2019 QB Market: Part 3 – Top of Draft

The 2019 QB market is not as robust as last year’s draft-wise. In addition, there aren’t flashy names at the top of the free agent class like Drew Brees and Kirk Cousins. However, some of the veterans that could join new teams as starters this season have the ability to make an immediate impact. Some are on the free agent market, and some are available via trade. Previous pieces looked at the biggest quarterback names on the free agent market in part one and quarterbacks available via trade in part two.

Now, here are the biggest names available in the 2019 NFL Draft:

Dwayne Haskins

Haskins is probably the only quarterback in this year’s draft who has been a lock to go in the first round since the season ended. He was terrific last season at Ohio State, his first season as starting quarterback. Haskins completed 70% of his passes for over 4800 yards, 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He was absolutely spectacular.

Haskins didn’t just play well during his first season. He consistently made tough throws and put his team in position to win a lot of games. He has a strong arm and is a playmaker who puts the ball in tight windows. While Haskins does have flaws such as limited mobility and errors in reading defenses, he will have time to improve in the NFL.

Giants

Haskins can be a great pocket passing quarterback in the league, specifically on a team like the Giants. Dwayne Haskins grew up in New Jersey as a Giants fan and has already proclaimed his desire to be a Giant. New York, with an aging Eli Manning, could certainly draft Haskins with their number six overall pick. That is, unless a team like the Jaguars or Bengals trade up and take him.

Kyler Murray

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is now fully committed to professional football. A few weeks ago Murray confirmed that he will forego the MLB to participate in the NFL Draft and play football. And while most NFL scouts recognize him as a great athlete and passer as a quarterback, many were concerned with his height. However, Murray was measured at the combine as just over 5’10” and about 208 pounds. This is just about an inch shorter than Russell Wilson and a couple pounds heavier than him.

Originally, there were thoughts that Kyler Murray could be as short as 5’8″. Now that his height and size are not as big of detriments as previously assumed, there’s a very good chance some team takes him in the top half of the first round. Murray was terrific in his lone season as starter at Oklahoma, with 4300 passing yards, 42 touchdowns and only seven picks. In addition, he produced in the rushing game with over 1000 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Cardinals

Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals, who have the number one overall pick, really likes Kyler Murray. He said during last season when he was head coach at Texas Tech University in the same conference as Oklahoma, that Murray should go number one overall in the draft. While Arizona did draft Josh Rosen with a top 10 pick last year, he did not play very well this season. They could stick with Rosen or they could trade him and start over with Kyler Murray. Other teams who might take Murray are the Redskins and Bengals.

Daniel Jones

Jones was not nearly as productive at Duke as the previous two quarterbacks were in college. He had 2300 passing yards last season with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He did start in college for three seasons, though, and has more playing experience at a high level. In addition, Jones is great at reading defenses and going through his progressions while also having great feel and footwork in the pocket. He has the best mechanics of any quarterback in this draft. Jones also is generally accurate on intermediate passes and leads receivers on deep balls well.

However, Jones doesn’t always make the right throws even if he sees them. Sometimes he forces balls in bad situations, either when players are covered or he is about to be sacked. In addition, Jones is a good runner but takes too many risks when running the ball. If Daniel Jones can become a more polished decision maker and fix his throwing motion a little bit, he can be a productive passer in the NFL.

Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a good option to take someone like Jones. Because Alex Smith is out indefinitely, they have no incumbent starter for next season. They can take Daniel Jones at number 15 overall. Then, they could either play him immediately without expectations while coaching him or sign a stop-gap option like Ryan Fitzpatrick and give Jones a year or two to develop in the league. A team like the Giants may also consider taking Daniel Jones if they like him more than Haskins.

Will Grier

A couple of months ago, Grier was considered to have a chance to be the first quarterback taken off the board. Now, he might fall completely out of the first round. But Grier still has a lot of pure talent as a quarterback. His ability to read defenses as well as make all the necessary throws make Grier a complete quarterback when he is playing well. In college, that led to him throwing for 3800 yards, 37 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

However, Grier falters sometimes and airs some of his throws out too much. If he can fix his footwork while throwing the ball, Grier could become a much more consistent passer. Combined with his deep ball and playmaking ability, that consistency could turn him into a very good quarterback.

Teams with Veteran QBs

Grier has pretty much all the qualities from a passing standpoint that are necessary in the NFL. However, he needs to prove that he can make all the throws day in and day out. This makes Will Grier a great candidate to sit behind someone like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or Philip Rivers for a few years. The Patriots, Saints or Chargers could draft Grier late in the first round and sit him for about two to three seasons, grooming him to be their next franchise quarterback.

Featured image by USA Today

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