Top Draft Eligible Quarterbacks After Week 5: Justin Herbert Still No. 1
By Alex Weber
This week was a great one for the position they call quarterback. Guys stepped it up, big time, while others faded back into irrelevancy. Oregon’s very own Justin Herbert played amazingly (duh) once again. But he actually wasn’t alone this time round. Here’s the rankings, per me. \
Stats via ESPN
1. Justin Herbert (Oregon)
Stats: 16/22 for 225 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Herbert was again a star in a big Ducks win. He did exactly what he needed to and lead the Oregon offense to 28 points on the night. His throws, as per usual, were pristine. He threw the ball just 22 times, accumulating over 200 yards on just 16 completions. Oregon’s rushing attack was strong in this one, gaining 260 yards in that category. In a weird game, Herbert had a perfectly normal (and by that I mean very very good) game. He is still the alpha of this class.
2. Will Grier (West Virginia)
Stats: 27/41 for 370 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
The Mountaineer’s mullet-ed maestro orchestrated one of the best first quarter offensive outputs of the modern era, as Will Grier lead a potent West Virginia offense to a 28 point opening 15 minutes. It was glorious, and so was Grier. Since leaving the quarterback-ravager that is the Florida football program, Grier has looked every bit the part of a future NFL quarterback. Congrats to him. After this week, I’m now confident in two quarterbacks in the 2019 class becoming franchise guys in the League.
3. Drew Lock (Missouri)
Stats: None
Andrew (yeah I’m calling him by his full name) had a bye this weekend. Rest up son, you’ve got an elite Kentucky defense to face in a couple weeks.
4. Ryan Finley (NC State)
Stats: 22/32 for 257 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Finley was solid against a surprisingly good Virginia team. The same Virginia team that held Bobby Petrino and the usually loaded Louisville defense to a pathetic 3 points a week ago. Did I miss something? Is Tony Bennett now dual-coaching the basketball and football teams? If so, I’m all in. However, he’ll have to figure out how to stop Ryan Finley, because he still lit the Cavaliers defense up. Finley was great all game long and threw some key touchdown passes in the red zone — his workshop for quarterbacking brilliance.
5. Kyler Murray (Oklahoma)
Stats: 17/21 for 432 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT
If I was going based purely off how good these guys are actually performing during this collegiate season and not where they’ll be drafted, Murray would be no lower than 3rd. He’s been like Baker 2.0 for the Sooners this season. I know this week’s game came against terrible Baylor, but still, the guy threw for 6 scores and over 400 yards — both marks Josh Allen couldn’t reach against Central Michigan a year ago — and he’s starting for the freaking Buffalo Bills! Murray is a gamer. He ad-libs a lot of what he does, and he throws the ball with velocity and accuracy. Scouts, what more do you want from this man? Is his arm not strong enough? He got drafted as a pitcher by the Oakland A’s in the MLB draft this past year! I like him, a lot.
That’s it for this week. See ya.