NEWSLETTER
Throughout the early part of the mock draft season, as many as four quarterbacks have been mocked to go in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
But what if that number is a bit too high?
Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports recently put together a mock draft in which just one (1) quarterback goes in the first round: LSU’s Joe Burrow to Cincinnati, where he will take over for Andy Dalton.
Note: Whether Dalton is the one passing the torch to him remains to be seen, but that is a different conversation for a different day.
In any case, it would be wild to see just one quarterback go off the board on Day 1. Because if you put your brain to it, it’s easy to make a case that as many as eight teams (in addition to the Dolphins) should draft a quarterback if they get a chance to do so in the first round next summer.
The Broncos, Buccaneers, and Titans could conceivably use fresh starts with a potential franchise quarterback at the position. Meanwhile, teams like the Falcons, Chargers, Panthers, Saints, and Patriots could look to have contingency plans in place to replace veterans when the time is right (The Bears, you’ll note, do not have a first-round pick).
With of all that being said, not all of those teams are going to take quarterbacks in the first round, because they’ll have needs at other positions (and, of course, there’s not likely to be 8 first-round caliber QBs!). But still … it would be wrong not to make note that there are teams who could dip into the quarterback market in the draft.
In any case, we’ll play along with a hypothetical that would leave the Bears a wave of options should they feel the need to address the position via the draft, when they do go on the clock.
In a scenario where Burrow is the only quarterback to go off the board in Round 1, it would leave the following draft-eligible signal callers available in Round 2:
I can’t even front. I’m into it. That would be awesome. Previously, we’ve discussed Hurts as a “perfect” option, Tagovailoa as a prospect whose injury could impact his stock (and that of others), Love as an uber-athletic QB with upside who needs developmental time before he can truly take that next step, and Round 2 options with sleeper potential for the Bears. And if this latest mock is right, they might all be available when the Bears pick in 2020.
And while we’ve been obsessively following quarterback-related rumors for a while now, a mock where Tagovailoa, Herbert, Hurts, and others being available as second-round options hadn’t been in play until right now. Of course, that could change if Tagovailoa continues to get positive reports from the health front, Herbert shines in his final games with Oregon, and if Hurts shows out, pushes the Sooners into the college football playoff, and lands a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist. Quarterback prospects always rise as the draft approaches.
Even still, the simple concept of any of these prospects being available on Day 2 serves as a reminder of how fluid this situation is and will be in the coming weeks and months.
Frankly, if this unfolds and someone like Tagovailoa is available in the late 20’s, the Bears would be foolish not to inquire about a trade up in the draft to snag a prospect of his caliber. I mean, it worked for the Ravens and Lamar Jackson.
