Packers: 5 bold predictions for the 2019 NFL Draft
By Brady Busha
2. Aaron Rodgers’ successor will be drafted this year
Something to like from this year’s draft is that there is a lot of experienced quarterback talent. Most of the QBs that have been discussed or written about have taken an appropriate amount of snaps to be considered prepared for a transition to the NFL.
It’s unclear whether or not Green Bay will stick to their guns and ride with backups DeShone Kizer and fan favorite Tim Boyle, or sniff around the QB corner for the future of the franchise. Aaron Rodgers can’t play forever, and the organization knows that.
That’s where all this experience comes in. There are plenty of quarterbacks that feature NFL level accuracy with ideal size.
Drew Lock (Mizzou) and Daniel Jones (Duke) come to mind, but they will likely be gone before the Packers have a chance to pick them after satisfying more immediate needs. Such a stipulation leads to the conclusion that the Packers will need to look for a diamond in the rough.
Luckily, the draft is full of those too this year. Will Grier (West Virginia) and Jarrett Stidham (Auburn) both have seen their draft stock slide rapidly as a result of their Senior Bowl performances.
A few things that current QB Aaron Rodgers and these two mid-round projected QBs have in common: size, speed, accuracy. Each of them are 6-foot-2 and approximately 220 pounds, run the 40-yard dash in under 4.85 seconds and completed between 63-65 percent of their passes in their college careers.
Does that mean they’re both guaranteed future Hall of Famers? Absolutely not.
But either of them are worth a fifth-round pick if they slide, and could turn into the next great Packers quarterback after studying behind Aaron Rodgers for a handful of years.