Even before the 2013 Senior Bowl concluded on Saturday, there were many that had come to the conclusion that the quarterback position was lacking a great deal. No one, outside of a raw E.J. Manuel, swayed that opinion in Mobile. While an all-star game isn't a tremendous arena for scouts to look at as it relates to a quarterback, no one really stood out here.
Meanwhile, Geno Smith was sitting at home after declining an invite and Matt Barkley was unable to play due to an injury.
I guess it could be concluded that they were helped out the most by a myriad of bad performances across the board. Ryan Nassib, everyone's sweetheart, was beyond atrocious in this one. The Syracuse produce struggled making secondary reads and just didn't look comfortable in the pocket. North Carolina State's Mike Glennon showed flashes, but also validated my opinion that he is way too inconsistent to be a first-round prospect. Tyler Wilson didn't have much of a shot to show what he was made of, but seemed to stettle for short passes instead of showing us that strong arm. He also looked tentative at times out there.
This doesn't even take into account Zac Dysert, who committed one of the absolutely worse passes that I have seen in a great while on a late two-point conversion attempt.
Needless to say, there isn't a Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Andrew Luck or Cam Newton in this draft class. I even went as far to say on Saturday that Ryan Tannehill would be the consensus No. 1 overall quarterback had he came out this year instead of 2012.
The teams that drafted those quarterbacks I listed above are sitting pretty right now. The Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks made the postseason, while the San Francisco 49ers will be battling in Super Bowl XLVII a week from today with Kaepernick starting under center.
Where does this leave the teams currently in need of a franchise-type guy?
Do the Kansas City Chiefs reach for Geno Smith or Tyler Wilson with the first overall pick? The need is definitely there, but neither represent any type of value. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills, all selecting in the top-10, are also going to be looking for a quarterback in April.
How do they justify even looking at one of these marginal quarterback prospects?
It is times like this when I am reminded of the 2007 NFL Draft. JaMarcus Russell went No. 1 overall to the Oakland Raiders despite the fact some scouts had Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson and even Patrick Willis ranked above him. Brady Quinn, Kevin Kolb and Drew Stanton were the next three quarterbacks off the board that season.
Teams in need of a quarterback are definitely going to have to think about biting the bullet for another season or signing a veteran to take over short-term. While the rookie wage scale has impacted how teams view selecting a quarterback early, they still cannot under value the impact of owning a high pick.
This article is a primer for a segment that eDraft Radio will have for you coming up Monday. Remember, the show airs from 3-5 PM EST every Monday and Wednesday.