NFL Teams Sound Off On Their Choices For Top Draft QB
By Erik Lambert
The 2017 NFL draft is approaching and people are starting to wonder where the top quarterbacks sit in terms of pecking order among teams and experts.
From the start this has felt like a year that doesn’t have any definitive answers. Granted, the class has a number of talented young passers, but nobody who can be considered a day one starter. Much of that is due to a variety circumstances. Not the least of which is the current status of offensive schemes in college football. Quarterbacks don’t play in pro-style systems anymore. It’s just difficult to figure out which ones can make a successful transition.
NFL.com relayed information from their current analyst and former GM Charley Casserly on who teams around the league believe is the best quarterback in the draft. Suffice to say the answers were divided to a remarkable degree.
"“There is anything but a consensus about the best quarterback prospect in the 2017 NFL Draft, but based on the results of Charley Casserly’s survey, it could be a two-horse race.The NFL Network analyst and former NFL GM polled personnel from 22 NFL clubs on the subject, and a vast majority selected either Clemson’s Deshaun Watson (nine votes), or North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky (eight votes). Two favored Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes, while three more were undecided. Conspicuously absent from the results: Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer.”"
Indeed every since the scouting combine it has felt like Watson and Trubisky were the two players who separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Trubisky is viewed as the more talented and consistent passer of the group. He throws a tight ball with accuracy and displays advanced footwork from inside the pocket. Watson is slightly more athletic, far more experienced and hailed as a proven leader who always comes up big in clutch situations.
Next: Ben Roethlisberger Keeps Pushing Steelers To Draft His Heir
It feels like another one of those cases. The proven product who did a lot of winning versus the individual talent with greater upside. There are many examples of this over the years. Kerry Collins and Steve McNair in 1995. Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf in 1998. Alex Smith versus Aaron Rodgers in 2005. The of course Jameis Winston versus Marcus Mariota in 2015. Results have varied in terms of success from both angles.
One thing is clear with this development. Odds are both Watson and Trubisky will be gone within the top 10-15 picks of this upcoming draft. It will come down to what team picks first and what they favor more.