However if the player the Rams want is unsuspectedly taken at #1 overall (teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Greg Robinson, or Sammy Watkins) then it gets real.

In a scenario with the “best” player in the draft Jadeveon Clowney still on the board, the Rams could set to once again trade out and get a large sum of picks in return.

Rams general manager Les Snead said at this point the calls for the No. 2 pick have been “flirtatious” and nothing will be serious until it becomes clearer what direction the Houston Texans will take with the No. 1 overall pick.

Chris Long and Robert Quinn are already holding down the DE spot. Clowney would be a luxury for a NON PLAYOFF TEAM. AKA, a pick that won’t make them marginally better because they already have talent at his position.

In my scenario the best thing the Rams could hope for is trade down to three or four and take Clemson’s Sammy Watkins instead.

One thing teams may also want to keep in mind is the words of his college coach George O’Leary who went on record saying Bortles is no franchise QB prospect:

“I think a franchise quarterback comes out once every 10 years, and he came out last year in [Andrew] Luck,” O’Leary said, despite being off just one year. “The ones I see succeed are understudies.”

“Blake has all the things you’re looking for in a quarterback as far as size and mental capacity to handle a lot of things,” O’Leary said. “But that first year is tough because those guys are moving a lot faster than the college guys.

“Blake is going to be fine-tuned to what he needs to get done in the pro ranks.”

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/02/12/george-oleary-on-mad-radio-obrien-knows-how-to-attack/

With Manziel entering we now have our quarterback class completed. The best of bunch will consist of: Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel, Derek Carr, Blake Bortles, Zach Mettenberger, Aaron Murray, Tajh Boyd, and Stephen Morris. There are also some good developmental prospects such as David Fales, Casy Pachall, and Logan Thomas as well.

For an an indepth look at how accurate each player is, check out this piece by Rotoworld. They did the indepth numbers on each player and adjusted for receiver drops.

With all that said, let’s go over some quick NFL comparisons of the top guys.

Teddy Bridgewater NFL Comparison: Ben Roethlisberger

Johnny Manziel NFL Comparison: Doug Flutie

Derek Carr NFL Comparison: Tony Romo

Blake Bortles NFL Comparison: Jay Cutler

Zach Mettenberger NFL Comparison: Matt Ryan

Aaron Murray NFL Comparison: Chase Daniels

Tajh Boyd NFL Comparison: Steve McNair

Stephen Morris NFL Comparison: Tyrod Taylor

However a legitimate concern in this year’s class is at quarterback. Yes the class is loaded with names- Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel, Brett Hundley, Blake Bortles, AJ McCarron, Derek Carr, and AJ Murray just to name a few; but is there a can’t miss prospect in this bunch? According to reports NFL scouts are starting to whisper that there may not be “that guy” in this year’s class.

Jimmy Haslam signing the praises of 2014 @NFL Draft. Had a GM tell me last night it reminds him of the 2011 draft when it comes to QBs. Ouch

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 30, 2013

With Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger all still playing is there hope for a non blue chip prospect to win a title anytime soon? There is that old guard of championship quarterbacks and an emerging, hungry, younger crop of Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Andrew Luck all playing at a high level and able to win it any given year as well.

We all know that missing on a quarterback (or just not having a good one) sets a team back, but with the level of talent at the position these days is it even worth it for a team to overdraft a guy just because they need a passer? If you aren’t going to win the next Super Bowl anyway, why not just wait for that new guy who can step into the Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson etc. class?

All of these questions and more are what NFL teams are going to have to ask themselves this year. The 2014 NFL Draft will be REALLY interesting as far as quarterbacks go.

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