Most Interesting Quarterbacks Taken in 2019 NFL Draft

by Trevor Whenham - 5/1/2019

Duke Blue Devils quarterback Daniel Jones

There were 11 quarterbacks selected in the 2019 NFL Draft. Chances are that a few will become good players at some level, perhaps one or two will become stars, and several will be completely forgotten by everyone but their mothers in just a few years. What makes picking quarterbacks so tough - and following the draft and what comes after it so interesting - is that it is very tough to know in advance which guys will shine, which ones will suffice, and which will be some level of disaster. Of the 11 guys picked, there are six that stand out as the most interesting. Here's a look at each:

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals: Barring an injury, it would go down as one of the biggest shocks in the history of sports if Murray wasn't the Day 1 starter for the Cardinals. He wasn't drafted first overall, with all the complications that came with that for the Cardinals, to ease into playing. And Kliff Kingsbury isn't a guy who embraces the subtle, slow approach. The only guy on the roster right now that Murray has to beat out is Brett Hundley. I'm not saying I could beat Hundley out, but I'm also not willing to guarantee that I couldn't. Murray is not only very likely to start, but he is the overwhelming favorite to be offensive rookie of the year - he is at +250, with Dwayne Haskins his nearest threat at +700. We know how ready a Lincoln Riley-coached Heisman winner picked first overall was to tear up the NFL last year, so it doesn't seem like a stretch that we will see that again. After all, in several ways, Murray last year was even better than Mayfield was the year before. It's easy to be excited about what Murray can bring - especially if Arizona can figure out their offensive line issues.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants: I find it very frustrating when good players are put in positions that will make it very hard for them to succeed. Jones has a nice enough arm and plenty of upside. But he faces far more pressure than he would ever need or want because of being picked way too high by the Giants. New York claims that they weren't going to get him if they didn't snag him when they did, but that seems very tough to believe. Jones has the potential to be a solid player one day, and his floor is probably reasonably high. But he's on a total mess of a team, he's destined to be in a weird dance with Eli Manning for playing time this year, and the coaching is a long way from competent. Poor Jones. We will probably see him play some this year, but it is hard to imagine it going well - for him or the team. He's at 18/1 to win the offensive ROY. I can't think of a price more insanely stupid for anything in a very, very long time.

Dwayne Haskins, Washington Redskins: I love this pick. I watch a lot of Big Ten football and was consistently impressed this year by how well this guy passes and how dangerous he is. He shredded a very good Michigan defense - took away their will to live. Him falling to 15th is almost criminal, and Washington was lucky to have him fall to them. The team traded for Case Keenum and has Colt McCoy around, so they are not going to be rushing Haskins into action. But I believe in him enough that I expect him to steal playing time soon and to own this job by later in the season. He's the second choice to win ROY at +700. That's probably a bit of a stretch given the logjam of guys at the position on the team, but the squad should be more loyal to him than the other two, so the potential is there. I wouldn't bet that price, but I would buy stock in him long term for sure.

Drew Lock, Denver Broncos: Joe Flacco must be thrilled with this pick. A year after being chased out of Baltimore by a hot rookie, he now has a slightly less hot rookie nipping at his heels in his new gig. This is a great spot for Lock. He has a huge arm, but he has aspects of his game that need work, and that will take time. With Flacco on board the team has no urgency around Lock at all, and he can take what he needs. I like Denver's decision to sit back and wait for this pick instead of wasting an earlier pick on a QB that wouldn't put them any further ahead. The biggest cause for concern, though, is that John Elway signed off on this pick, and his touch when it comes to QBs has been toxic.

Will Grier, Carolina Panthers: This is by far the least interesting of the higher QB choices. Grier is a project. As long as Cam Newton comes back from his shoulder issues, the team will have zero interest in seeing Grier play. And he likely won't be ready to do well anyway. This is, at the most optimistic, a longer-term play - and I'm not even convinced it's reasonable in that end.

Jarrett Stidham, New England Patriots: I really like this pick. The Patriots are very good at finding value in their picks, and they did so when they grabbed Stidham in the fourth round. Stidham had an excellent year in 2017. He didn't have the leap forward last year that was expected, but it's hard to blame too much of that on him because Auburn was such a mess last year. He's a talented enough player, and he will have all the time he needs to develop because the Patriots obviously won't be looking to play anyone other than Brady unless they absolutely have to. Best-case scenario, Stidham develops for a couple of years and then takes over the job when that time comes. But if that doesn't happen, the Patriots have been the best team out there at developing backups and getting value from them on the open market. This selection was an astute long-term investment at a very fair price.

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Most Interesting Quarterbacks Taken in 2019 NFL Draft

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