It’s been nearly a month since PFT explained that the league insiders suspect that the Jets will be taking quarterback Baker Mayfield with the third overall pick in the draft. With the selection process only four days away, the lingering belief that the Jets will make a beeline for Mayfield raises a separate question: Will the Bills or the Dolphins make a move to No. 2 with the Giants in order to grab him first?
The Bills have been trying in recent weeks to push back against the widespread belief that the Bills are destined to move into the top five to pick a quarterback, possibly because they realize that making that move will require major draft capital. Once the Giants are on the clock, however, it will be time for the Bills and Giants to move toward their bottom-line positions, and either a deal will happen or it won’t. (Duh.)
The Dolphins become a factor in those discussions as well, if the mutual interest between Mayfield and Miami prompts an effort to make a move for the 2017 Heisman winner.
Then there’s the possibility that the Jets will become sufficiently concerned about getting leapfrogged that they finish the climb, after previously jumping from No. 6 to No. 3, by making a deal with the Browns for the first overall pick. If the Jets want Mayfield, the Browns could move down two spots and be guaranteed to get either Josh Allen or Sam Darnold at No. 3 -- and to claim that whoever they get at No. 3 would have been the pick at No. 1.
However it plays out, there’s potential for plenty of intrigue among a trio of AFC East teams that could be hoping to have a franchise quarterback in the front end of his prime when the fourth AFC East team finally sees its franchise quarterback walk away.