For the second year in a row, I'm beginning to wonder if the NFL draft has zero franchise quarterbacks.
Despite the fact they're expected to be taken early, major questions surround Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater. The popular belief is that those guys have had their stock inflated by the fact so many teams are desperate for answers at the quarterback position.
No surprise there. You've gotta swing the bat, and Geno Smith, EJ Manuel, Brandon Weeden, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder have all failed to deliver in the last three years alone. It really is a crapshoot, but general managers can't help themselves (aside from maybe David Caldwell of the Jaguars).
Phil Simms sees where I'm coming from:
Phil Simms: "As of this time, I'm not sold that they're a franchise (QB) there (in the draft)"
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) February 26, 2014
Manziel could the first quarterback off the board, but he's taken the most heat. Whether it's Barry Switzer referring to him as an "arrogant little prick" or Ron Jaworski saying he won't last three games playing like he did at Texas A&M,
Bortles' college coach wouldn't even call him a franchise quarterback. A scout called Bridgewater a second-round pick. Hell, Simms even said that he'd take Geno Smith, who had a terrible rookie season in New York, over any of these guys.
So where have all the good quarterbacks gone? Or are our expectations just wonky after what Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson did two years ago?