The Other Guys

Love for quarterbacks not named Trevor Lawrence could be a bit too strong

NEW YORK — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is a generational talent and the best player in this NFL draft. That’s why Urban Meyer took the Jacksonville job, and that’s why the Jaguars are drafting Lawrence No. 1 overall on April 29, no questions asked.

But after Lawrence, the best players in this draft are not quarterbacks. So it’s a bit curious that the Jets and Niners are acting with such certainty about BYU’s Zach Wilson and, if the rumors are true, Alabama’s Mac Jones.

Oregon left tackle Penei Sewell, Florida tight end Kyle Pitts and LSU wideout Ja’Marr Chase are potentially franchise-changing talents, and after Lawrence they are the players that have most of the teams in the top 10 drooling.

Granted, quarterbacks are just treated differently. It’s the most important position. There is almost no prohibitive cost for landing a great one and teams that don’t have one are desperate.

So maybe that’s what is happening here: Maybe desperation is ruling the top of this draft.

It’s strange that a QB like Wilson, who played behind a strong offensive line against weak competition, is being treated as such a sure thing over some of these other blue-chip prospects — let alone over Sam Darnold, who I believe will light it up in Joe Brady’s Panthers offense.

It’s unusual that the Niners’ aggressive trade up would be for Jones, whom many evaluators considered a late-first/early-second-round prospect prior to Kyle Shanahan’s reported interest.

It’s also incredibly off that the quarterback who buried Lawrence in last year’s College Football Playoff, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, isn’t the one jumping toward the top of the board.

Of course, everyone evaluates these players independently and comes to their own conclusions. Some teams are in different stages of the process than others, and that might dictate their desire or need to make a change for the long term or go all-in for now.

Also, when you’re selecting No. 2 overall and you love a quarterback, as the Jets do, you take him because he’s there and you hope to not be picking there again for a long time.

Plus there’s the combination of a weaker projected quarterback class next year and this year’s uncertainty about so many prospects due to opt-outs and a compromised scouting process.

But I’m skeptical that suddenly three QBs are being fawned over as sure things, with Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance also projected first-rounders, when only one quarterback has warranted that praise the whole way.

Lawrence is the one generational talent in this QB class — so good that the No. 1 pick has been set for months — and yet others are being treated as the sure No. 2 and 3 picks as if they are no-brainer moves.

Wilson and Jones might become stars, but frankly I think the Jets and Niners are doing every other team behind them a favor by locking on to these other quarterbacks because the better players are sliding down the board to their foes.

Injury-apolis: This weekend was especially important in the NFL draft process. About 150 prospects traveled to Indianapolis to undergo an in-person medical examination with an NFL medical staff.

The pandemic’s cancellation of the annual NFL combine in late February eliminated the centralized medical gathering process that typically takes place two months before the draft.

Instead, this year, there were 330 virtual exams performed on the athletes, with the NFL’s 32 medical staffs assigned about 10 athletes apiece. Labs, tests and imaging were completed at designated sites closer to the athletes’ homes around the country.

But NFL evaluators still wanted more information and assurance, even as general managers, coaches and scouts gathered what they could themselves through trips to colleges’ pro days.

So this weekend was designed for teams to take a closer look at the top prospects, as well as those with medical histories who warranted a closer exam.

Each team was allowed to send just one orthopedic surgeon and one athletic trainer this year. All NFL medical personnel in Indy are already vaccinated.

To limit players’ exposure to others, not every team examined every prospect. Instead, a select group of surgeons examined each player and will share that information with all 32 teams.