Now that the Great QB Grab of 2018 is over Josh Allen Youth Jersey , what's ahead for the five first-round quarterbacks selected might be more daunting than getting selected on opening night of the draft.
When NFL teams get desperate at the position, they tend to reach. Or mortgage portions of their future. Or sometimes simple blow it.
Of course, in many other instances, they nail it, from top overall selections Eli Manning, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck to wise lower picks on the first night such as Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan and, yes, Aaron Rodgers.
It really is a crapshoot.
"Everybody's draft board is set up differently, and when I recite to you all the best available player in this draft for the Cleveland Browns organization, this was the best available player," general manager John Dorsey said of taking Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma to begin proceedings. "What he brings to this organization, I couldn't be more excited to have him. Those other guys are really good quarterbacks, too, but I just felt that this was the best fit for this organization moving forward."
As the New York Jets felt with Southern California's Sam Darnold; the Buffalo Bills with Wyoming's Josh Allen, for whom they traded up five spots with Tampa Bay to get; the Arizona Cardinals with Josh Rosen of UCLA, also by using a trade, with Oakland; and the Baltimore Ravens, who concluded Round 1 with 鈥?you guessed it 鈥?a deal with Philadelphia so they could grab 2016 Heisman recipient Lamar Jackson of Louisville.
Five QBs Authentic Jonathan Allen Jersey , the most since the 1999 draft and second to the epic 1983 first round that produced three Hall of Famer quarterbacks (John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino) of the six QBs selected.
On Thursday, as the five teams with new signal callers looked ahead, all they saw and spoke about was sunshine and success.
"We feel he has a very, very bright future," Jets GM Mike Maccagnan said of Darnold, "and really when you put the whole thing together with quarterbacks, you analyze them from an ability standpoint, you analyze them from a character standpoint, and then you see what you think they can grow into, and we felt very good about Sam from that standpoint."
So what are the challenges ahead for these five potential franchise quarterbacks?
BROWNS
History certainly plays a role here. Since re-entering the NFL in 1999, the Browns haven't had anything more than stopgap QBs. That's almost two decades of searching, with the last two seasons' record of 1-31 as abysmal as it gets.
Enter Mayfield, who eventually should beat out newly acquired veteran Tyrod Taylor, if not immediately.
Dorsey adeptly evaluated the pros about Mayfield:
"It is a combination of things. I talk about hand size; he has 9 6-8th (inch) hands. ... That is good for the elements in November and December. He has feet to extend the play. He has really good accuracy. He has a quick release. He has a strong arm. His efficiency in the red zone offense is uncanny.
"You know what else separates him? He is hungry. He wants to be a really good football player, and he is going to be a really good football player."
Mayfield also is short for the position at just over 6-foot. He has to adjust to the pro-style offense of coach Hue Jackson. He must show he can take the kind of hits college players couldn't deliver but the pros do regularly.
And while teammates adore him for his leadership skills, there's also a cockiness and borderline rebelliousness that can take a player (and team) in several directions, not all of them positive.
JETS
Size is no issue with Darnold. Nor are arm strength or competitiveness.
Like Mayfield Authentic Arden Key Jersey , he can sit behind a veteran, Josh McCown, who is a good teacher, though that won't be for too long, either.
What must be cured is Darnold's penchant for turnovers and sloppy plays.
"Obviously, we don't want turnovers on any level," coach Todd Bowles said, "but we think his upside and his ability far outweighs the turnovers. And sometimes just trying to do too much, sometimes trying to make the wrong reads and things he can learn from. Getting to know him, we think those things can be corrected, and I know just talking with him personally those things can be corrected."
BILLS
Allen might have a higher ceiling than any of the QBs taken Thursday. He's tall and solid and won't be bothered by fall and winter weather in Western New York. He's smart, had a sensational offseason to boost his draft stock, and throws a terrific deep ball among the many spirals he unleashes.
Allen also comes from the Mountain West, not the highest level of college conferences, and his career completion percentage is a mere 56.2.
"We just think his makeup is going to help him work on his flaws," GM Brandon Beane says. "We like a lot of his strengths. And that'll be part of our job here is to accentuate his strengths and work on his fundamentals and the things that his so-called weaknesses are."
Buffalo has veteran AJ McCarron, an infrequent starter with Cincinnati before the Bills brought him aboard this year.
