The 2017 NFL draft is viewed as one of the deeper defensive drafts in recent memory. In some ways, it is no surprise then that some teams elected to address offense in the first round. Many likely figure they can get quality defensive players on day two and day three, so why not get offense from weaker positions earlier?
Three quarterbacks went off the board, all following moves up the board. The Chicago Bears moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 to draft Mitchell Trubisky. The Kansas City Chiefs moved up from No. 27 to No. 10 to draft Patrick Mahomes. Finally, the Houston Texans moved up from No. 25 to No. 12 to draft DeShaun Watson.
I anticipated more QB action on day one, but it ended with Watson. Now, we head into day two with the next level of quarterbacks on the board. The three big names are DeShone Kizer, Davis Webb, and Nathan Peterman. Some would argue Brad Kaaya is worth including above one or more of that group.
There are some early draft odds for the second round, with Bovada.lv asking which QB will be first off the board. They had these odds:
DeShone Kizer: 1/3
Davis Webb: 7/4
Nathan Peterman: 6/1
There are already rumors the Green Bay Packers might consider Kizer at 33. They swapped picks with the Cleveland Browns, who moved up to No. 29 to draft tight end David Njoku. Kizer’s stock has been all over the place the past four months, but it has been trending downward the past couple months. A Packers selection would not be entirely shocking as they look to groom a potential QB of the future. And if Rodgers doesn’t go anywhere anytime, they potentially have a trade chip in Kizer.
The San Francisco 49ers currently sit at Nos. 66 and 67, and with two picks in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds, they can make a move up with relative ease. The question is if they have a quarterback to target, or if they might look in other directions. They did a lot of due diligence on quarterbacks, but at least two are expected to go in round two. Davis Webb and DeShone Kizer have both met with the 49ers. After that, we’ve got Brad Kaaya, Nathan Peterman, Joshua Dobbs, and others who have not been connected to the 49ers in terms of visits or workouts.
Will we see the team continue to sit and wait, or do they get aggressive? It will depend on who slips, but we’ve seen the team prepared to make moves already.