This is not the year for an NFL team to need a quarterback

Every once in a while, there is a great quarterback class coming out of college. This will not be the case during the NFL Draft 2019.

We saw arguably the greatest in 1983, when John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O’Brien and Dan Marino, in that order, were taking in the first round. Three went on to become Hall of Famers, while O’Brien had a solid career and Eason started in Super Bowl XX for the New England Patriots.

Two years ago, the draft gave us Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes III and Deshaun Watson. Trubisky looks to be on his way toward a nice career, while Watson is a star and Mahomes might be a generational talent on the verge of an MVP award.

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Last spring we had another huge class with five first-round quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold led the way, followed by Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson. Mayfield and Darnold appear to be stars in the making, while the jury remains out on the remaining trio.

Unfortunately for teams in need of a quarterback this year, there won’t be any such class on the way. The NFL Draft 2019 will not be a happy quarterback hunting ground. Oregon’s Justin Herbert was arguably the best of the bunch, but he’s staying with the Ducks for another year. Dwayne Haskins has made himself eligible and the Ohio State talent is almost certain to go in the first round as the top quarterback on the board, but there’s little behind him. Teams would either need to talk themselves into someone like Drew Lock or Will Grier, or see a tremendous combine/pro day combo from an upstart who gains momentum in the process.

Luckily, there aren’t a lot of teams which would be in the position to draft a quarterback high. It would be a mild shock if the Raiders move on from Derek Carr at this point, taking them and their three first-round picks off the board. The Broncos could pull the proverbial trigger in theory, but Case Keenum is there at $16 million this season and general manager John Elway might be unsure after whiffing badly on Paxton Lynch.

Read: NFL Free Agency 2019 – Which Teams are in Good Shape?

The teams that might be willing to roll the dice are the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins. Jacksonville has the biggest need after watching Blake Bortles turn into a human turnover machine these last five years. New York has another year of Eli Manning, but nobody waiting in the wings to replace him. Miami is likely moving on from Ryan Tannehill, creating a significant void. Washington simply has to protect against the reality that Alex Smith may not ever play against after his gruesome leg injury.

All of this makes for great intrigue as we head towards free agency and, eventually, the NFL Draft 2019.