star wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Miami Dolphins, who is set to form an explosive pass-catching pairing with Josh Gordon.
A word of warning though: as mentioned with Kizer, Cleveland has been a graveyard for rookie QBs in recent years – Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, Johnny Manziel, anyone?
New York Giants
This is Eli Manning’s team. But also it isn’t. Pride wounded following the benching that ended his 210-game starting streak, a reunion with Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville with the Jaguars was rumoured but never materialised, and so Eli will be under centre in Giants blue for at least another year.
But, on the back of a disastrous 3-13 season, there is no doubt New York have half an eye, or both, on an Eli-less future – they are sure to pick a QB at No 2. And, though last year’s debacle cannot solely be placed at Manning’s door, if they were willing to drop him in Week 13 in for Geno Smith – (yes, that same Geno Smith!) – then his place will certainly be under threat from Allen, Darnold, Mayfield et al.
New GM Dave Gettleman has come out and said the idea he must take a signal-caller in the draft is “hogwash”, but he must know that his success in the role will ultimately be linked with who he eventually picks to take over from Eli, and not the man himself. His preference would surely be to take a QB here and let him sit and learn under Manning.
New York Jets
It’s a very similar story with a Gang Green half of New York. The Jets’ search for a serviceable QB since winning the Super Bowl under Joe Namath in 1969 continues… OK, that’s a little harsh, but if your best since are an ageing Vinny Testaverde, Chad Pennington, and Mark Sanchez – who, incredibly, managed to take the team to a couple of AFC Championship games – you can see that the franchise hasn’t exactly been blessed at the position.
To be honest, though, the quarterback room is looking more serviceable than it did this time a year ago. The signing of Josh McCown for 2017 proved to be an inspired one as he completed 67.3 per cent of his passes, and threw 18 TDs to nine interceptions as his veteran presence helped the Jets be more competitive than a 5-11 mark suggests – enough collateral to rightly earn him a one-year, $10m contract.
Also, the addition of Teddy Bridgewater from the Minnesota Vikings is relatively low risk – if he fails to truly recover and be the player he was prior to his devastating knee injury two years ago, no harm done, while a return to such form that saw him named 2014 Rookie of the Year would be the feel-good story of the season.
Don’t get it twisted, though, the Jets gave Indianapolis Colts their No 6 pick, two second-rounders and another in 2019 to move up to No 3 – it is unfathomable that New York don’t take a QB.
Buffalo Bills
Buffalo could certainly be one team looking to make a trade in order to get into the QB mix – and they certainly have the draft capital to do so, with two first-round picks to their name, at No 12 and No 22.
Plus, their QB room is bare having given up Taylor to the Browns in free agency, hastening the need to bring in a new starter. Former Cincinnati Bengals back-up AJ McCarran comes in but is nothing more than a stopgap, while they’ll be reticent to throw last year’s fifth-round pick, Nate Peterman, back into the fire following his five interceptions in the first half of his NFL debut against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Cleveland could, in fact, be one of Buffalo’s trade partners at No 4 but, more likely, it will be one of the teams from Denver Broncos at No 5 down. That might not be high enough to nab one of the top-tier guys, but should any of them start to slide down the draft, look to the Bills to make a move.
New England Patriots
Now hear me out. Sure, the Patriots have Tom Brady entrenched as their starter, the small matter of a five-time Super Bowl-winning QB. But, he’s also 40 years old, and as much as his performances suggest he can keep going forever, there will come a time – shocking as it may be – where he hangs up his cleats. What then?
Jimmy Garoppolo was developing nicely as the heir apparent after being drafted in the second round in 2014 but, with Brady’s evergreen performances being what they are, New England simply couldn’t confine him to a spot on the sidelines any longer and cashed in last season, trading him to the eternally-grateful 49ers, who finished 5-0 under his expert stewardship. Third-stringer going into 2017, Jacoby Brissett, also departed and did reasonably for a depleted Colts team.
The decision to trade Garoppolo, in particular, was said to be the cause of some mid-season unrest in New England and it leaves the Patriots now needing to nurture some new, young talent at QB all over again – a job that while he may be slightly resentful of, head coach extraordinaire Bill Belichick is certainly up to the task of.
Do they have their eye on anyone? If they do, the Patriots, ever shrouded in mystery, certainly haven’t shown their hand with their plans for their two first-round picks – No 23 and 31 – and they usually prefer to trade down, rather than up. But, could they spring the ultimate surprise on draft day?
All three days of the NFL Draft are exclusively live on Sky Sports with opening night getting underway from 12.30am on Friday, April 27 on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Mix.
Check out our NFL Draft support programming with Neil Reynolds, Jeff Reinebold, Solomon Wilcots, the Around the NFL guys and MMQB’s Peter King who will give us their informed opinion on what to expect and what happens in Dallas next week.
You can follow all the build-up to the NFL Draft with us at www.skysports.com/nfl and on @SkySportsNFL
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