Who To Watch At Potential Positions Of Need: Quarterback

There is no position on the field that is more important, that than the QB. Without a franchise QB, we will always be praying that our defense can carry us to the promised land. This strategy almost worked twice for us in 2009 and 2010, but those were the exceptions to the rule. The rule in this day and age of professional football, is that you need to be able to pass to be a consistent winner. It's hard to count out Geno Smith completely, but let's be honest, he hasn't shown us much to be hopeful for when it counts. He can come back and prove a lot of us wrong, but for now, I am ok with saying he is not our future. This is even more true for Ryan Fitzpatrick. We know he will offer us more consistency than Geno, but at best, he is average. We shouldn't forget that he is getting pretty long in the tooth. Then there is the rookie, Bryce Petty. I know he looked good in the preseason, but so did Eric Ainge. We can't rush him like we have so many other QBs. He needs to sit and learn. He probably has the best potential to be our future QB out of our current 3, but he may be 2 years away from being ready. That is an eternity, and no one in this organization has time to wait for that potentially working out. Drafting competition for Petty, or an outright starter, is something we will most likely be doing in the 2016 draft. Here are some of the names to keep an eye on this season.

Big Names:

Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State (vs. Northern Illinois today; 3:30; ABC/ESPN2)

One Strength- Can take over a game with his arm or legs

One Weakness- His resume might not be long enough for a lot of teams

Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State (vs. Rutgers today; 8:00; Big Ten Network)

One Strength- Has an NFL arm

One Weakness- Anything but consistent

Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State (vs. Air Force today; noon; ABC)

One Strength- Good Size for the NFL

One Weakness- Not at his best when moved by pressure

Next Tier:

Jared Goff, QB, California (vs. Texas today; 7:30; FOX)

One Strength- Stands tall in the pocket, and delivers under pressure

One Weakness- Isn't very accurate when forced out of the pocket

Cody Kessler, QB, USC (vs. Stanford today; 8:00; ABC)

One Strength- Plays in a pro style offense

One Weakness- Doesn't have the best arm

Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU (vs. SMU today; 8:00; FSN)

One Strength- Has tremendous athleticism

One Weakness- Probably wouldn't have a healthy NFL career with his size/style of play combo

Other Guys:

Brandon Doughty, QB, Western Kentucky (vs. Indiana today; 4:00; ESPNews)

One Strength- Can make all the throws consistently

One Weakness- Could be looked at as a "college numbers guy"

Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee (vs. Western Carolina today; 7:00; ESPNU)

One Strength- Is very athletic

One Weakness- Has an elongated delivery

Gunner Kiel, QB, Cincinnati (vs. Miami (OH) today; 3:30; ESPN3)

One Strength- Has a very strong arm

One Weakness- When things break down around him, so does his fundamentals

Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State (vs. North Dakota today; 3:30; ESPN3)

One Strength- Has all the natural talent teams are looking to foster

One Weakness-  Needs to use his eyes better

Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford (vs. USC today; 8:00; ESPN)

One Strength- Well built frame for the position

One Weakness- Doesn't put balls in the best places for his receivers

Feel free to mention any prospects you guys have your eyes on.