Saturday, February 16, 2013
QB-free first round?
By AJ Mass
Could we see an NFL Draft without a quarterback taken in the first round? Chances are that might be the case, as there seems to be a perfect storm of no signal called being strong enough to be worthy of a top-10 selection combined with no team with a huge need at the position drafting below that spot of the draft, along with players like Alex Smith, Nick Foles and possibly even Joe Flacco - should Baltimore not pony up the cash - available at the right price.
Many teams are looking for the next Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III or Colin Kaepernick. However, none of the closest candidates to run that style of offense, EJ Manuel, Zac Dysert and Matt Scott are likely to be selected early, and probably not ahead of Geno Smith, Matt Barkley or maybe even Ryan Nassib.
Expect a run of these names to be called to start the second round, though, meaning that even though the Kansas City Chiefs might be called "unlucky" to not have a franchise quarterback sitting there at the No. 1 overall pick, they still should have the "pick of the litter" come Round 2. Maybe that's not so unlucky after all.
Mike Reiss
What we learned about draft from McShay"Overall, McShay doesn't have a first-round grade on any quarterback, but has six signal-callers with a second-round grade ("the depth is sensational"). That could potentially set up a wild start to Day 2 of the draft."
