It’s your turn to become a general manager and pick your quarterbacks for next season. Who would you go with?
If I had to pick a starter and a backup QB, the choices are somewhat limited. The 32 teams in the NFL multiplied by about two quarterbacks per team leaves me with 64 choices. I broke this question down by considering that I should try to use the same amount of money as a normal NFL team would want to invest in their quarterbacks.
Of several football fans I asked this question to, the very large majority said that, for a starter, they were entrusting their confidence in Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady. Both of these seemed like good options because they are both thought to be the best in the NFL. Tom Brady has a salary cap of $27 million with with a $14 million base salary this upcoming NFL season, while Mahomes is tied into the four-year, $26.5 million rookie contract he signed in 2017.
For a backup, many people said they would go with someone like Russell Wilson, who is an above-average starter but not quite up to the level of Mahomes and Brady anymore. This is a smart pick as it would give your team a lot of depth in case your starter goes out. Another popular answer was rookie Kyler Murray; this answer makes sense considering he is likely going to be an amazing starter someday.
For my personal picks, I came to the conclusion that after hearing what all of my peers said, my starter I would be Patrick Mahomes. He and Brady have a similar skill level, but Mahomes is making less money and has more years left in him. With Mahomes as the starter, I think a GM could easily take the extra money and build a Super Bowl-worthy team around Mahomes at QB.
My backup was a little harder to choose. Wilson seemed like a good choice, but he is in a ridiculously large contract that would destroy everything I said previously. I don’t think Kyler Murray would be content as a backup considering all of what he passed up (you know, baseball) to enter the NFL draft. Thus, I am putting my pick on Nick Foles for multiple reasons. Many people forgot him after last season when his glory from the Eagles’ Super Bowl win came to an end. Foles signed a contract with the Jaguars for four years and $88 million. As seen during his time in Philly, Foles is a really good backup QB, and he is exactly what a team needs.
Comment who you would choose and why!