2015 NFL Draft: Teams That Should Trade Up for a QB

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: the NFL is a quarterback-driven league. Defense still wins championships and it’s not all about one player, but those cliches fail to neutralize what’s been proven for decades: it’s a quarterback-driven league.

Thus, the 2015 NFL Draft enters an abnormal realm as one with limited quarterback depth.

2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota of the Oregon Ducks and 2013 hardware-holder Jameis Winston of the Florida State Seminoles are at the head of the quarterback pack. Both have question marks and neither are regarded as safe selections.

Beyond them, there isn’t a single quarterback with a consensus grade of second round or better. That includes the likes of Brett Hundley of the UCLA Bruins and Bryce Petty of the Baylor Bears.

The question is, which teams should trade up and land a star-caliber quarterback prospect while they can?

Aug 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback

(8) is helped off the field after getting injury in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams have benefited greatly from the Washington Redskins trading the house for Robert Griffin III. They’ve landed wide receiver Stedman Bailey, defensive tackle Michael Brockers, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, linebacker Alec Ogletree, left tackle Greg Robinson and running back Zac Stacy with the picks acquired and subsequent trades.

In 2015, it may be time St. Louis does something similar—albeit to a lesser extent—in order to land a franchise quarterback of their own.

Unlike Washington, the Rams are already one of the best young teams in the NFL. While the Redskins had very little to put around RGIII, the Rams already have a group in place that’s ready to win.

According to Jim Thomas of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, new quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke, “Loves,” Sam Bradford as the franchise quarterback.

"No sales pitch was necessary to get new Rams quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke on board with Sam Bradford.“Love him. Love him,” Weinke replied when asked about the Rams’ presumptive starting QB for 2015. “Historically, I look back at every guy that I’ve evaluated coming out of college.“A few years ago when Andrew Luck came out they said who would you compare him to? And I said the closest I would see is Sam Bradford.“And I say that without knowing Sam. I’d never met Sam until this process. Looking at his physical skill set. And then obviously talking to people and understanding his mental capacity and his football IQ, and all those different things.”"

Here’s the issue: Bradford missed six games in 2011, nine in 2013 and all of 2014 with injuries.

With Bradford struggling to stay healthy, the Rams need a player who can step in and lead the offense into the future. There are voids along the offensive line, at wide receiver and at cornerback, but no need is more pressing than at quarterback.

Until St. Louis lands a quarterback of the future, it will continue to flash upside with limited success in the NFC West.

Dec 28, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Jets quarterback

(7) at the line of scrimmage against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

New York Jets

The New York Jets own the No. 6 overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. That puts them in a position to land Marcus Mariota, but there are three teams who could take a quarterback ahead of New York.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins all serving as potential quarterback destinations, the Jets could miss out on the top quarterback prospects.

Tampa Bay and Tennessee are far more likely to take Mariota and Jameis Winston than Washington, but all three are options. If both quarterbacks are taken, then New York will move forward with Geno Smith under center.

Smith has shown flashes of star potential, but they’ve been very few and far between.

Point in case.

Smith finished the 2014 season with 2,525 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and ran for 238 yards and a score in 14 games played. He saw an uptick in completion percentage, passing touchdowns and threw eight less interceptions from 2013 to 2014.

Unless the Jets believe in Smith as the future of the organization, trading up by a few spots isn’t out of the question.

December 28, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach

(left) talks to quarterback

(6) and quarterback

(14) during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals finished the 2014 NFL regular season with a record of 11-5. In 2013, Arizona finished at 10-6 and narrowly missed the playoffs.

The key in both seasons: the Cardinals failed to get over the hump via lackluster quarterback play.

In 2014, the Cardinals opened the season at 9-1, but went 2-4 the rest of the way as both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton suffered season-ending injuries. They lost 27-16 to the 7-8-1 Carolina Panthers in the first round of the playoffs.

Palmer is a 35-year-old coming off of a torn ACL, which already has the contract renegotiation process beginning.

The hurdle here is that the Cardinals would have to give up a great deal of assets in exchange for the opportunity to land either Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston. They own the No. 24 overall selection in 2014.

Mariota and Winston could fall, but it’s almost an impossibility that they’ll drop all the way to No. 24.

It can either gamble on a prospect in a later round and risk sacrificing yet another season with an elite defense, or it can give up multiple assets to trade for a quarterback who has a higher ceiling, but isn’t guaranteed to pan out.

In one man’s humble opinion, the Cardinals should explore the market and see what it’ll cost to land Mariota.

Next: If Mariota or Winston are off the board, who should the Arizona Cardinals select Brett Hundley?