How many QBs will be taken in the first 5 Picks?

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by rm1369

Barkley is supposedly a generational talent and the consensus best player in the draft. Nelson is supposedly as sure a prospect as you will find at a time where oline play is considered subpar across the league. And Chubb is a top talent at the 2nd most important position in the league at a time when no pass rushers were available in free agency and the positional talent in the draft is considered low. Any team moving back at this point likely misses out on those players since teams drafting 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 don’t need QBs. Can it happen? Sure. But to me that’s a lot to come together for 4 or 5 QBs to go when none are really considered elite prospects.

All I'd say in response to this is that neither RB nor OG are currently highly valued positions in the NFL, so while these guys are very highly rated I'm not sure that will translate to a top 5 pick (I'll concede maybe Barkley, particularly since Cleveland presumably won't need a QB at #4).

QB, by contrast, has always been the most coveted position, so I think teams are more willing to reach on a good QB - particularly since it has largely worked out well for teams drafting QBs high in the first round over the last few years even though none of the QBs were generational talents like Luck was touted to be when he was drafted. The Cardinals got screwed last year when KC and Houston jumped in front of them to draft QBs, so Buffalo will need to keep this in mind if they decide not to trade up.

All of this is just my guess as to what's going through the teams' minds, and you may certainly be right and only 3 QBs will be taken - in fact, that's what I would have told you I thought would happen if you'd asked me last week. It's just that when I started looking more closely, it seems like the playing board is set up well for 4 QBs to be taken. As Dam highlighted in his post, every one of the top five teams needs a QB. And there are others lingering not far behind (Miami, Buffalo) who have every reason to think hard about trading up. The Colts-Jets trade has only served to intensify this pressure.

The Colts, for their part, are looking at it conservatively and are only willing to assume that two QBs will be drafted in front of them.