After two blockbuster trades, it now looks like a foregone conclusion that the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles will draft quarterbacks Jared Goff of Cal and Carson Wentz of North Dakota State in some order. While drafting a quarterback early in the first round is always a big risk, and trading up to do so is an even bigger one, the Rams and Eagles are taking those risks to new levels this year.
In the 12 drafts prior to this year, there have been ten quarterbacks taken with the first or second pick of the draft. Of those, none had a pre-draft grade of less than 93 (on a scale of 1-100), according to Scouts, Inc. (via ESPN). Both Goff and Wentz have a pre-draft grade of 91, suggesting they have a bigger mountain to climb in order to reach elite status.
Of course, not all of these grades have proven to be accurate, but it would seem that the Rams and Eagles are taking a bigger risk than any of the other teams at the top of the draft in the last 13 years, and they both paid heavily for the right to take those risks.
Cork Gaines/Business Insider