Many thought that Howie Roseman should have gotten something – anything – in exchange for Super Bowl hero Nick Foles. But Foles’ situation was one of the most unique spots in NFL history. And Roseman was actually proven correct by not trading Foles before last season as Carson Wentz went down with an injury yet again and Foles stepped in and led the Birds to the divisional round of the playoffs.
As the MMQB recently pointed out, many NFL front offices are being realistic when it comes to the quarterback position. When drafting QBs, you just never know for sure.
There’s a reason Tom Brady went in the sixth round, a reason why Aaron Rodgers almost fell out of the first round, and conversely a reason why guys like Blake Bortles (No. 3 overall pick in 2014) and Sam Bradford (No. 1 overall in 2010) become backups. Despite all these new analytics and despite NFL teams staffing dozens of dudes just to monitor college football – things still slip through the cracks and drafting remains an inexact science.
With quarterback being the most important position in sports, the new trend in the NFL is about to be value drafting at the QB position. As NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt reported in late March, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said he wants the Eagles to draft a QB almost every year.
Though we haven’t seen the payoff of this practice yet, the Cardinals could soon be trend-setters in the league if they trade away Josh Rosen and then select Kyler Murray.
The thought is: whenever you get the chance to upgrade at QB, you take that chance.
In the family tree of this thinking is the idea of drafting quarterbacks that slip in the draft even if you have a QB you are comfortable with.
The Eagles know better than anyone what the benefit is of having two good quarterbacks, so don’t be surprised if Roseman targets a QB in the fourth or fifth round. The Birds have the 127th (fourth round), 138th (fourth round) and 163rd (fifth) picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and quarterbacks like Will Grier of West Virginia and Jarrett Stidham of Auburn could potentially fall that far.
Buffalo’s Tyree Jackson, Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson and Boise State’s Brett Rypien could also be sitting around in the fourth.
