We will find out for sure in just over two days which of QBs Carson Wentz of North Dakota State and/or Cal’s Jared Goff Los Angeles and Philadelphia will select, respectively, with the first two picks of the 2016 draft. The more intriguing question for Thursday’s opening round, though, may be where Memphis QB Paxton Lynch, the consensus #3 QB in this year’s draft, is selected and by whom. In fact, while he’s not rated quite that high on the proverbial ‘consensus draft guru board’ it’s just hard to imagine that he lasts past the 7-8 picks which are currently held by San Francisco and Cleveland respectively, two of the most QB-needy teams in the league. New Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson, for one, is believed to be lobbying the Browns’ front office hard for Lynch. Meanwhile, if the 49ers and or Browns don’t want Lynch for themselves, there is a better than even chance that there are several teams including Buffalo and the New York Jets, who pick 19th and 20th respectively, who would be willing to move up to get Lynch. The Jets, in particular, made inquiries about acquiring the #1 pick prior to the Rams making their bold move to get the top pick with incumbent start Ryan Fitzpatrick locked in a contract stalemate with the team, while the Bills have never been shy about moving up in the past. We can perhaps even add New Orleans to the list of teams looking at Lynch. There are reports circulating that the Saints also called Tennessee about a potential deal for the #1 pick. And while it would seem counterintuitive that the Saints, who had one of the worst defenses in the history of the NFL last year would be thinking of trading up for a QB, Drew Brees just turned 37 and is in the final year of his current contract so maybe New Orleans feels that they really aren’t close enough to try and load up on defense for one more run with Brees next fall and instead are rethinking of a more complete overhaul starting with a young QB. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, there is a little buzz out there that nobody should be surprised if Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg is the 4th QB board this weekend ahead of Connor Cook of Michigan State. Both have first round physical tools, and while Cook was somewhat more productive in college there have been reports that his demeanor is a little off-putting since last fall when he was not selected as a team captain by his MSU teammates. Hackenberg has also had his own character questions to deal with, especially after he was reported to have blamed much of his productivity issues the past couple of years on Penn State head coach James Franklin. Remember, though, that it wasn’t all that long ago that Hackenberg was being talked about as the #1 prospect for this year’s draft earlier in his career. And with so many teams in need of QB help at this year’s draft it certainly will not be a surprise if either, or both, of Hackenberg and/or Cook are ultimately taken in Thursday’s first round given the critical importance of the position.
