The Year of The Pretty Boys

It's getting to be that time of year. It's NFL Draft Season, and the TMG Draft Zone is back. If the 2013 NFL Draft was known for not having a sure fire star at the top, the 2014 Draft will be known for possibly having too many big names to choose from. Who will be going where, and who will be drafting them, will be discussed at length for the next 4 months. The 2013 NFL Draft will be known as The Year of The Big Uglies. The top seven selections were offensive or defensive lineman. The first skill player chosen was Tavon Austin by the St. Louis Rams, who engineered a trade with Buffalo to move up eight slots and take the dynamic playmaker. The New York Jets followed with cornerback Dee Milliner, then 4 of the next 5 players selected were lineman. Only one quarterback was selected in the first round, with Buffalo taking E.J. Manuel in the 16th slot with the pick they acquired from the Rams in the Austin trade. No running backs went in Round 1, though Giovanni Bernard and Eddie Lacy had big impacts for Cincinnati and Green Bay after going in Round 2. The 2014 NFL Draft will see no such dispersal of position players. It will be The Year of The Pretty Boys. The Quarterback Draft. I caught some grief for making a bold prediction last year that 5 quarterbacks would go in Round 1 of the draft, as the yearly Panic In The Draft Room would set in. Although only one was taken, 6 rookie quarterbacks wound up starting a game in 2013, so I do feel some vindication with my prediction. There was panic, it just waited to hit in season. This year the Panic In The Draft Room will hit long before draft night. It will hit a team hard and they are going to make a bold move up the boards to get the player they want. But this year, the teams that are truly in need of a quarterback are already at the top of the draft. It is going to come down to who REALLY WANTS their man. The quarterbacks in the 2014 NFL Draft are going to command much of the attention this year, and rightfully so. The top three at this time are Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, and Johnny Manziel. Bortles has the NFL prototype size and arm strentgh, Manziel can make plays all over the field, and Bridgewater combines the best of what NFL teams are looking for: accuracy, intelligence, leadership. It will not be a bold prediction to say that these three players will go in the top 5, and it would not be one either to add Derek Carr into the top 5 as well. The younger brother of former 1st Overall Pick David Carr matches up well with Bortles physically and many see him as having the best upside of all the top prospects. As good as these four players are looking right now, take a look at what you might call Tier 2 of the quarterbacks. A.J. McCarron, who won two national titles at Alabama. Tajh Boyd, who led Clemson to a Top 10 season and an Orange Bowl win. Zach Mettenberger and Aaron Murray are coming off of knee injuries, but both were considered Heisman candidates at the start of the season. both should be ready to go by the start of training camps. I have long said that teams picking at the top of the draft have just as important of a selection at the start of Round 2. There are first round talents there, and making the right choice can prove to be just as much of a windfall as the player taken in Round 1. Jacksonville did well in selecting Jonathon Cyprien, and Philadelphia got a steal at tight end with Zack Ertz. I wonder how many teams are going to look at the quarterbacks in the 2014 Draft, see a player who fits their needs and they can get in Round 2, and then take the player who is going to have the biggest impact right away in Round 1. Quarterbacks are going to rule the day in May, but if need a pass rusher or offensive line help as well as a quarterback, I wonder how many teams are going to make the bold move and take Jadaveon Clowney or Jake Matthews and then roll the dice on a quarterback later on in the draft. But in the NFL, you must have the right man at the quarterback position. So the Pretty Boys are going to fly off the draft board like never before. Can you imagine a talent like Clowney falling to Atlanta at #6, and then adding him to a team that fell hard last year due mostly to injuries on both sides of the ball but is just one year removed for the NFC Championship game? The Falcons can sit and wait, and like everyone else they are going to have four months to think it over.