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2018 NFL Draft: Ranking the top five eligible quarterback prospects

By Sayre Bedinger

PASADENA, CA - NOVEMBER 11: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins looks to pass during the first half of a game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Rose Bowl on November 11, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - NOVEMBER 11: Josh Rosen #3 of the UCLA Bruins looks to pass during the first half of a game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Rose Bowl on November 11, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Ranking the top five quarterback prospects eligible for the 2018 NFL Draft. Who do you put at the top? Who are the riskiest players?

LINCOLN, NE – SEPTEMBER 10: Quarterback Josh Allen #17 of the Wyoming Cowboys passes against defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun #91 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE – SEPTEMBER 10: Quarterback Josh Allen #17 of the Wyoming Cowboys passes against defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun #91 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

How do you go about ranking the top quarterbacks for the 2018 NFL Draft? It’s certainly not an easy task at this point in time, considering there are more than one or two guys that could make a legitimate case for the top overall spot on this list.

While there aren’t five players at the quarterback position eligible for the 2018 NFL Draft that I think will be given legitimate top five overall pick consideration, it wouldn’t surprise me if four players were.

That said, the way NFL teams are so desperate for quarterbacks these days, it wouldn’t surprise me either to see at least four or five quarterbacks taken within the top 10-15 picks of the draft, depending on how teams maneuver around.

To start this all off, I’m going to give you a sixth player that I think many would have found in a top five list like this prior to the season, and why he’s not in my top five.

That player is Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen.

Allen is a redshirt junior that is all but ‘in’ the 2018 NFL Draft prospect pool. He could have (and probably should have) declared for the 2017 NFL Draft after a breakout sophomore campaign where he threw 28 touchdown passes, ran for another seven, and threw for over 3,000 yards.

Despite completing under 60 percent of his passes last season, Allen probably would have been a top 40 pick had he left school after just one season of starting experience.

He came back for another year at Wyoming, and with the spotlight hotter than ever, he did not perform this season like many expected him to.

Once again, Allen completed under 60 percent of his passes with just 13 touchdowns, under 2,000 passing yards, and a dip of two yards per attempt compared to last season.

There can be legitimate arguments made that Allen has not had any help around him this season, and that injuries may have played a role, but there’s no doubt this is a guy with erratic accuracy and more physical tools than NFL-readiness.

He would come in — at best — sixth on my list of quarterbacks this season, simply because of the tremendous upside he has. If I’m an NFL general manager, I’m not touching him until the third round at the earliest.

Onto the top five…

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