The first mock draft is always the toughest, and this year seems to have a different layer of difficulty. First of all, any mock draft completed before free agency begins is working with a severe lack of information because we don’t know how teams plan to address their needs until we see where they’re spending money on the market, but that’s the case every year.
The bigger problem this season is the quarterback class. I’m not the first to tell you that this year’s QB class isn’t as highly-rated as the one last year or many of the recent classes we’ve seen, and there’s a real chance we won’t see a QB go in the first five picks for the first time since 2013 when E.J. Manuel went to Buffalo at No. 16. But while the QB class might not be as exciting, there are a few things that never change.
- The QB is the most important position in the sport
- A lot of teams — particularly the ones picking early — need a QB
- Teams always overpay for QBs because they need them, and they’re important
So while Manuel didn’t go until the 16th pick, I’m confident we’ll see multiple QBs off the board before then this year, even in a “down” year. It’s the when and where that’s hard to predict, but I’ll try my best anyway.
