A small sample of NFL executives favor Carson Wentz over Jared Goff as the better quarterback prospect, and by a margin of two to one from respondents who didn't defer the question.
The polling comes courtesy of NFL Media analyst Charley Casserly, the former Washington Redskins and Houston Texans general manager, who contacted 15 NFL club insiders whose teams don't have a need for a quarterback.
"Why did I choose them? Number one, they're probably going to be more honest with me," Casserly said on NFL Network's "Path to the Draft". "And a lot of these teams that still need a quarterback, they're going through the process. They really haven't decided how they're going to rate Wentz or Goff, Goff or Wentz. Here was the vote at the end of it: eight went for Wentz, four went for Goff. Three said, 'Too close to call at this point in time.'"
Although Goff and Wentz aren't the only two quarterbacks expected to be chosen in the first round, they've combined to begin and end the draft narrative as to which quarterback is the best one available, much the way Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota did a year ago. With the Tennessee Titans, who hold the top pick, taking Mariota last year, the Cleveland Browns are expected to have their choice of Goff or Wentz with the No. 2 overall choice if the club chooses to begin the Hue Jackson era with a first-round quarterback. Clubs favoring Wentz over Goff can point to his superior size and athleticism, while NFL scouts in the opposite camp can support Goff as the top quarterback based on the tougher competition he faced at the college level, along with the fact that he built a longer resume of college experience than Wentz.
Based on Casserly's feedback, the former argument is the prevailing one.
Casserly also suggested that if either of them fall to the New Orleans Saints, the club should give due consideration to selecting Drew Brees' eventual successor.
"If it's Goff or Wentz and they like either one of them, you've got to take him right there. Think of the Green Bay Packers, they took Aaron Rodgers when they didn't need him, then when they needed him, they didn't miss a beat," Casserly said. "San Francisco 49ers, traded for Steve Young when they didn't need him. Montana's gone, they didn't miss a beat. The Saints? They've got a big fall coming if they don't get a quarterback."
Of course, the Saints made a fairly expensive investment in its future at the quarterback position a year ago, picking Garrett Grayson of Colorado State with a third-round selection. But if one of the draft's top two quarterbacks falls all the way to the Saints' pick at No. 12 overall, it could be tempting.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
