The quarterback position is always one of the most intriguing heading into the NFL Draft, and there’s almost always some debate and uncertainty over the order the top QBs will be selected in the first round.
Last year, it was a surprise when Daniel Jones was the second QB off the board, sixth overall to the New York Giants, ahead of Dwayne Haskins.
Two years ago, the eventual order of Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns), Sam Darnold (New York Jets), Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), and Josh Rosen (Arizona Cardinals) in the first round was in question right up until the picks were submitted.
And three seasons ago, the Chicago Bears drafting Mitchell Trubisky ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson was the first splash of the draft and, in hindsight, a belly flop.
And this year there is some potential for another surprise as well, although almost assuredly not until the first QB is off the board.
The list has been led by LSU’s Joe Burrow since at least his National Championship performance in January, followed by Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, and Utah State’s Jordan Love.
And aside from Burrow, who by all accounts is a lock to go first overall to the Cincinnati Bengals, there are some lingering questions that might be enough to shake up the expected draft order of QBs.
For Tagovailoa, the potential concern is about his health. The Crimson Tide QB may have been able to at least challenge Burrow as the draft’s top prospect at the position this year before dislocating his hip late in the season.
Since that time, all medical checkups have gone well and Tagovailoa has done everything he can to prove to NFL teams he’s on pace for a full recovery.
To draft or not to draft: The compelling Tua case
Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is one of the most heralded prospects in recent history but he is also one of the riskiest. The Alabama star dazzled for three years in the NCAA but a devastating hip injury ended his final season last November, but due to the pandemic, he hasn’t been able to prove to teams that he is full capable of competing at the NFL level. Rod Smith has more.
But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t allowed for teams to bring in prospects for personal physicals, which could scare away some teams on draft night.
“Yes, they got a look at Tua in Indianapolis, but they’d like a further evaluation and extensive look,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on ESPN’s Get Up. “You want to be as convinced as possible, as thorough as you can get. But the NFL this year has banned players from visiting team facilities. When you’ve got a player like Tua teams want to get their hands on, they can’t do it. Teams are in a little bit more of a guessing game. It was always going to be something of a medical gamble with Tua and it’s an even bigger gamble at this point in time.”
Herbert is a bit of a forgotten man this time around. The Oregon QB was the top QB prospect for a period last year before deciding to return to school for his senior season. While most prognosticators now have Herbert behind both Burrow and Tua, he could still be an early pick with the abundance of QB-needy teams this year compared to last.
And then there is Love, who is likely to go in the first round as well but has both the most questions surrounding his game and biggest range of where he might end up. The Utah State product doesn’t have the stats or the big-school pedigree to match up with the other three top QB prospects, but he has one thing working in his favour: comparisons to reigning Super Bowl champion and former MVP Patrick Mahomes.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that,” Love told Yahoo Sports. “Different teams ask me who I’d compare my game to, and I’d say that too, as well, just as far as arm strength and playmaking ability. I mean, I’m not saying I’m Patrick Mahomes at the end of the day. But I love his game, I love watching his game and, obviously, that’s something I’m trying to implement in my game, as well.”
He could end up being drafted by the first team that agrees with those comparisons.
TSN.ca takes a closer look at the top quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft class:
Joe Burrow – LSU
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15
402-527 (70.6 %)
5,671
60
6
Burrow put up one of the greatest college football seasons in history last year and was rewarded with a National Championship and Heisman Trophy. He led the nation in passing yards with 5,671 and passing touchdowns with 60. And he saved perhaps his best performances for when everyone was watching, throwing for 493 yards and seven touchdowns in the CFP semifinal against Oklahoma before adding another 463 yards and five touchdowns in the National Championship against Clemson.
In an era of smokescreens, the Bengals seem to have little interest in hiding their intention of selecting Burrow first overall. After long-time starter Andy Dalton was benched last season, it was leaked the team had no intention of trading the first overall pick and Bengals staffers haven’t hidden their thoughts on Burrow either, saying he checks a lot of their boxes.
Tua Tagovailoa – Alabama
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ESPN Football analyst Dan Orlovsky explains why he believes Tua Tagovailoa is ‘the most programmed quarterback in this draft’ and how is understanding of the game could make him a ‘can’t miss’ prospect in his position.
9
180-252 (71.6 %)
2,840
33
3
Tagovailoa was limited to just nine games last season with his aforementioned hip injury but he started all 15 games the year before as a sophomore. While he obviously didn’t reach his 2018 totals, Tagovailoa improved his accuracy (71.4 in 2019 from 69.0 a year earlier), yards per attempt (11.3 from 11.2), and QB rating (206.9 from 199.4) in his junior season last year.
While Burrow burst onto the scene last year, NFL fans have known about Tagovailoa for a long time. He’s been a star ever since replacing Jalen Hurts (a Heisman finalist and potential first-rounder) and leading Alabama to a National Championship at the end of his freshman campaign in January 2018. He was a Heisman finalist his sophomore season and was in the conversation last year as well before the season-ending injury.
Justin Herbert – Oregon
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14
286-428 (66.8 %)
3,471
32
6
After deciding to return for his senior season at Oregon, Herbert threw for 3,471 yards, 32 touchdowns, and six interceptions, improvements across the board from his junior year.
Time will tell if Herbert made a mistake returning to Oregon for his senior season (at least in terms of where he’s drafted) and the slot to keep an eye on is No. 6. Herbert was never going to be the first quarterback taken last year after Kyler Murray chose football over baseball and went first overall and the second QB taken was Daniel Jones sixth overall. Burrow and Tagovailoa are both projected to go in the Top 5 while the Los Angeles Chargers, who didn’t replace long-time starter Philip Rivers in free agency this off-season, pick at No. 6.
