Most NFL personnel departments are putting the final touches on their draft board in preparation for next week's draft (April 27-29 in Philadelphia). Before things get too hectic, I reached out to five executives to get their prediction on which quarterback will be the first one selected this year. Here are their responses:

Executive 1: Clemson's Deshaun Watson
"Watson should be the first QB to go next week. He's the most accomplished guy in the group and he's made of the right stuff."

Executive 2: Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes
"Good question. I think the answer could shock some people. (Mitchell) Trubisky is the popular choice but I really think it could be Mahomes. I know a couple teams that love him."

Executive 3: Watson
"Watson is my best guess. He has the best resume and he's competitive and resilient. I think everyone understands the offense will have to be built around his strong points. He isn't the most accurate guy, but he has the moxie, heart and intangibles you just can't coach."

Executive 4: Watson
"Watson is the most experienced and he has more good tape than the other quarterbacks. None of these guys are franchise-type, no-brainer picks, but he's the closest to what you'd want at the position."

Executive 5: North Carolina's Mitchell Trubisky
"I think it will end up being Trubisky. He's the safest player in the group."

Summary: Three votes for Watson and one apiece for Mahomes and Trubisky.

Conclusion: These results were very surprising. I thought there would be at least 3 votes for Trubisky, but that wasn't the case. I have Watson as my top quarterback but I'd still list Trubisky as the slight favorite to be the first quarterback off the board. The Mahomes hype is real. I've heard his name come up with a bunch of teams over the last few weeks and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up being the second signal-caller selected. It's impossible to predict where these guys will end up going, and that's going to make for a very intriguing first round next Thursday night.

3. Not all spread offenses are created equal. There’s this rush to group every offense where the quarterback doesn’t take the ball from under center as “spread”, and position the transition to the NFL from those schemes at the level of English to Mandarin. Sure, sometimes, the language/scheme barrier is extreme. But not always. Texas Tech’s Pat Mahomes and Cal’s Davis Webb are coming from Air Raid backgrounds. For those two, the learning curve is steep.

But in researching Clemson’s Deshaun Watson the past couple weeks, I’ve learned that the Tigers are on the other side of the ledger here. The quarterback may take the snap from the gun, and there may be more wideouts on the field at once, but the concepts aren’t far from what the NFL runs. “All these guys talk about it like it’s not a pro-style offense—to me, that’d mean that it’s based on the quarterback run game and/or RPOs (simple ‘run-pass option’ plays),” said one NFC offensive coordinator. “When you watch Clemson, Watson is dropping back, reading it and throwing it. They have NFL pass concepts. He’s a lot easier to evaluate than the Texas Tech guys. … And in fact, that’s where people get concerned with Deshaun—the issues with getting to No. 2 are real. But at least you see them doing it.”

And, as noted by coaches who’ve interviewed him, Watson also has shown signs he can work through his issues with field vision and progression reading. “He took the best defense in the country (Alabama) and tore them up twice,” said an AFC quarterbacks coach. “From a pure football standpoint, he was the smartest of any of them I talked to in being able to understand protections, how he handled issues. He could speak the offense well. Now, he did have 17 picks his last year, and he puts the ball in harm’s way too much. But you look at it with him, and when you ask, ‘what are you seeing here?’, he was able to provide good answers. And usually, if they have those answers, they can work from that with you.”

These, of course, aren’t Watson’s only problems. There are questions about his accuracy, too. But the sense I get in talking to people I respect about this stuff is there’s plenty to work with here, and a good reason why he’s considered the most pro-ready of any of the quarterbacks—even if he didn’t take many snaps from center as a collegian.

The Jets continue to feed rumors of a possible Trubisky pick-up, if he's there, but word I have inside is that defense is a priority first and that the team thinks it could trade down once or twice and still find Patrick Mahomes available. Logic says, tank the season and get your franchise QB in 2018's draft.

The San Francisco talks of trading the #2 pick to Cleveland for three choices in the first 100 won't subside either, with the Browns giving up #12 in the package with a second and another pick. That way, Garrett-Trubisky go 1-2 to the dog pound.

The Chargers look like they will rectify passing on Jalen Ramsey last year and take my top-rated player, Jamal Adams, to lead their secondary for the next decade.They will have to hold their breath on draft day, as both Chicago and Tennessee are both strongly considering Adams for future employment.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals continue to examine the benefits that Clemson's Mike Williams offers at 4.6 speed to those that currently injured Western Michigan star, Corey Davis, has to offer. With John Brown dealing with a sickle cell issue and Larry Fitzgerald having more great days behind him than ahead, the Cards need to determine if they go for an immediate band aid for the receiving corps or bank on the future by taking a quarterback in Round One (Mahomes).


Johnny-come-latelys in the coaching industry have seen a lot of running back coaches put off by Christian McCaffrey's decision to refuse private workouts. Hey coaches, even Ray Charles can see what he does, if you pop a tape into your VCR!Look for the Broncos to make every effort to slip past the Eagles in an attempt to snatch the team legacy. Word is, if the Browns keep the #12 pick, that is the one Elway is targeting to move up to. It could expand into a mega-deal, as the old QB has spent the last few years trying to entice the Browns to "free Willey" and package Joe Thomas into the mix.

The Chiefs are determined to build for the future and have been equally busy as San Francisco in delving into the good, bad, ugly of the quarterback class. If they go Round One, DeShaun Watson is their flavor of the month. Some think the Cards will jump on Watson first, but Bruce Arians has lots of tapes on Cal's Davis Webb in his office.

Houston is on the quarterback market, but Bill O'Brien could pull a Day Two surprise, as he's spent a lot of time putting Pittsburgh's Nate Peterman under the microscope.

All the talk about the Bills going for a quarterback in Round One appear to be a smokescreen, especially after Tyrod Taylor re-did his deal. But, that does not mean they will not add to that unit before Day Two ends. If Jon Gruden is right, the "best mind" in this QB class is Miami's Brad Kaaya and despite an early run in the draft on mediocre passers, Round Three is the place where this Hurricane could be a great value pick-up, so much so, my scouts are calling him this year's Dak Prescott.

Jets are talking with both Cincy & Carolina, as they are trying to jockey to get Fournette, but Jets want Mahomes & not at 8 or 9, so they are looking to move further down. Both Cincy & Carolina are offering a one, two & another choice. Watch out for Cleveland, as they spent a lot of time on the horn with San Fran, who are looking to stockpile picks & Browns have a load of 2s

Also, word on Davin Cook - outside of Philly, all teams have kicked him out of round one due to his entourage & get this, look for Mixon in San Fran late 1/early 2.

All the talk about the Giants looking to bring in a QB early are not rumors & they are amping up on Davis Webb analysis for the second round. They really like Cam Robinson in round one, but when San Fran finishes moving around the board, gut says they pop on him before Big Blue gets the chance.