Some quarterbacks are drafted for plans down the road. Some are drafted to fill an immediate need. Some are even picked because they were the best available player and were too good to be passed on. Some quarterbacks are even some combination of all three. The following will examine all first-round quarterbacks, their potential, and whether or not I feel they will get some significant regular season time as a starter.
- Baker Mayfield – Cleveland – Starter: Yes
The Browns and Baker have already accepted that they will most likely start the season off with Tyrod Taylor to lead the offense, as to not throw Mayfield to the wolves. However, the Browns have been known to be a revolving door of quarterbacks through the course of any single season, and it’s likely Mayfield starts at some point this season. Now while I can’t confidently predict if Mayfield is the man of their future, I would put money on Cleveland attempting to find out at some point this season.
- Sam Darnold – New York – Starter: Yes
While personally I feel like Darnold will be a bust, the Jets obviously picked him to start Week one. They saw Darnold as the most poised and ready-to-go quarterback of the draft class, with a nice arm and some talent and swagger he seems like a plug and play guy. Whether or not he can play consistently enough to start all 16 games is yet to be seen, but pencil him in to start over McCown and Bridgewater in Week 1.
- Josh Allen – Buffalo – Starter: No
Allen is a project more than a plug and play guy, and he will need to prove that his shaky accuracy in college won’t be a terrible issue moving forward. The Bills have the makings of a winning team this year, even with McCarron or Peterman playing quarterback for a year. Allen will be a stud someday with the proper steps being taken going forward, and Buffalo knows that.
- Josh Rosen – Arizona – Starter: No
Rosen is who I believe to be the best quarterback in this year’s draft, and Arizona is in no rush to throw him in. Signing Sam Bradford for 20 million was a statement, they intend to start him for at least a year or two (assuming he is re-signed after one year) and this will benefit Rosen and the team greatly. Josh Rosen will be in an Aaron Rodgers-esque situation and when he does finally start he will be the future of that franchise.
- Lamar Jackson – Baltimore – Starter: Yes
After John Harbaugh’s praise of Jackson, it’s very hard to imagine he won’t see any part of the offense this season in some way, shape, or form. Although the Ravens have stuck faithfully by Flacco for years, it may be the year that they bench him midway through the season, or even try some unorthodox quarterback-by-committee approach. Lamar Jackson’s athleticism and talent will likely land him in the offense at some point in 2018, and I believe he will leave Ravens’ fans to be pleasantly surprised.
While these are all just one man’s takes on the subject of rookie quarterbacks, I feel like most of the quarterback situations are becoming more and more clear every day, and we will see very soon how accurate these claims are.