National Football League

The Other Guys

Updated Jul. 17, 2020 8:57 p.m. ET

With the NFL Draft fast approaching, all the talk has been about where two top quarterbacks – LSU's Joe Burrow and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa – will land.

All indications are that Burrow is a lock at the top spot and Tagovailoa will be the second QB selected.

In fact, in his first mock draft, our Joel Klatt has Burrow going No. 1 to Cincinnati and Tagovailoa going No. 6 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

But those two aren't the only talented men-behind-center on the board.

There is a lengthly list of teams searching for their next franchise quarterback, which is why most draft boards have Oregon's Justin Herbert and Utah State's Jordan Love going in the first round.

So, who exactly are these guys?

Let's start with Justin Herbert.

Helluva toss, kid.

Herbert – a 6'6", 236 pound Oregon native – became the Ducks' starter as a true freshman and had quite the career during his four years in college, recording the second-most passing yards and touchdowns in school history.

During his senior season in 2019, Herbert threw for 3,471 yards, 32 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. He led Oregon to a Pac-12 title and was awarded the William V. Campbell Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman.

His off-field intelligence, coupled with his athleticism and big arm is why Colin Cowherd thinks he will go in the top 10.

"I think he is a franchise guy. He will be good very early. Justin Herbert is athletic – he also has a better arm than Joe burrow."

Maybe that's why T.J. Houshmandzadeh called Herbert's arm "unbelievable" on The Herd earlier this week.

For many teams, Justin Herbert checks all the boxes of a franchise quarterback, and Mel Kiper even ranks him ahead of Tua Tagovailoa, the overwhelming favorite to be the second quarterback selected.

"Physically, he is the prototypical [NFL quarterback] – size, arm strength. athletic ability, the way he moves ... Once he is an NFL offense, he can flourish."

You also heard Kiper discuss Utah State star quarterback Jordan Love.

Kiper thinks that Love could potentially land with Jon Gruden and the Las Vegas Raiders, despite their already-developed stable of quarterbacks, which includes Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota.

"Jordan Love can spin it. Remember, he's drawn some comparisons to Patrick Mahomes ... Derek Carr and Mariota are there, but now you get a potential upgrade. Nobody in that organization right now has the arm talent of Jordan Love."

From the looks of it, Love indeed spins the heck out of it.

Love's resume heading into the draft is a bit uneven. His sophomore season in 2018 was wildly successful – he started all 13 games, passing for 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions.

However, following a coaching change after the season, Love's stats dropped off significantly during his junior year. He totaled 3,402 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 2019.

His senior season has raised questions, but Todd McShay doesn't believe it will affect Love's draft stock, so much so that he actually has him slotted above Herbert in his mock draft.

"When you cut on his tape, there's just some plays that go above the X and O's, and they go above coaching. You see this kind of very unique talent – he can make plays that you look at and you say, 'Not a lot of guys can do that.'"

We know you might not have seen a lot of Utah State games over the past few years, and you might be shocked that McShay and others have him slotted so high.

So, here are a few more highlights, just for good measure.

Still, not everyone is as sure about Love as McShay, namely due to that junior season drop-off. Mina Kimes believes he could benefit from serving time as a backup in the NFL before becoming a starter.

"He is not ready. When you watch his 2019 tape, you will see plenty of decisions that make you scratch your head – you will also see plenty of throws that make you smile. But that also means you need time, time for him to develop – time for a team to decide if he’s the guy."

The only thing we know for sure with the NFL draft is that some analysts will be spot on and some will be way off.

All incoming players have bust potential, including Herbert and Love.

With that said, while analysts and teams pick apart tape and offer their opinions ahead of the draft, at least these guys are relieving some pre-draft stress in unique ways – Herbert especially.

Still questioning his arm strength?