Young Kwak/AP
- ESPN’s Mel Kiper released his first NFL mock draft of the year.
- Kiper has two quarterbacks going in the top two, three in the top five, and four overall in the first round.
- Recent NFL drafts have indicated that teams usually scramble to pick quarterbacks early, and this year should be no different.
Though the NFL Draft is still months away, ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper has his first mock draft up and it suggests the top of the board will be a scramble for quarterbacks.
Predicting the NFL Draft at this point can be tough — as Kiper noted, teams still have to go through medical exams, the combine, workouts, and free agency to identify what positions they need and who they like best.
Yet, compared to last year, when Myles Garrett was the sure-fire top prospect, this year’s class has very little clarity, particularly before the combine and workouts.
However, the idea that this year’s class is heavy on talented quarterbacks rings true — Kiper’s top two picks are quarterbacks, with three QBs in the top five, and four overall in the first round.
Currently, Kiper has Wyoming’s Josh Allen going No. 1 to the Cleveland Browns, UCLA’s Josh Rosen going No. 2 to the New York Giants, USC’s Sam Darnold going No. 5 to the Denver Broncos, and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield going No. 13 to the Washington Redskins.
Kiper’s mock draft also doesn’t include Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, another quarterback some think could end up in the first round.
If past drafts have told us anything, it’s that teams usually get antsy for quarterbacks. This has proven true in recent years. In 2016, the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles both made big trades up to No. 1 and No. 2 to draft Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, respectively. In 2017, the Chicago Bears traded a haul to move up one spot to draft Mitchell Trubisky, while both the Kansas City Chiefs and Texans traded up to draft Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, respectively, in the first round.
While months of draft preparation will change the projections, for now, it seems this year is going to be out about the quarterbacks.
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