[Quesadilla Joe]

Also from Breer, about the 2018 QB class...

We’ve been over how forcing a quarterback investment in the wrong year can be catastrophic for a franchise. And several teams seem to be listening.

Why? I’d love to say it’s because they read it here. The truth is, this year it’s easier, because next year’s quarterback class figures to be much better. Maybe Trubisky, Mahomes and Watson wind up making it. The consensus in league circles is that USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Wyoming’s Josh Allen have a significantly better chance too.

So the Niners and Browns and Jets may well look pretty sharp in 12 months time.

“I think all three (this year) are bottom 10 starters, maybe Mahomes with his upside creeps in to the bottom 15,” said one AFC college scouting director. “The kid from USC has a chance; Rosen has a ton of ability but tons of issues, like dedication, to work through. And the Wyoming kid is a big, talented player. It’s a good group. It should be much better than this group.”

The Niners, by the way, took Iowa’s C.J. Beathard in the third round, the Browns took DeShone Kizer in the second round, and the Jets punted on the ’17 class all together. So each team left its quarterback options open, and in addition to the college kids, Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins could be available.

Put it together, and we’ll all be over-analyzing how Rosen, Darnold and Allen perform in 2017 (should they all declare). Should we just go ahead and start now? Let’s do it! Here’s a second executive, this from another AFC team, to break down quickly the holes in the résumés of Rosen, Darnold and Allen.

• Allen: “I’ve heard all good things. And from what I’ve seen, the raw tools are all there, but he needs to develop his accuracy and his toughness. The size and arm talent are outstanding.”

• Darnold: “The USC kid, the makeup, the intangibles, the intelligence, everything is there. He’s the most accurate of the group. He’s probably the least physically talented (of the three), but he’s the guy you’d pick to play a game right now if you had to. He does have a little bit of a windup.”

• Rosen: “He’s the one I know the best—he’s got size, athletic tools, velocity. He’s just a mess off the field and he’s coming off the injury. He needs to grow up, but the talent is off the charts.”

As for how this group stacks up to the one just drafted into the NFL, our exec said, “I like Trubisky best, and I think they have a chance to be better than Trubisky was coming out. This was not a good year (at QB).”

And if next year is what we’re expecting, sitting this one out figures to make a handful of teams prescient in their restraint.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/05/04/d...draft-notebook