Record number of quarterbacks in top 10

As the saying goes, it’s a quarterback driven league and that was the case in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. A record four quarterbacks were taken in the top 10 of the draft and five overall in the first round, according to ESPN.

The Cleveland Browns got things started with a surprise selection at No. 1. The Browns chose Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield as their guy to be the face of the franchise.

Mayfield had some character questions while going through the draft process. He was also considered the most accurate passer, of the group in the first round of quarterbacks. The pick was surprising as most draft analysts thought quarterback Sam Darnold was the best quarterback available in the draft.

Darnold would follow Mayfield in the draft by being selected as No. 3 overall by the New York Jets. The Jets were heavily eyeing the quarterback position in the draft. The team made a trade earlier in the offseason to move up three spots to get one of these high coveted quarterbacks and they believe they got their guy in Darnold.

Darnold’s biggest question about his game was his ability to take care of the football. He had the most turnovers of the highly rated quarterbacks but teams like the leadership he possesses.

The quarterback trend continued at No. 7 when the Buffalo Bills traded up to get Josh Allen. The Wyoming standout had scouts drooling over his arm, which pushed him high up on most teams’ draft boards and will help him in the cold, late season games in Buffalo.

Allen faced some uncertainty going into Thursday. Tweets from roughly five years ago resurfaced from Allen’s Twitter account with sexual references and explicit language.

Rounding out the top 10 of the draft was the selection of quarterback Josh Rosen by the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals’ new signal caller played at a high level at UCLA and was thought of as the best pure passer out of the quarterbacks being scouted in this year’s draft.

The knock on Rosen during the draft process was about his character. Questions of how much he really cared about football would come up along with how his teammates responded to his personality.

The first round of the draft started with a quarterback and ended with one. The Baltimore Ravens traded back into the first round to select Lamar Jackson. The former Heisman Trophy winner is by far the most dynamic athlete among the quarterbacks.

Jackson’s style of play has teams intrigued since his style is similar to Deshaun Watson, who had a very impressive start to his rookie year. Jackson will give the Ravens a true athlete at the quarterback position, which will stress defenses with his ability to run and pass.

The first round showed how important the quarterback position is in the NFL. In five years, teams will be able to look back and see if they made the right decision on selecting their face of the franchise.

Noah Enns can be reached at [email protected] or @NoahEnns21 on Twitter.