All Signs Say This Is An Awful NFL Draft For Quarterbacks
A year after can't-miss QBs Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III when 1st and 2nd overall, respectively, there isn't a single quarterback that NFL experts can seem to get behind in unison.
The best quarterbacks this year are Geno Smith from West Virginia and Matt Barkley from USC. But they are not as highly regarded as guys like Luck and RGIII.
There isn't a single quarterback in Mel Kiper's Top 25 prospects, and Kiper doesn't have any QBs getting drafted in the first round in his latest mock draft.
The best quarterback on CBS's big board of prospects is only #14 overall.
NFL.com's Bucky Brooks wrote optimistically of the 2013 QB class:
"The 2013 class of quarterbacks is short on star power, but features several intriguing prospects with tremendous potential."
Another damning critique of this crop of quarterbacks is what happened today with the Eagles and Michael Vick.
The Eagles have the No. 4 overall pick and a new head coach. Under normal circumstances, Philly would be the ideal candidate to take a highly rated quarterback high in the draft.
Instead, they re-signed the injury-prone, turnover-plagued Vick on a one-year deal that could pay him $10 million.
The Eagles don't make that move if they think they're drafting a franchise quarterback in the top five.
What's it mean?
Teams that are in desperate need of a QB will either, 1) have to give up valuable draft picks to trade for San Francisco's Alex Smith or Seattle's Matt Flynn, or 2) wait until the 3rd or 4th round to draft a quarterback and hope you get lucky like the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson.
Quarterback is the most important position in the NFL. So the fact that there doesn't seem to be any instant-impact QBs in the 2013 draft means that the bad, quarterback-less teams last year will stay that way next year.