NFL Notebook, Week 12: NFC’s elite, Jason Garrett’s future, fantasy sleepers and more

One Last Thing

I couldn’t escape a case of draft fever this week, so I thought about some early quarterback-team pairings I can see happening.

Joe Burrow – Bengals

Maybe it’s a hunch, maybe it’s recency bias. Either way, this seems like too perfect of a match. Burrow doesn’t have an elite trait, yet I feel like it won’t matter for Zac Taylor’s offense. Burrow’s accuracy and charisma might be suitable enough.

Tua Tagovailoa – Dolphins

Miami needs their quarterback, and while every passer will have his flaws, Tagovailoa and Miami have been linked for a while now. I also like that the Dolphins would be willing to ride another season with Ryan Fitzpatrick or another veteran while Tagovailoa gets healthy if he needs to.

Justin Herbert – Chargers

Herbert has some fine-tuning to do, but his upside is sky-high. Philip Rivers’ presence allows for Los Angeles to take a slow approach to Herbert’s development, who can add a new wrinkle to the Chargers’ offense. Also, Herbert isn’t the type of player to throw a tantrum when he’s losing…

Jalen Hurts – Bears

When Matt Nagy took the head coaching job in Chicago, he envisioned Mitchell Trubisky to be as effective in the air as he is on the ground. Hurts has some issues that the previous quarterbacks don’t have as a thrower, but Hurts’ legs might be the best of the bunch.

Trubisky has been asked to run before by Nagy, so there’s no reason to think that Hurts won’t be an upgrade. Besides, the Bears are a quarterback away from being legitimate.