The Buffalo Bills are among a large group of NFL teams that could be looking for a starting quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft. With a new offensive coordinator on board, and uncertainty surrounding returning quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor and Nathan Peterman, we take a look around the NFL at QB-needy teams.
The Cleveland Browns have hired former Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey. If Dorsey can’t bring in his former quarterback, Alex Smith, he might decided to give DeShone Kizer time to develop. If they don’t believe in any of the 2018 rookie QBs, Cleveland will look to trade the first overall pick for a king’s ransom. One way or another the top pick figures to be used on a QB.
The New York Giants won’t be dumping Eli Manning but are very clearly in the market for a new franchise QB to eventually take his place. They are almost certain to take a QB if they believe the second one off the board is going to be a franchise QB.
The Indianapolis Colts (third overall) are the real wild card in the early portion of the draft. The team hoped for the best with Andrew Luck’s injured shoulder and got burned. Luck is allegedly getting better but then that was the story last offseason, as well. They are a real threat to take a QB even if only to stash him away as Plan B for a few years before either dumping Luck or trading one of the signal callers away. With Irsay, it is even possible that he could take a QB with the intention of trading that newly-picked player during the draft.
The Denver Broncos started several QBs in 2017 looking for anyone who could lead the offense. It’s possible that Elway may have an interest in free agent Kirk Cousins to pair with the solid defense. If he does, the Broncos won’t be taking a QB in the draft. If Cousins doesn’t end up in Denver then the Broncos figure to take a QB early.
The New York Jets are desperate enough for a QB to move up to number 1 overall or to number 3 if they can’t swing a deal with the Browns.
The Cincinnati Bengals pick sits at 12. Despite all of the new-found love for Andy Dalton in Western New York, the fact remains that the Bengals were just awful in 2017. Much of the blame falls on Dalton. The Bengals may well be looking for a QB, though they probably won’t move into the top 5 to get one. Dalton isn’t that bad.
Washington will need a QB if the team can’t finally sign Cousins to a long-term deal. Snyder gave up a king’s ransom to get RGIII. That decision really hurt the team but Snyder is the type of guy who doesn’t let little things like reality get in his way. The team is a real threat to trade into the top 5 picks.
The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in need of a QB after Carson Palmer decided to call it a career. Arizona will have a new head coach so they might be willing to trade into the top 5 to get the new coach “his” QB.
There are three teams in the top three picks who are highly likely to take a QB. It doesn’t help that the teams at 5 and 6 (Broncos, Jets) are also needing quarterbacks in the worst way. Add to that three more teams in the top 15 who are threats to trade up for a signal caller. The QBs worthy of being selected in the first round may be gone long before Buffalo can get into position to select the one Beane wants.