NFL Draft: Which teams will look to draft a quarterback in the first round?

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Carson Hathaway, General Assignment Reporter

The NFL Draft has finally arrived. We could see as many as four quarterbacks selected in the first round on Thursday. Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock and Daniel Jones have all been touted as potential first-round draft picks. Which teams will consider drafting one of these quarterbacks?

Each team that currently owns a first-round pick will be placed into one of these three groups:

Group one: Won’t consider selecting a quarterback in the first round

Group two: Needs a future franchise quarterback

Group three: Could look for a replacement

Group one: Won’t consider selecting a quarterback in the first round

The following teams won’t consider selecting a quarterback in the first round because of one of the following:

  1. They just recently drafted a quarterback in the first round
  2. They recently just gave a contract extension to their current quarterback
  3. They recently just signed a quarterback to a big contract
  4. They already have a young quarterback

Teams in group one: 49ers, Jets, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Bills, Vikings, Titans, Seahawks, Ravens, Texans, Eagles, Colts, Chiefs, Rams

Group two: Needs a future franchise quarterback

Giants: After passing up on a quarterback with the second overall pick in last year’s draft, the pressure is on Dave Gettleman to land Eli Manning’s future replacement in this draft. The Giants should seriously consider drafting Dwayne Haskins if he is available when it’s their turn to pick.

Broncos: Joe Flacco is 34 years of age and has not shown any signs of improvement. The Broncos will have the opportunity to draft a quarterback with their 10th overall pick. If the Broncos do indeed select a quarterback, than he will likely begin the season sitting behind Flacco, similar to what we saw from Lamar Jackson in Baltimore this past season.

Dolphins: The quarterbacks currently on Miami’s roster are… Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jake Rudock and Luke Falk. Those aren’t the most appealing options. We all know Miami will draft a quarterback, but we don’t know if it will be in this draft or if they will wait until 2020.

Redskins: It appears that Case Keenum will be the Redskins starting quarterback this season. Being that Keenum only has one year left on his current deal, his long-term future with the Redskins is uncertain. The Redskins will eventually have to look for their future franchise quarterback.

Group three: Could look for a replacement

Cardinals: Despite using their 10th overall pick on Josh Rosen in last year’s draft, many believe that the Cardinals will use their first overall pick on Kyler Murray.

Raiders: We aren’t sure how much faith Jon Gruden has in Derek Carr to be the Raiders long-term quarterback. With three first-round selections, the Raiders will certainly have the opportunity to select a quarterback.

Lions: Since drafting Matthew Stafford a decade ago, the Lions have just three playoff appearances and zero playoff wins. Will the Lions look to jumpstart a rebuild and move on from the former first-overall pick?

Bengals: Andy Dalton has put up subpar statistics over the past three seasons while failing to lead his team to the playoffs in that span. The Bengals new head, the former Rams quarterbacks coach, Zac Taylor may prefer to build around a quarterback from this draft rather than sticking with Dalton.

Packers: In 2005, the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers despite having a star quarterback in Brett Favre. We could see a similar draft strategy this year from the Packers, who may look for their predecessor at quarterback. Remember, Aaron Rodgers is 35 years old.

Falcons: Matt Ryan is over 30 years old, the Falcons could look for his eventual replacement.

Panthers: Cam Newton will be 30 when next season kicks off. That, along with his constantly banged-up shoulder, should question how much longer he has as an effective starting quarterback.

Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger is 37 years old, the Steelers will eventually need to look for his predecessor.  

Chargers: Like the aforementioned Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers is also 37 years old. Could the Chargers find Rivers eventual replacement in this draft?

Patriots: At the level he’s still performing at, it may not seem like it but Tom Brady is 41 years old. The Patriots have been without a quarterback who could replace Tom Brady since trading away Jimmy Garoppolo. Father Time will eventually catch up to Brady, so the Patriots may try to target his predecessor.