It isn’t a joyful day for any quarterback that is hoping to get their name called at the 2022 NFL Draft. Albert Breer started to report earlier today that NFL Evaluators in the league have little to no faith in the upcoming quarterback class.
The full quote in his report read, “A couple of NFL evaluators told me late in the week that they don’t believe there’s a single NFL starter in this year’s quarterback class. Not everyone was that harsh, but it was unanimous that these quarterbacks aren’t close to last year’s – and most agreed that all five of last year’s first round signal callers would have been the top guy at the position in the 2022 draft.”
So far, the highest ranked quarterback coming into this draft is Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder. He is listed at number 17 overall in draft boards at the moment. That’s right. There isn’t a single quarterback is ranked in the top 16 players overall just a few months away from the actual draft.
NFL Evaluators Could Change Their Mind
Players like Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell, Ridder and Malik Willis have all shown potential though. This report doesn’t mean that they will all end up being busts in the league. All it means is that we may not see a quarterback taken early. It will be a big change from last season. We got to watch the top three overall picks be quarterbacks. Five quarterbacks were taken in the top 15. This season, we may not see any in that range.
Another report from an AFC executive said, “it was an average showing all the way around. No one really stood out as a top-level guy. Malik showed the most athleticism and arm strength. You just question how ready he is, coming from the offenses at Auburn and Liberty.” This statement was in response to the quarterbacks small showing at the combine and at the senior bowl among other workouts. It is also worth mentioning, the sample size is small. Scouts have been wrong in the past. These statements aren’t 100 percent going to translate to the pros. We are just going to have to be patient with these guys.
If you are still a team in desperate need of a new quarterback, keep your expectations at bay for this upcoming class. The answer may not be found here. Reaching for a quarterback will only set you back a few years as well. That generational quarterback will come in due time.
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