2019 NFL Draft: Quarterbacks will eventually fly up board

There’s a thought that the 2019 NFL Draft doesn’t have many top-flight quarterbacks worth taking in the first round. In reality? Just give it time.

Two years ago, the same was said about that class. Mitchell Trubisky was expected to be a first-round pick even though he only started for one season at North Carolina. After Trubisky, the trio worth taking about involved DeShone Kizer, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. While Kizer has been an abject bust to this point, Mahomes is about to be the league’s reigning MVP while Watson is a star who led the Houston Texans to an AFC South crown this season.

Looking ahead to this class, Dwayne Haskins is likely going to be the top quarterback when the smoke clears. Haskins is a terrific athlete with a big arm out of a major program in Ohio State. For now, he seems the only safe first-round choice among the quarterbacks.

Of course, things are going to shift dramatically between now and April 25. Next week, the Senior Bowl will give some of the participants a boost. Keep an eye on Drew Lock of the University of Missouri and Duke’s Daniel Jones. There’s a notion that both Lock and Jones are going to make it into the second day of the draft. History says otherwise.

Then there’s Kyler Murray. Murray signed with the Oakland A’s of Major League Baseball before the college football season, intent on playing in the big leagues. Instead, Murray went on to win the Heisman Trophy with the Oklahoma Sooners and now has declared for the NFL Draft. It’s unclear whether Murray is going to end up playing baseball or football, but there’s a belief that even with his height (Murray is listed at 5-foot-10), he’s going to be a first-round choice.

As time goes on, teams that need a quarterback are going to start talking themselves into players such as Murray, Jones and Lock. If any or all of them impress throughout the process — think Senior Bowl, Pro Days and Combine — that internal conversation will only get easier.

A few franchises to keep an eye on include the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. All five of them need long-term answers at the most important position in sports, and while Cincinnati and New York don’t need new starters in 2019, the urgency should be there to replace the incumbents.

The NFL Draft isn’t for another three-plus months, but don’t sleep on the quarterback class. Eventually, these kids will fire up the board, whether they deserve to or not.