Four Potential NFL Landing Spots For Ian Book
When it comes to the NFL Draft and projecting where players will end up, it's always a crapshoot. When you are trying to do so 11 months out, it's simply a futile exercise -- unless you do a little situational analysis.
Mock drafts for the 2021 NFL Draft are already rolling out. Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book is projected to be drafted next year, so long as he doesn't take a massive step backwards in his development.
When trying to pinpoint possible landing spots for Book, you need to examine current depth charts, project certain scenarios, and match Book's playing style and traits to schemes. I did that recently and came up with four possible, realistic landing spots for Notre Dame's senior signal-caller in 2021.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders head into the 2020 season with decent depth at the quarterback position, but a lot of uncertainty moving forward. Derek Carr hasn't lived up to the contract he signed in 2017, and the Raiders may look to part ways with him if they know they can save cap space.
Behind Carr on the depth chart is Marcus Mariota, who was brought in as a motivator to push Carr. That said, Mariota's track record of being able to lock down a starting quarterback role is questionable. Additionally, the Raiders didn't draft a quarterback in the 2020 draft, when many thought they would. Jon Gruden is a quarterback connoisseur, and he loves guys with a little moxie who play with an edge. I can see Gruden taking a flyer on Book for those reasons.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons are trying to get younger everywhere, even though the first two spots on their quarterback depth chart are held by a couple of guys in Matt Ryan and Matt Schaub who are 35 and 38 years old respectively. I'm not saying Atlanta would take a crack at Book in the early rounds with the intent of him being a starter anytime soon, but it would make sense from the standpoint of adding some youth to the quarterback room.
Book is going to be a project anywhere he lands and likely a career backup, but knowing he can sit and learn behind Matt Ryan for a couple of years makes him a low risk option for the Falcons.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Could Book be the heir apparent to Tom Brady in Tampa? Maybe, maybe not, but the Bucs are another team long in the tooth at the position who did not pull the trigger on a quarterback in the 2020 draft. I can see a scenario where Bruce Arians -- a prolific quarterback whisperer -- drafts a guy like Book.
His arm strength is good enough to do anything Brady can do at this stage of his career, and he would be able to learn and grow with a young cast of skill players, possibly growing into an obvious option as a starter when Brady leaves.
Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson is arguably the best signal-caller in the NFL right now, but if he were to ever go down, the Seahawks are in a lot of trouble from a backup standpoint. Ian Book's underrated athleticism would allow Seattle to keep a similar scheme and game plan from week to week if something were ever to happen to Wilson temporarily.
Book may not have the arm strength that Wilson has, but his ability to take care of the football is a premium trait for teams looking for backup quarterbacks who only need to guide the ship while the regular starter is out. Seattle makes a lot of sense from that standpoint.
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