Forgive us if you're experiencing quarterback overload this week. Most NFL teams are, as well.
First, there was Teddy Bridgewater's pro-day spectacular Monday. We moved on to The Blake Bortles Show on Wednesday. Thursday, the hoopla will focus on Derek Carr, and there's a kid by the name of Johnny Manziel who might draw a bit of a crowd at the end of the month.
As you scan NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock's list of top quarterbacks in the 2014 NFL Draft, it's understandable if you want to hit the snooze button, considering the amount of attention they've received this week.
Even with pressing needs at the position among teams at the top of the first round, it's possible NFL front offices might also opt to hit the snooze on a signal-caller this year.
"There are three quarterbacks that people think may be top 10 picks," Mayock said on NFL Network's "Path to the Draft," referring to Bridgewater, Bortles and Manziel. "However, the positional draft, the non-quarterback draft, is the best draft I've seen in 10 years.
"I think, more so than other years, this is a tough year to take a quarterback in the top 10."
Mayock's comments echo what many are starting to feel in the wake of so much quarterback discussion. It started with Bridgewater's lackluster session earlier in the week, but that workout could simply have been the match that lit the fuse.
And like most hotly debated topics, it's unlikely there will be any cooling off in the coming weeks.
"If you're Houston or you're Jacksonville or you're Cleveland or you're Oakland or you're Minnesota -- that's five teams with significant quarterback needs in the top eight picks," Mayock said. "If you're one of those teams, you'd better make darn sure that you fall in love with (Bortles) or one of the other quarterbacks before you pull the trigger, because the positional kids are so darn good."
Despite giving Bortles high marks for his pro-day workout in Orlando, Mayock held back on saying Bortles could live up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall pick immediately. Nobody really knows how Bortles or this group will turn out at the next level, but such tentative praise for nearly every player at the position has to force teams to think twice about drafting a quarterback.
Maybe their actions have shown they already have. The Jaguars re-signed Chad Henne, the Bucs brought in Josh McCown and the Vikings kept Matt Cassel. Perhaps that allows each franchise some time to bridge to a guy they get in the draft this year.
"Every team bought a cheap insurance policy. That's smart, because you don't have to roll the dice now on draft day," Mayock said. "Each team in the league that needs a quarterback that high had better make sure that with [Jadeveon] Clowney, [Khalil] Mack and all those guys, (the quarterback) better be a heck of a player."
Complicating matters further? Next year's class of quarterbacks has the potential to be one of the best of the past few years, something that has to be in the back of some of those general managers' minds.
If the pre-draft process keeps teams from falling in love, it could be a long draft weekend for some of the quarterbacks out there.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