CARDINALS
All three of Arizona's 2017 quarterbacks were gone, most notably the retired Carson Palmer. Although the Cardinals signed Sam Bradford in free agency, it's conceivable Rosen will win the starting job. Indeed Adidas Jonathan Quick Jersey , many NFL personnel people rated him the most ready QB for the pros.
Rosen certainly has an edge, which cuts two ways. His competitiveness and desire to outdo anyone and everyone can be a major plus. It also can backfire and lead to impatience and bad decisions.
He's also had some injury issues, including a concussion.
"To make a difference, you've got to be different," new coach Steve Wilks said. "I love his personality. He's wired the right way."
RAVENS
In some ways, this is as intriguing as any first-round selection.
Baltimore's starter, Joe Flacco, is The Philadelphia 76ers listed Zhaire Smith as their 1-B choice on their draft board.
The Sixers landed the Texas Tech guard – they just had to give up their 1-A to get him.
The Sixers acquired Smith from the Phoenix Suns for Villanova standout Mikal Bridges in a swap of first-round picks that gives the blossoming Eastern Conference playoff team one more rotation played needed toward completing ”The Process.”
But the key to the deal may not be Smith. It’s the unprotected first-round pick in 2021 that the Suns surrendered in the deal that coach and acting general manager Brett Brown pegged as the pivotal part of the trade.
”How do you acquire things that attract stars or develop stars,” Brown asked. ”That pick might be the key to all of this. That pick might be the thing that links a possible trade.”
The Sixers are used to waiting in Brown’s five-year tenure; the franchise had made a habit of waiting for picks Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz to make delayed debuts for a variety of reasons.
Smith, who worked out twice for the Sixers during the draft process, will fight for minutes in the rotation. But at least he’ll play.
”They run in transition. I feel I can be a part of that,” Smith said. ”Ben Simmons, he can bring it up and make good passes. I’m a good cutter, so he’ll make me look good.”
For a while, the Sixers appeared to have a happy homecoming lined up on draft night. They selected Bridges with the 10th pick, a decision universally applauded in Philadelphia because of his starring role for the national champion Wildcats and because his mother works in human resources for the 76ers’ parent company.
The family affair turned sour in a hurry.
Bridges was traded shortly after he wrapped a press conference expressing his excitement at playing for his hometown team.
Brown said Bridges was listed as the 76ers’ 1-A player – their top choice – and had Smith at 1-B. Once the Suns sweetened the pot with a first-round pick, Brown knew the Sixers had to act on the deal.
The 19-year-old Smith averaged 11.3 points Broncos Elite Jerseys , 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game in his lone season at Texas Tech.
”We believe entirely in time he has the ability to be incredibly unique and maybe even great,” Brown said.
The Sixers also selected Wichita State guard Landry Shamet with the 26th overall pick. He averaged 14.9 points and shot 44 percent from 3-point range in his sophomore season with the Shockers.
The Sixers made their picks just two weeks after Bryan Colangelo resigned as president of basketball operations in the wake of a Twitter debacle where he was found ”careless and in some instances reckless” of sharing of sensitive team information.
Brown was put in charge on an interim basis as the franchise searches for a new general manager and made all final decisions on draft night. Brown, who took the 76ers from 10 wins to the third seed in the Eastern Conference in just two seasons, signed a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2021-2022 season.
Brown had Smith, Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection, in his sight all along.
”He was like, `We’re going to make something happen,”’ Smith said. ”Apparently, he did.”
The Sixers won 52 games this season and beat Miami in the first round of the playoffs before they were eliminated in the conference semis by Boston. Under Brown’s watch, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have blossomed into two of the top young players in the league.
The Sixers have roughly $30 million in salary cap space and expected to be players in the free-agent market.
”We are star hunting, or we are star developing. That’s how you win a championship,” Brown said.
At Barclays Center, the NBA draft site, a plane flying above the arena carried three banners. One had LeBron James’ No. 23 with a crown and the Liberty Bell, another urges him to ”Strive for GOATNESS” and the last reads (hash)PHILLYWANTSLEBRON. Power Home Remodeling, a Philadelphia-based company, has become a James recruiter, originally setting up three billboards in Cleveland urging him to come to the city. The company also flew Thursday’s billboards in Brooklyn.
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