The 2017 Quarterback Class could compete with the 2004 Draft Class

The 2004 NFL Draft brought many enormously successful talents to the biggest stage. Larry Fitzgerald, Sean Taylor, Vince Wilfork, DeAngelo Hall, Jonathon Vilma, Steven Jackson, Darnell Dockett, and a slough of other Pro-Bowl talent were brought into the league as part of the 2004 NFL Draft. However, the class was highlighted by three Hall of Fame Quarterbacks in Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger.

Manning, Roethlisberger and Rivers rank 6th, 7th, and 8th on the passing yards list respectively. The trio have amassed 17 Pro-Bowl Awards and four Super Bowl Championships. They are etched in the National Football League’s History and have been tied to each other ever since. As this group reaches the end of their career and starts to look towards their Hall of Fame inductions, a new class has come in and made waves.

2017 Quarterback Draft Class

Mitchell Trubisky (2nd Overall) – Chicago Bears

Trubisky was drafted by a team that knew they needed a franchise Quarterback to build around. In his sophomore season, Trubisky is getting the job done. The Bears have built an elite defense that allows Mitchell to play smart and not have to force the ball down the field all game long. He has made the right reads this season, and lead the Chicago bears to a 7-3 record, good for first in the NFC North. Through 10 games this season, Trubisky has accumulated 2,469 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He has done enough to keep his team in the game and has grown substantially in his sophomore season. As a rookie Mitchell was barely even a game manager. This year with new head coach Matt Nagy, Trubisky has been able to flourish. I expect Matt Nagy to stick around for a while, and for Mitchell Trubisky to improve each season he spends with the young offensive minded Head Coach.

Patrick Mahomes (10th Overall) – Kansas City Chiefs

Mahomes had the lowest amount of hype surrounding him coming out of Texas Tech despite having an absolute rocket for an arm. Fortunately for football fans, the Kansas City Chiefs did their due diligence and found somewhat of a diamond in the rough, despite selecting him with the 10th overall pick. Mahomes was brought into a great situation with the Chiefs. He was able to learn under Alex Smith, who took him under his wing despite being direct competition. Andy Reid developed the now 23-year-old rising star into one of the brightest young talents in football. After spending all but one game as Alex Smith’s understudy last season, Mahomes has come in and taken the league by storm. He leads the NFL with 3,628 passing yards and 37 touchdowns. “Showtime” has lead his team to a 9-2 record after a 54-51 shootout loss to the powerhouse Rams. While his numbers are still MVP quality, they were impacted by some risky throws down the stretch that he had to make to give his team a chance to comeback. Mahomes could legitimately become one of the greats in the league. He has all the tools and is in a perfect situation with Andy Reid at the helm. There aren’t many players with a brighter future in the NFL.

Deshaun Watson (12th Overall) – Houston Texans

Watson had one of the best college careers in recent memory. He was in back to back College Football National Championship Games as a Clemson Tiger and defeated Alabama in his final season, under Dabo Swinney. He came into the NFL and lit the league on fire before tearing his ACL to end his rookie season in his seventh game with the Texans. After impressing in his first year, Watson has comeback strong after a long rehab process. Watson has thrown for 2,597 yards, 18 touchdowns, and surrendered 9 interceptions. He has lead the Texans to a 7-3 record, first in the AFC South. Watson’s story has been underappreciated this season. Everyone is busy talking about the Rams and Chiefs and are forgetting about the Texans who to everyone’s surprise, are in first place. I am not saying that the hype around those two teams are unwarranted, but people need to start talking about what the Texans have done so far this season. Watson is able to rack up some yards with his legs, but has the arm talent to be successful in the pocket as well. Unlike Cam Newton, Watson has shown the ability to drive down the field consistently with his arm, not his legs. He is also a leader and has been praised for his poise and work ethic. Watson is a smart, athletic quarterback that could last a long time and put up numbers in the National Football League.