Jordan Love – Utah State
13
293-473
3,402
20
17
Love’s stats do not stack up well against the other top QB prospects. He finished the year with 3,402 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. But if you go back to his sophomore year, his stat line is more becoming of an NFL prospect. In 2018 Love had more passing yards (3,567) and a much better touchdown to interception ratio (32:6).
Love has the physical traits and arm talent scouts love but the Mahomes comparisons fall apart when you compare their collegiate production. Mahomes’ junior season at Texas Tech in 2016 yielded 1,500 more passing yards, twice as many touchdowns, and far fewer interceptions than Love’s 2019. The NFL is a copycat league and a lot of teams are looking for the next Mahomes. But copying other teams can lead to as many mistakes as successes.
Some other quarterbacks to keep an eye on in the early rounds of the draft:
Jacob Eason – Washington
Eason finished his junior season with 3,132 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions for the Huskies. He was a top high school recruit who transferred from Georgia after losing his starting job as a sophomore to Jake Fromm, but could be drafted higher than Fromm this weekend.
Jalen Hurts – Oklahoma
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Hurts had a terrific senior season at Oklahoma after transferring from Alabama, finishing with 3,851 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns, and 1,298 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. He was named a Heisman finalist but it took a monster performance at the NFL Combine before he started shooting up draft boards.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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Making 104 senior appearances for Canada over a 20-year span, Atiba Hutchinson embodied quiet professionalism and leadership.
“He’s very humble but his influence is as strong as I’ve ever seen on men,” said former national team coach John Herdman.
“For me it was just a privilege, because I’ve had the honour to work with people like (former Canada women’s captain Christine) Sinclair. And Atiba, he’s just been a gift to Canada,” he added.
Hutchinson documents his journey on and off the field in an entertaining, refreshingly honest memoir called “The Beautiful Dream,” written with Dan Robson.
The former Canada captain, who played for 10 national team coaches, shares the pain of veteran players watching their World Cup dream slip away over the years.
Hutchinson experienced Canada’s lows himself, playing for a team ranked No. 122 in the world and 16th in CONCACAF (sandwiched between St. Kitts and Nevis and Aruba) back in October 2014.
Then there was the high of leading his country out at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after a 36-year absence by the Canadian men.
And while he doesn’t throw anyone under the bus — for example, he notes the missed penalty kick in Canada’s World Cup opener in Qatar against Belgium without mentioning the taker (Alphonso Davies, whom he is very complimentary to) — he shares stories that paint a picture.
He describes the years of frustration the Canadian men experienced, with European club teammates ridiculing his commitment to the national team. In one telling story about a key World Cup qualifier in Honduras in October 2012, he relates learning in the dressing room before the match that the opposition players had been promised “land or homes” by their federation if they won.
“Meanwhile an executive from the Canadian Soccer Association entered and told us that we’d each receive an iPad or an iPod if we won,” Hutchinson writes.
Needing just a draw to advance to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying, Canada was trounced 8-1. Another World Cup campaign ended prematurely.
Hutchinson writes about the turnaround in the program under Herdman, from marvelling “at how good our younger players were” as he joined the team for World Cup qualifying ahead of Qatar to Canada Soccer flying the team to a game in Costa Rica “in a private jet that was swankier than anything I’d ever seen the federation pay for.”
Canada still lost 1-0, “a reminder we weren’t there yet,” he notes.
And Hutchinson recalls being “teary-eyed” during Canada’s memorable World Cup 2-1 qualifying win over Mexico in frigid Edmonton in November 2021.
“For the first time we had the respect of the other countries … We knew we had been viewed as an easy win by opponents like Mexico. Not anymore,” he writes.
The Canadian men, currently ranked 38th in the world, have continued their rise under coach Jesse Marsch
“I’m extremely proud to see how far we’ve come along,” Hutchinson said in an interview.
“Just to see what’s happening now with the team and the players that have come through and the clubs they’re playing at — winning leagues in different parts of Europe and the world,” he added. “It’s something we’ve never had before.”
At club level, Hutchinson chose his teams wisely with an eye to ensuring he would get playing time — with Osters and Helsingborgs IF in Sweden, FC Copenhagen in Denmark, PSV in the Netherlands and Besiktas in Turkey, where he payed 10 seasons and captained the side before retiring in June 2023 at the age of 40.
Turkish fans dubbed him “The Octopus” for his ability to win the ball back and hold onto it in his midfield role.
But the book reveals many trials and tribulations, especially at the beginning of his career when he was trying to find a club in Europe.
Today, Hutchinson, wife Sarah and their four children — ranging in age from one to nine — still live in Istanbul, where he is routinely recognized on the street.
He expects to get back into football, possibly coaching, down the line, but for the moment wants to enjoy time with his young family. He has already tried his hand as a TV analyst with TSN.
Herdman, for one, thought Hutchinson might become his successor as Canada coach.
Hutchinson says he never thought about writing a book but was eventually persuaded to do so.
“I felt like I could help out maybe some of the younger kids growing up, inspire them a bit,” he said.
The book opens with a description of how a young Hutchinson and his friends would play soccer on a lumpy patchy sandlot behind Arnott Charlton Public School in his native Brampton, Ont.
In May, Hutchinson and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown celebrated the opening of the Atiba Hutchinson Soccer Court, an idea Hutchinson brought to Brampton city council in March 2022.
While Hutchinson’s playing days may be over, his influence continues.
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“The Beautiful Dream, A Memoir” by Atiba Hutchinson with Dan Robson, 303 pages, Penguin Random House, $36.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.
Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.
World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.
The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.
Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.
Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.
The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
