When it comes to this year's QB's. I don't believe in anything that's been reported from any source regarding specific teams. Bortles and Bridgewater would be 2nd day QB's if they were stacked up in the same class with Luck or RGIII. I'd say the same thing if this was three years ago with Newton, Locker, Gabbert and Ponder in the same class. In fact, if I had to rank all of these guys coming out of college. It would go in this order.

 

1. Andrew Luck

2. Cam Newton

3. Robert Griffin III

4. Johnny Manziel

5. Christian Ponder (I was high on him the year we took Gabbert, was hoping to nab him in RD2 though)

6. Jake Locker

7. Teddy Bridgewater

8. E.J Manuel

9. Blaine Gabbert

10. Blake Bortles

 

That's how I view them and rank them if they were coming out of college all at the same time. I honestly didn't know much about Gabbert (much like Bortles this year) up until maybe three month's prior to their respective drafts. That's always concerned me with the QB position. Luck and Newton I knew plenty about prior to them being drafted. I follow the SEC so I saw Newton quite a bit out of Auburn. He was very fun to watch and I knew he'd be able to get by in the NFL. I didn't know that he would be a bit of a headcase from time to time though once he got in the NFL. He experienced a lot of success early on at Auburn and I don't think he was prepared for losses. He's redeemed himself though by making the play-offs in his third season. Same can be said for RGIII and Manziel. Those guys were impressive players as freshman due to their dual threat ability and you could always catch them on the highlight reels on ESPN, etc.

 

Ponder and Manuel, obviously living in Jacksonville, you'll hear about and even watch some FSU games from time to time. I liked what I saw out of Ponder and he should have been a 2nd RD pick that year before the crazy (and now foolish) looking QB run a few years ago. But again, when it comes to these seemingly "out-of-nowhere" QB prospects, I ALWAYS worry about that. I'll always prefer the big name, well known commodity over the guy that JUST emerged. Like I said, you can't deny what Manziel has done in college. Personally, I think Teddy would have been better off staying for his final year at Louisville. It would have further cemented him a better position in 2015's draft. I think what's hurting his stock right now, aside from his poor pro-day showing is the fact that Manziel is a legitimate dual threat at the next level (Which, like it or not, is becoming the trending skill-set now for QB's, Wilson in SEA, Kaepernick in SF are showing that it's possible to win this way) and that Bortles is just a BIG DUDE with a BIG ARM at QB. And he's a bit more lanky for the position. So it's scared off some teams.

 

With that said though. I think he's a better prospect than Bortles, but just a step or two behind Manziel because Manziel has that "IT" factor and Bridgewater doesn't. I think best case scenario, Teddy can potentially end up like Andy Dalton or Ryan Tannehill, worst case, he'll end up like Mark Sanchez or where Sam Bradford is eventually headed to here shortly. He's very smart, he's very accurate, and he makes quick decisions on film. He's also not shy in the pocket and he WILL stand there and take the lick if he has to do it. That's the part I am worried about in the NFL for him. These guys are going to be about a second or two faster and smarter, and if he doesn't have the arm strength on point, he's going to make some costly mistakes. Bortles has him beat in that area because he's got a stronger and faster arm, if he's coached up properly, his upside is going to be greater than Bridgewater's. Same thing with Manziel. If things collapse around Manziel, he'll just tuck it and run, or dance around a bit to make some time for the play to breakdown in the secondary.

 

This is what I think is going to happen though in a few weeks.

 

1. Johnny Manziel will get drafted at #5 overall by OAK. He'll be the first QB taken off the board. That'll be the back-up plan/insurance policy incase Schuab can't get it done early and often enough during the pre-season/regular season.

 

2. Blake Bortles will get drafted at #8 overall by MIN. He'll be Zimmer's guy. Ponder didn't work out due to injuries/inconsistency and Zimmer knows how to coach/correct the defense. He needs a QB with a big arm that can get it done and not get in Peterson's way.

 

3. Teddy Bridgewater falls into the PERFECT situation at #20 for ARZ with Bruce Arians taking him to learn behind and eventually replace Palmer at QB in 2015. Teddy will probably go onto to have the most impressive career by the time we look back at this draftclass in 2016 or 2017 simply because Arians knows exactly what he's doing at the QB position. OAK will ruin Manziel. Bortles will not outshine Peterson in MIN. He'll be a decent QB though. But not quite good enough to hang in there with guys like Rodgers and Stafford in that NFC North division.

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