Examining Some Quarterback Options For Eagles In Draft

For a draft class of quarterbacks that not many scouts seem high on, they put on a pretty good show during Saturday’s NFL Scouting Combine. Maybe the Eagles saw something they liked and will draft one this spring.

That’s the expectation. Here are five that may intrigue them and could be in their range at different levels of the draft:

Drew Allar. The Penn State quarterback said he will “just be throwing” this spring as he continues his rehab from an ankle injury that shelved him midway through the Nittany Lions’ season last year. At the Combine on Saturday, he just threw. At his pro day later this year, he will he just throw, he said. He threw pretty well, though, showing off arm strength on deep routes.

“If I had to play a game today or tomorrow, like I feel like I could go out there and get it done,” he said.

Thing is, Allar’s next game may not be for a very going time, outside of August exhibition games. The same could be said for most in this draft class, except Fernando Mendoza, who is expected to be the first overall pick and thrust into the Raiders’ starting lineup on Day 1.

Garrett Nussmeier. Like Allar, the LSU product and son of former Eagles QB coach Doug Nussmeier, said the injury happened on the second day of fall camps, but he played through it.

“How much did it affect me?” he said. “I think it was pretty evident. I really wasn't able to throw the football. I had a stabbing pain in my ab every time I went to go throw the ball.”

He said he had to retrain himself after picking up some bad habits to compensate for the injury. He could be a Day 2 pick, and maybe it will be the Eagles, who are very familiar with him.

Developmental QB Stood Out During Combine Workouts

Taylen Green. The Arkansas product put on a workout show, making history with a 43½-inch vertical and 11-2 broad, which were the best marks by a Combine QB since at least 2003. At 6-7, 227 pounds, he clocked a 4.36 in the 40, which is the second-fastest time by a QB since at least 2003. It fell apart for him when he started to throw, spraying balls high or delivering them late. Still, he has tools that should see him get picked, maybe on the third day.

Cade Klubnik. He entered the season at Clemson as the top-ranked quarterback, but he struggled. On Saturday, he showed very good accuracy. Considered a dual-threat QB, he did not run at the Combine.

Ty Simpson. He is considered the second-best QB in the draft, but he looked like the best quarterback during drills. Still, he should be on the board in the second round, though maybe not deep enough in that round for the Eagles to take him.

You have to go back to 2013 to find the last time only one QB went in the first round, and that was E.J. Manuel, who went 16 overall to the Buffalo Bills.

The last time there wasn’t a single quarterback taken in the first round was 1996. The first signal-caller taken that year was Tony Banks, who went 42 overall to the then-St. Louis Rams, and just eight were picked overall, and three before the fourth, one of whom was Bobby Hoying, who the Eagles took 85th overall.

A quarterback has gone first overall in nine of the last 11 drafts. It’s a position of extreme importance, and the Eagles know it as well as any team.

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