NEWSLETTER
The quarterback market is straight up bonkers right now.
There’s a Russell Wilson situation brewing — and the Bears are directly implicated. The Deshaun Watson saga is still ongoing. And on top of that, there is a seemingly never-ending cycle of QB flavor-of-the-week types going here, there, and everywhere.
And to think … we’re just beginning to scratch the surface.
Let’s kick things up a notch with Mel Kiper Jr.’s second mock draft at ESPN. The long-time NFL Draft guru shared his latest mock, which features a crapload of quarterbacks going in the first 10 picks. Because if you think five first-round quarterbacks is a lot, then what does it say when Kiper’s mock has five going in the first nine picks?
I’m legitimately bug-eyed seeing what happens after Trevor Lawrence goes first overall to the Jaguars.
Zach Wilson lands with the Falcons after they trade up two spots with the Jets to take the BYU product. We’ll conveniently gloss over how Kiper draws similarities between a proposed Falcons-Jets swap and the deal the Bears made with the 49ers for the rights to draft Mitchell Trubisky.
Five picks after that, Kiper has the Niners swinging a deal with the Lions for the seventh overall pick. The result is San Francisco taking Ohio State’s Justin Fields. It’s a big swing on a high-upside talent to run Kyle Shanahan’s efficient offense. But more than that, it’s a triple-whammy that takes a premier QB prospect off the board, goes to a fellow NFC contender, and aids in the Lions’ rebuilding efforts. Gross.
One pick after the 49ers snag Fields, Kiper has the Panthers taking the other quarterback who played in the college football national title game (Alabama’s Mac Jones eighth overall). Maybe this opens the doors to a potential Teddy Bridgewater trade. We know Matt Nagy likes Bridgewater enough to confirm the team’s interest in him last offseason. But Jones going in the top-10 is a HUGE leap for a player who burst onto the scene in 2020.
And finally, the Patriots piece together a deal with the Broncos in order to draft Trey Lance. The North Dakota State prospect is a premier talent whose size and athleticism is easy to dream on. In a year where the Patriots could value long-term solutions over short-term fixes, taking a shot at fixing the QB spot with Lance is a monumental swing for the fences.
Altogether, we’ve got three trades and four quarterbacks going in the first nine picks. Friggin ridiculous. And it leaves the Bears holding the bag (assuming they haven’t swung a deal earlier in the offseason to solve their quarterback problems). But it’s not like Kiper leaves the Bears empty handed in this mock. In this mock, Kiper sends Florida receiver Kadarius Toney to Chicago with the 20th pick (We’ll get into him much more soon, so stay tuned). Let’s face it. The Bears need offensive weaponry, whether they re-sign Allen Robinson or not.
Now, to press send on this before the QB market gets crazier.
