The draft, QBs and the long game … The NFL has gone pretty much stone quiet the past few days which has led us to think a little bit about the QB situation at the very top of the board. And this isn’t based on anything really concrete in terms of verifiable evidence, but we still wonder if it is a scenario that could be evolving. The general expectation around the NFL with now less that 3 weeks to go until the draft is that QBs will go 1-2-3 with the first three picks on the 25th – most likely USC’s Caleb Williams, Drake Maye of North Carolina and LSU’s Kayden Daniels in some order – leaving Arizona holding all the cards (sorry, we couldn’t resist) with the 4th pick with as many as 4 teams looking to trade up to select Michigan’s JJ McCarthy (or whichever of the 4 top-rated QBs isn’t taken in the first three picks.) Those 4 teams, of course, are the Giants who currently have the 6th pick, as well as Minnesota, Denver and Las Vegas, which have the 11th thru the 13th picks, each of which has made little secret of their interest in possibly moving up to take the 4th QB. However, what if those teams have started to ask themselves whether that 4th QB is in fact so much a better prospect than either of QBs 5 and 6 – Washington’s Michael Penix and Bo Nix of Oregon, who for the record were the top two passers in college football over the past couple of seasons – or at least so much a better prospect to justify parting with possibly as much as a couple of future first rounders to get there. There is still the problem for those teams that they would be four teams chasing three QBs so there may be some pressure to get to the head of the line, but it also possible we could see those teams hold their water until they see how the QBs actually start coming off the board on the 25th. It could also put a little pressure on the Cardinals, who it appears really do want to move down and pick up at least an second 2025 first rounder, not to wait too long for fear of missing out altogether. We’ll see who blinks first! Stay tuned!
