Rank the big 4 QBs & mock the first 3 picks in the draft

Josh Rosen
Baker Mayfield
Sam Darnold
---(Tier drop)
Josh Allen

Browns - Darnold
Giants - Barkley
Jets - Rosen

For the record, I want Rosen, not Mayfield.

Top QB’s

1. Darnold
2. Rosen
3. Allen
4. Mayfield


Draft

1. Browns - Sam Darnold

2. Giants - Saquon Barkley

3. Jets - Josh Rosen

Damn I like Rosen.

1a. Darnold
1b. Rosen
Distant 2. Allen
Very distant 3. Mayfield

I guess I'd probably rank them this way: Darnold, Rosen, Allen, Mayfield. However, I love the upside of Allen and I think Rosen is probably the "safest" pick, except for the concussion history. Rosen has the highest floor and Allen the highest ceiling. My thought, however, is that Darnold would be voted most likely to succeed in this class.

As for the mock, I think it will go this way:

Browns: Josh Allen
Giants (or Bills): Sam Darnold
Jets: Josh Rosen

Maybe I'm reading too much into Hue Jackson's claim that Tyrod Taylor would definitely be the Browns' starter this year. You most likely wouldn't start Josh Allen in Week 1, but I could see Darnold, Rosen and Mayfield being relatively ready to go in Week 1, depending where they're drafted.

I think the Giants (or the Bills, if they trade up for this pick) will find it too tough to pass up on Darnold, since he probably checks off most of the boxes when you're evaluating QBs. If Rosen goes second in my scenario, I'd happily pick Darnold. If Darnold and Rosen are the first two picks in some order, my choice would be Allen over Mayfield. Being gritty is great, but I'll go for the tools over grit. Doug Flutie was small and gritty. He was an OK quarterback in the NFL, but I'd rather go after the higher ceiling. I want the Jets to win a Super Bowl before I die. That's why I'd almost be tempted to go after Allen even if all three were somehow available.

I realize I'm waffling, but I think the Jets probably feel somewhat the same way. To make this trade, you have to love three of these QBs. Otherwise, you'd run the risk of not having a QB that you love be available at the No. 3 pick.

I was driving home from work at 5 p.m. Saturday, and some blowhard host on WFAN was ripping the Jets for this trade (although I realize that you have to play the contrarian in order to get phone calls). His logic (and I use that term loosely) was that they shouldn't have traded up for a QB because guys like JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Tim Tebow, Jake Locker, Johnny Manziel, E.J. Manuel, Robert Griffin, Brandon Weeden, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, Josh Freeman, Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart and Vince Young failed as first-round picks.

OK, I agree that all those guys sucked. However, what was his point? That the Jets should refrain from drafting a QB in the first round because other teams have drafted first-round busts at the position? Should they wait until the sixth round to pick one, since that's when the Patriots drafted Sparkle Pony? Sorry, I'll take my chances that I can draft a better one at No. 3 overall than waiting until the later rounds.

Also, I'm getting tired of so many people saying that they'd rather that the Jets pick later and take the top-four QB that's left over, since they have such a poor track record of drafting. First of all, the guys who drafted Lam Jones and Vernon Gholston aren't working in the organization anymore. Second, we employ a scouting department. Those guys spend the whole year doing player evaluations. Why employ them if you don't want to pay attention to their evaluations? Perhaps we'll end up picking the wrong guy. Still, I want to be the team making the decision, rather than accepting the leftovers of teams who pick in front of us. If we fail, we fail (and I'm used to seeing it happen). I still want us to draft a QB that we truly believe in, rather than settling for someone who was the last top-tier guy available after five teams picked ahead of us.