Packers: Quarterback options on Day 2 of the 2018 NFL Draft
What are some options for the Green Bay Packers at the quarterback position in this year’s draft?
The Green Bay Packers need to add a quarterback this offseason as it is obvious that neither Brett Hundley nor Joe Callahan can keep the Packers afloat if Aaron Rodgers gets injured again.
The Packers went from a Super Bowl contender to a mediocre team without Rodgers and the Green Bay front office can not allow that to happen again.
If the 2017 NFL season has taught us anything it is that teams can survive with a backup quarterback. Just look at Philadelphia with Nick Foles and Minnesota with Case Keenum for proof of this.
Addressing the position in free agency this year could be tempting and there are plenty of names out there such as Matt Moore or Ryan Fitzpatrick that would have the potential to be decent short-terms options if Rodgers were to get hurt again.
But that is all that they would be. That is why Green Bay needs to find a quarterback in the second or third round of the draft that brings high upside and would be able to at least keep the Packers alive should the doomsday scenario happen again.
With a healthy Rodgers the Packers will always be able to contend for a Super Bowl but he is coming off of his second broken collarbone, the front office just lost two of its best talents to Cleveland, and the NFC is looking tougher than ever.
Green Bay should at least start looking towards the future and attempt to find a backup quarterback in the draft that could keep it afloat similar to what Foles or Keenum did with their respective teams in 2017.
Rodgers will be able to play at a MVP level for another few seasons and is still the best player in football but at the age of 34, the Packers could be nearing the beginning of the end of the Aaron Rodgers era. Rodgers will be 35 in December.
People may not want the Packers to start transitioning out of the Rodgers era in 2018, but I’d be willing to bet that those same people weren’t happy when Green Bay started transitioning out of the Favre era in 2005.
The time might be right to begin that process though. This year’s quarterback class looks fairly strong and I think a good passer could fall to them on Day 2. Especially with all of the quarterback talent hitting the free agent market this year.
Names like Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Baker Mayfield could all be gone by the time that Green Bay picks at 14 and if they are they should obviously address a position that needs to be addressed right now such as receiver, pass rusher or cornerback. But if this scenario came true I would still legitimately consider a quarterback on Day 2 of the draft.
There are some intriguing options that could be available in the second or third round such as Lamar Jackson, Mason Rudolph, Luke Falk, or Mike White and I believe that Green Bay should seriously consider any of those three if they fell.
If the Packers don’t believe that any quarterback in the draft could eventually be the heir apparent to Rodgers it still wouldn’t hurt to pick one as it would provide serious competition for Brett Hundley, which he has never really had since taking over for Scott Tolzien as the Packers second-string quarterback.
They could also eventually dangle the quarterback in a trade similar to the strategy that Ron Wolf employed.
In this article I will be profiling four quarterbacks the Packers could target on Day 2 of the draft and how each of them would fit with the Packers.