This new trio of Trubisky, Mahomes and Watson have an opportunity to form a new group of NFL greats. Add Goff and Wentz from the 2016 NFL Draft and the league has plenty of young talent to make the league entertaining for at least a decade.

Scott Neville – Head Writer – WTF Sports

 

 

 

Trubisky, Da Bears set to make “Huge Turnaround” this Season

Does anyone remember when the Chicago Bears gave QB Mike Glennon a chance to be a starting QB by signing him to a deal that would have him replace Jay Cutler as the franchise QB? Well that was a funny joke, huh? First off, no one replaces the star of his own wife’s TV Show, Jay Cutler. Second, Mike Glennon pretty much signed a contract then a few months later, the Bears traded up to the number two position in the 2017 NFL Draft to take Tar Heels QB Mitchell Trubisky and officially make him the future of Da Bears. After year one, there had to be concerns, except the fact that now former Head Coach John Fox stunk and didn’t know what to do because he is simply out of touch. Now, a new regime has been put in place with the replacement of Fox with new Head Coach Matt Nagy, who was the Offensive Coordinator for the past three seasons of the Chiefs, and a completely renovated offense that should be a force this coming season, setting up Mitch to shine.

 

Remember Allen Robinson? The stud WR of the Jaguars who tore his ACL last season and missed it all? Well he has now joined the Bears to become the top weapon of Mitchy. They also added athletic TE Trey Burton who is in line to get his first starting job with the 4 year contract he signed. And finally, Taylor Gabriel joined the team, putting together a talented offense, and giving a feel of Rams revamp like last season, adding all these young parts and having a RB like Jordan Howard there to dominate. This turnaround is definitely real for the Bears, with an impressive defense already in place, and this impressive offense at least on paper, expect a big season for Chicago.

 

But, before we can give them the benefit here, the success of this team will come down to the offense. Trubisky has to show improvement this season with his new weapons, a hopeful chemistry between him and his pass catchers, and an overall ability to lead a major team like the Bears. I really do believe that Allen Robinson could have a big-time season if he is able to be on the same page with Mitch. Let us remember, Robinson had his biggest season with the incredibly inconsistent Blake Bortles, and if we are being real, Trubisky has a real chance to be a lot better than Bortles. In his healthy 2015 season, Robinson put together an elite one. 80 catches for 1400 yards and a league leading 14 TDs. Oh, and he was able to do this:

And this:

Guy is a star when healthy. And while I can keep telling you about the new weapons, let us not forget about the two backfield weapons who will certainly get more playing time this coming season in as many ways as possible. RBs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen forms a new dynamic backfield duo. With the dynamic shiftiness of Cohen and the overall power and elite running ability of Howard, they must become a strong duo to help the Bears win football games. In both of his first two seasons, Jordan Howard has ran for over 1,000 yards. That is not a statistic to overlook, yet he must find the endzone much more than previous seasons. Look at what he can do when given the ball. (and this isn’t even for a good team like they may be this season):

And for Cohen, he just has to get looks. Coach Nagy must be creative with him to see success for the Bears. The first few weeks, Cohen lit the league on fire, but then he seemed to be forgotten on the offensive side of the ball. He was the first rookie back to get a lot of recognition and then just fell off. But he needs to have the ball in his hands to not fall. Because when he does, he is absolutely dynamic:

And with the defense being led by DE Akiem Hicks and S Adrien Amos. This defense is a look at the hard hitting one that they had a few seasons ago, and the addition of LB Roquan Smith with the 8^th pick in the draft, it makes Bears fans finally believe that not only is a big step for this team happening, but a chance to find a wild card spot. Exciting young teams make the league so fun, example the Rams last year, who were one of the most fun teams to watch. The Bears have now become my choice to do that this season, making them the official top team of my “Edwards’ Teams to Watch this Season”, which will be coming to you closer to the season.

 

Which brings me to the question, do you think the Bears can make the big step this season? Or does Mitch and Co. not have it in them?

 

Let us know!

 

-Scott Edwards, Creator of WTF Sports