AFC stock reports: Playoff shuffle, Week 12 upsets, MVP, and NFL Draft

The search for next franchise quarterback continues

The college football season is coming to an end, which means that we are seeing the last of this year’s quarterback prospects in real game action. The race for number one quarterback in this year’s draft took a turn for the worst when Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was injured and out for the season. With the excellent news following surgery signaling for a full recovery, just how much will this affect Tua’s draft stock is the question.

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is the clear front-runner at the quarterback position with his outstanding 2019 season. With Tagovailoa being out, it’s unclear who will be the second quarterback taken off the board in a draft where so many teams need their next signal-caller. For most, Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert is the next quarterback in line to battle at the top of round one.

The conversation was that Herbert and the Ducks were bound to make the NCAA playoffs despite a loss in Week 1 to Auburn. This weekend’s loss to Arizona State not only will knock Oregon out of contention for the playoffs but also brought more questions than answers when it came to Herbert. The up and down roller coaster of his game was all shown in one game.

Returning to Oregon for his senior season might have done more damage than good for Herbert’s NFL career. However, Tagovailoa’s injury likely helps regain some of that ground. Returning for that senior season allowed scouts to put him under a microscope and nitpick his game. Given his talent, he could still end up going very early to a team that thinks they can develop him.

Herbert has all of the physical traits that you love to see in a quarterback. His cannon for an arm and accuracy downfield is something to drool over. What sets him back is poor decision making and his (in)ability to make the easy throws in the short areas of the field. We saw both of those things come to life against Arizona State where Herbert threw back-to-back interceptions allowing Arizona State to gain a sizable lead. Oregon had to rely on their running attack to catch back up later in the game, which set up Herbert with some nice throws, but it wasn’t enough.

With so many teams in need of their next franchise quarterback, it’s hard to believe he won’t go very early in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Cincinnati and Miami will have the first crack at the quarterbacks most likely, unless Washington is already done with Dwayne Haskins. The Los Angeles Chargers are expecting to move on from Philip Rivers in 2020 which puts them heavily in the race for one of the top QBs. Pittsburgh doesn’t have a first round pick in 2020, but Mason Rudolph has not been the answer. Ben Roethlisberger’s replacement might not be on the team yet. Rudolph was benched during the Week 12 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm is someone to keep an eye on whether he goes back to school for his senior season. He reminds me of former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith in a lot of ways where he doesn’t have the top physical traits, but he is smart when it comes to reading defenses. Another one that is a question mark whether he will return for another season is Utah State’s Jordan Love. There are a lot of traits to love about Love, but he’s had a down season with all of the changes.

Some other quarterbacks to keep an eye on through the process are Washington quarterback Jacob Eason and Oklahoma’s Jalon Hurts. I don’t see either of those quarterbacks going in the first round, however. (Quick Note: Add Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels to your watch list over the next two seasons. The freshman quarterback looks to have real potential.)