There are several teams heading into the offseason in search of their starting quarterback for the 2017 season. They will have a bunch of options to fill that all-important position. The draft features possibilities like Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer, Mitch Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes. Meanwhile, there are veteran options (either free agents or trade targets) like Kirk Cousins, Tony Romo, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor and AJ McCarron. What’s the best option? I reached out to five personnel executives from teams with established quarterbacks and posed this hypothetical question: If your team had a glaring quarterback need, which option would you pursue to solve the problem? Here are their answers.
2017 NFL DRAFT
Executive 1: Kirk Cousins
"My first option would be to find a way to get Kirk Cousins. I think there’s a big dropoff after him, including college and pro options. If I couldn’t land Cousins, I’d target AJ McCarron over Jimmy Garappolo."
Executive 2: Tony Romo
"If you are close to winning, Romo is by far the best option. Obviously, if you are looking for a long-term solution, you would be more likely to pursue Garappolo, (Mike) Glennon or one of the QBs in the draft."
Executive 3: Romo
"I’d make a run at Tony Romo. I think he can still play at a high level."
Executive 4: Davis Webb
"If I were a team like Cleveland, I would take impact players at (pick Nos.) 1 and 12 and then trade back into the bottom of the first round for Davis Webb. I think he will end up being the best quarterback of this draft class."
Executive 5: AJ McCarron
"I wouldn’t feel good about making a major commitment to any of these quarterbacks. If I had to choose one, I would go after McCarron. Ideally, you get him for a late second- or early third-round pick. Then, if it doesn’t work out, you draft a QB in 2018."
Summary: That’s two votes for Romo and one apiece for Cousins, Webb and McCarron.
Conclusion: Most of these executives seem to prefer the veteran signal-callers over the quarterback options in the 2017 NFL Draft. However, the Davis Webb scenario for Cleveland has me intrigued (I need to go study some more of his tape). I think the best option might be to wait for next year before going all-in on a quarterback. In the meantime, do your homework on the quarterback options in the middle rounds of the upcoming draft and pray that you get lucky and land the next Dak Prescott.
Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter @MoveTheSticks.
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